SAN ANTONIO — The women’s NCAA Tournament regional semifinals field is set with many familiar faces like UConn, Baylor, Stanford and South Carolina. There’s also some fresh ones, including Michigan and Arizona.
The Sweet 16 will tip off Saturday with a much anticipated matchup between UConn and Iowa. The schools are led by heralded freshmen Paige Bueckers and Caitlyn Clark. Geno Auriemma, who will be coaching the Huskies for the first time in the tournament after being sidelined with COVID-19 the first two rounds, couldn’t remember a time when there was so much hype around two freshmen.
“It’s been a while since you have two kids that have had this kind of an impact, both on their teams and on the game itself nationally. To have one is kind of cool. To have two and to be so alike in so many ways?” Auriemma said. “And yet unfortunately, they’re going to be put in a situation where it’s like a big football game, where they say it’s (Tom) Brady versus Aaron Rogers. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
“It’s two really, really young kids, really good players that do a lot for their teams.”
Clark has led Iowa back to the Sweet 16. The Hawkeyes are one of a record four Big Ten teams in the regional semifinals with. Michigan, Indiana and Maryland joining them.
Maryland has been a familiar face under coach Brenda Frese in the Sweet 16 over the years, but it is their first such trip since 2017. The Terrapins have reached the Sweet 16 eight times since 2006, when it won the national championship.
Marking their first time in the Sweet 16 for Maryland will be a pair of standout sophomores. Diamond Miller and Ashley Owusu entered the tournament averaging a combined 35 points a game, which earned both on the All-Big Ten First Team honors.
They combined for 39 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in their first NCAA Tournament game, a 98-45 victory over Mount St. Mary’s; Owusu scored 20 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. Miller had 19 points.
“You see that chemistry on the court,” Frese said. “I remember when Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman kind of had a neat combo like that.”
The Terrapins (27-2) came into the tournament with the nation’s highest-scoring offense and have yet to take their foot off the gas. The Terrapins were so dominant in a 100-64 second-round win over Alabama that Owusu didn’t make her first basket until the lead was already 46-23 in the second quarter. Five Maryland players scored in double figures.
The Terrapins are averaging 99 points in their two tournament wins after scoring 91.3 per game in the regular season.
Maryland hit the 100-point mark for the seventh time this season and got 46 points off the bench.
Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico is happy to have her team in the regional semifinals for the first time as opposed to Connecticut, which is making its 27th consecutive appearance in the round of 16.
“Things have changed. You could go somewhere else and you could have the opportunity right away to make an impact and create something that’s never been done before,” she said. “Those kids are different. They are special in their own right and they wanted to do something that has never been done before and I’m thankful to coach a group of them.”
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
For the first time since 2013 three No. 6 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16 with Michigan, Oregon and Texas all reaching the regional semifinals. At the other of the spectrum, for the third straight tournament all the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds reached the Sweet 16.
SHE SAID IT
“More and more people are noticing, more and more people are watching. I think a lot of people will tune in and watch this game and that’s exactly what you want for women’s college basketball.” — Caitlyn Clark, Iowa.
CROWD NOISE
For the first time in the tournament the NCAAs will allow the public to attend games. That will be limited to 17% of the Alamodome’s capacity per game - which is roughly 4,800 tickets.
“We’re in Texas, so, I feel like we’re going to have a lot of fans,”” Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith said. “People’s families finally start to get to come and everybody’s friends and everybody that weren’t on the ticket list, they finally get to come and watch the game. So, it’s about to be very exciting.”
The first couple of rounds only allowed each participant up to six tickets.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.