Buzzer Beater Squashes Huskies’ Dreams

By Bob Phillips

 

Blair Schaefer (left) and Breanna Richardson storm the court after
Mississippi State's upset victory over UConn in the national
semifinals at American Airlines Center in Dallas Friday night.

DALLAS—Payback’s a bitch. Ain’t it though?

All season long, Geno Auriemma kept telling anyone who would listen that this year’s version of the Huskies wasn’t all that... to which everyone would nod and think, “Right, Geno,” as his team kept winning and winning and winning. Well, last night his words became prophetic as a 15-foot jumper by Morgan William beat the buzzer as time expired in the first overtime lead Mississippi State to a 66-64 win over Connecticut, ending the Huskies’ quest for an unprecedented fifth consecutive national title.

The Lady Bulldogs, whom the Huskies embarrassed by 60 points in last year’s Bridgeport Regionals, certainly brought their “A” game to Dallas. The Huskies, meanwhile, did not—particularly early in the contest. Indeed, this game raised the question whether these Huskies were able to play well away from the cozy confines of their home state, certainly on such a big stage. UConn was seriously challenged just three times this season, by very good Florida State and Maryland teams (two- and six-point victories, respectively), as well as a mediocre Tulane squad by three. In fairness, it must be noted that the Huskies were double-digit winners over a Notre Dame team that finished the season 33-4 and lost to Stanford by just one point in the Lexington Region Final. But the Notre Dame game was played at the XL Center. The aforementioned three close contests were played on the opponents' respective home courts.

''We had an incredible run, but we came up against a much better team tonight,'' Auriemma said after the game.

Connecticut trailed by a deuce, 15-13, with 3:04 remaining in the first quarter when Mississippi State went on a 14-0 lead to assume a commanding 29-13 lead, which put the young Huskies in uncharted waters. It was the biggest deficit UConn had faced not only this season, but throughout their historic 111-game winning streak.

The Huskies went on a 12-0 run of their own, fueled by seven points from senior Saniya Chong, to cut the Mississippi State lead to four, 29-25, with 3:44 left until halftime. But the Lady Bulldogs collected their composure, and went into the locker room leading by eight, 36-28, at intermission.

The Huskies rallied in the third quarter behind their trio of All-Americans, Gabby Williams, Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson keying a 12-3 run to start the third period. A bucket by Collier gave Connecticut its first lead of the game, 41-40, with 4:29 remaining in regulation, and many fans were wondering if the roof was about to fall in on the Lady Bulldogs. William answered that with a layup a little over a minute later putting Mississippi State back up by one, but Connecticut responded with a trey from Kia Nurse, and the drama became palpable.

A layup by Williams gave the Huskies a three-point lead, 59-56, with 2:30 remaining, but a free throw by Victoria Vivians followed by a missed jumper by Collier and a trey by Vivians gave the Lady Bulldogs a 60-59 lead with a buck 14 left in regulation.

Next, William stole the ball from Chong, but missed her shot and Collier was fouled on the rebound, setting up a chance for the Huskies to win it in regulation from the line. But Collier was only one-for-two from the charity stripe, and it was onto the extra session.

“Obviously, you know, when you get to this point in the season, and you lose, it's the worst feeling imaginable,” said Auriemma. “The excitement that was in Mississippi State's locker room, we've been there. We've been there lots of times. We've experienced that probably more times than normal.

“Today, you know, they deserved to win,” he continued. “They beat us. We had our chances. I mean, they beat us. They took us away from the things that we like to do. We didn't have the kind of maturity that you need to win at this level at this time of the year.”

With all the winning this team did, tied into a history of winning and unparalleled excellence, people forget that this team wasn’t supposed to be where it was last night.

“Some of our young guys got a little bit ahead of themselves,” observed Auriemma. “That's okay. We went in the locker room and we experienced some of the things that a bunch of other kids have experienced against us.”

But Auriemma was resolute on how he feels about this group of young women.

“I'm proud of our team; I'm proud of our kids,” he continued. “Maybe we're just not ready for this. Maybe we were ready for everything else, but maybe we're just not mature enough for this,” he said. “Maybe all our young kids needed to experience this [losing] so that we can come back and really be ready for this.”

So now the Huskies can relax. No more historic winning streak to protect, no more perfect seasons to be concerned about. Back to reality.

The Huskies will return next season with a team that graduates just one senior starter (Chong), and which adds much-needed height and depth. They will seemingly have everything—including Final Four experience—under their belt.

Watch out, world.

Payback’s a bitch. Ain’t it though?

—with Staff Reports