On Saturday night at the Moda Center, UConn won 53-45 against Duke in the Sweet 16. An interesting matchup between two women's basketball teams, the best defense against the best offense and that gave a ticket to the next phase of the tournament .
The University of Connecticut plays in the Big East Conference, where they have won 32 games and lost 5. The Connecticut team finished in first place in the Conference, their goal this year is to win the championship with their great team and their star Paige Bueckers. In the first round they faced Jackson State and won by 22 points. To advance to the Sweet 16, they defeated Syracuse by 8 points and thus got their ticket to this phase of the tournament.
On the other hand, Duke University finished in seventh place in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after 22 games won and 12 lost. The North Carolina team sought to surprise in the game by beating UConn and advancing to the next phase of the tournament. The first round they won by winning by 11 points against Richmond and then they faced Ohio State where they also won to advance to the Sweet 16.
At the beginning of the game, both teams played very evenly but there were very few points due to good defense. Duke made UConn's offense uncomfortable by forcing them to take last-second shots and not allowing outside shots. Despite the Blue Devils' offensive attempts, the Huskies built a 4-point lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the first minutes were dominated by the UConn Huskies and they managed to gain up to a 13-point lead. Over the next few minutes, Duke had a lot of trouble scoring and they started getting into foul trouble. Oluchi Okananwa tried to get the Blue Devils into the game, scoring a few baskets off the bench. The first half ended and the score was Duke Blue Devils 13-23 UConn Huskies.
Coming back from the break the Huskies increased their level of play and increased their lead to secure the victory. Paige Bueckers took control of the UConn offense, around minute 5 of the third quarter the base had the same points as the entire Duke team (19 points) and the Blue Devils could not find themselves in the game. The North Carolina team was outmatched in this quarter and finished 15 points down.
In the fourth quarter, things improved for Duke as they closed the point deficit. Oluchi Okananwa led the Blue Devils and they were down 5 points with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Despite the effort, UConn did not allow the comeback and Reigan Richardson's foul gave Paige Bueckers two free throws that secured their victory. The game ended and the UConn Huskies won 53-45.
Upcoming matches and featured players
With this loss, the Baylor Bears were out of the tournament and will return home. On the other hand, UConn will face USC in the Elite 8, the game will be on April 1 at the Moda Center and it is one of the best games of that phase.
We must highlight the great game of Paige Bueckers, she played very well the entire game and got 24 points, 1 assist and 5 rebounds in 40 minutes played. Likewise, it was a very good game for the player Oluchi Okananwa who scored 15 points and 6 rebounds from the bench.