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Finally over, Huskies Final Four streak ends in Sweet 16

BY LORI RILEY

SEATTLE — The last time the UConn women’s basketball team traveled out West for a regional was the last time the Huskies didn’t make it to the Final Four.

The year was 2007 and UConn were sent to Fresno, Calif., where the Huskies beat Kay Yow’s North Carolina State team in the regional semifinal but lost to Stanford in the regional final.

After that, every year since 2008, it would be March and you’d turn on your TV and there UConn would be in the Final Four.

But Saturday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena, under the gaze of former UConn greats Sue Bird and Asjha Jones, UConn couldn’t get the job done, losing 73-61 to Ohio State. Lou Lopez Senechal led the second-seeded Huskies with 25 points.

The Huskies had been 6-0 against Ohio State before Saturday,

It was the first time

UConn hadn’t advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2005, when the Huskies lost to Stanford in Kansas City.

Saturday’s game was a difficult ending to a difficult season, filled with injuries to key players, including preseason season-ending injuries to Paige Bueckers and vaunted freshman Ice Brady.

“It was a Sweet 16 game, so we knew they’re going to come out and they were fighting for their lives, and it’s kind of like all teams do that,” UConn’s Dorka Juhasz said. “And we were just not able to respond, unfortunately.”

UConn coach Geno Auriemma had said before the game that after the season the Huskies had, they were fortunate to be in Seattle. But the expectation, even for this season, is always the Final Four and when UConn got some key players back from injuries and started playing well during the Big East tournament — then won it — the

track record once it gets this far, too: The Huskies are 8-1 all-time in Final Four games.

“We’ve got a lot to prove,” said Andre Jackson Jr., who had eight points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. “We still have a chip on our shoulder.”

The Bulldogs (31-6) didn’t have the same second-half magic they had in a last-second win over UCLA in the Elite Eight.

Gonzaga allowed UConn to go on a late run to lead by seven at halftime and fell completely apart after All-American Drew Timme went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the second half.

The Zags shot 33% from the field — 7 of 29 in the second half — and went 2 for 20 from 3 to stumble in their bid for a third Final Four since 2017.

“UConn was just terrific tonight and we didn’t have any answers, especially when kind of everything really didn’t bounce our way,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “And we can’t absorb a game like that when our offense is as bad as it was tonight.”

Alex Karaban scored 12 points and Adama Sanogo had 10 points and 10 rebounds for UConn.

Timme had 12 points and 10 rebounds, receiving a warm ovation after being taken out of his final collegiate game with 1:50 left.

“I’m just so thankful that the program and the place took me for who I was,” said Timme, who shared a long embrace with Few when he exited. “They didn’t ask me to be anybody but myself.”

The Zags started off like they had a Vegas hangover, firing off two airballed 3-pointers and a wild runner by Timme. Once Gonzaga shook out the cobwebs, the Bulldogs kept the Huskies bridled with defense, with hard hedges on screens and Timme sagging off Jackson to protect the lane.

UConn countered by getting the ball into the strong hands of Sanogo, the facilitator. The UConn big man picked apart Gonzaga’s double-teams for five firsthalf assists, including two for layups.

“We figured that out,” Hurley said. “That doesn’t work anymore.”

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2023-03-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

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