UConn Advanced To Their 14th Straight Final Four In A Double OT Thriller Against NC State

Top-seed NC State and 2-seed UConn met on Monday night in Bridgeport, CT for an Elite Eight matchup that became an instant classic, as the first time in women’s tournament history that a game in the Elite Eight or later needed double overtime to decide things.

It was a tense, tight game throughout as both teams traded blows and runs, and in the fourth quarter each team held small leads — NC State’s 4-point advantage was the biggest of the final quarter — in what was a sensational battle.

Defense carried both teams down the stretch, as Elissa Cunane’s layup to tie the game at 61-61 with just over a minute to go was the final score of regulation. Olivia Nelson-Ododa missed a pair of go-ahead free throws with just under 30 seconds to go, and on the other end, the Wolfpack dribbled the clock down to inside 6 seconds before starting a play, which ended in a contested Kai Crutchfield three from well beyond the arc that missed everything, sending the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period both offenses came alive in a shot-making display that was nothing short of sensational. Both teams found big buckets and after scratchy free throw shooting in regulation, were lights out in the extra frame. Ultimately, UConn found itself up three after a pair of Paige Bueckers free throws with six seconds to play, and NC State called a timeout to draw up a three-pointer to tie.

Raina Perez took the inbounds pass and waited for Jakia Brown-Turner to go from where she inbounded on the sideline to the right corner and flung a perfect pass over the Huskies defense to set up an incredible game-tying three.

After the pandemonium of that moment, it was a matter of who would be able to settle themselves down in double overtime, and it was UConn that took control immediately thanks to a pair of buckets from Bueckers. The Paige barrage came first on a top of the key three and then on an elbow pull-up, both times taking advantage of NC State going under the screener.

The Huskies would hold onto the lead throughout double overtime despite the best efforts of the Wolfpack, who kept things close thanks to timely buckets from Crutchfield and Cunane, but could never get the string of stops and scores they needed to seize control from the Huskies. Every time NC State cut the lead to one possession, UConn had the answer, like this Aaliyah Edwards putback.

Eventually, UConn had the ball and advanced it up the floor with 10 seconds to play (with NC State also questionably burning their last timeout), and the Wolfpack seemed desperate not to foul Azzi Fudd, which allowed the Huskies to put the game on ice with two quick passes to set up Christyn Williams at the rim.

It was a sensational performance from UConn’s stars, as Fudd had 19 points, Williams had 21, and Bueckers led all scorers with 27 thanks to her overtime takeover. On the other side, Cunane had 18 points and nine boards, Brown-Turner had 20 points, eight boards, and five assists, and three others reached double figures, but it just wasn’t quite enough for NC State to reach the Final Four.

The Huskies will make a familiar trip to Minneapolis for the festivities where they’ll play Stanford in the national semifinal in another heavyweight matchup.