Who Needs Caitlin Clark? Women’s Final Four Is Packed With Intrigue

While the ratings may not reach the heights of Caitlin Clark’s reign, this year’s Women’s Final Four at Tampa offers even more intrigue than last season. With the dynamic Paige Bueckers leading UConn, a South Carolina team looking to defend its national title, and fresh faces from UCLA and Texas, the stage is set for a memorable showdown beginning with Friday’s semifinals.Ms. Clark’s attempt for a national championship last year against an unbeaten South Carolina team led to record ratings, with viewership for the women’s final outranking that for the men’s for the first time. While Ms. Clark is prepping for her second season in the WNBA, the women’s tournament has reached another Final Four worthy of attention. UConn, 35-3 and making its 16th Final Four appearance in the last 17 years, faces UCLA (35-2) in one of Friday’s semifinals. South Carolina (35-3), seeking its second straight title, meets Texas (35-3) in the other.The bookmakers have made UConn, the only no. 2 seed to reach the Final Four in either the men’s or women’s tourneys, the betting favorite mainly because of Ms. Bueckers, who is putting up Caitlin Clark-like numbers during March Madness. The senior All-American and Big East Player of the Year has averaged 35 points in her last three games, including a career high of 40 points in an 82-59 beatdown of Oklahoma in the Sweet 16.With freshman Sarah Strong adding 22 points and 17 rebounds, the Huskies defeated a USC team without an injured JuJu Watkins to reach the Final Four. Under head coach Geno Auriemma, the Huskies have won 11 national titles, the last coming in 2016.“I think the confidence we have in Paige and Sarah makes everybody feel assured,” Mr. Auriemma said. “I just have to do my part, and it’ll be good enough. Every journey is different. Every kid’s opportunity is different. They get to write their own unique story. At some point, I’m just along for the ride. It’s really on their shoulders that all this happens.”In making her third trip to the Final Four, Ms. Bueckers is trying to write the perfect ending to her collegiate career, one that Ms. Clark couldn’t quite manage. Ms. Clark and her Iowa Hawkeyes lost twice in the national championship, to LSU and South Carolina. Ms. Bueckers, under the spotlight of high expectations and a large social media presence, is trying to cap her storied career by adding to the list of UConn national titles.“I don’t think I’ve ever coached someone in this generation where they have to deal with the type of scrutiny and pressure that comes from the world that they live in,” Mr. Auriemma said. “She’s the first one. For her to get all the attention she gets and have all the demands on her and still be able to deliver. … I’m really going to miss her, but I can’t say that out loud.”UCLA, the no. 1 overall seed, is making its first trip to the women’s Final Four since 1979, when the legendary Ann Meyers led the Bruins. It was called the AIAW national championship then.The Bruins’ current leader is Lauren Betts, an imposing force at 6 feet, 7 inches who is averaging 25.6 points and 9 rebounds over her last three games. The Big Ten champions defeated LSU, 72-65, to avenge a Sweet 16 loss to the Tigers and Angel Reese last year.“We’ve been ready for this,” Ms. Betts said. “We’ve prepared and we’ve put in the work. We’ve toughened up a lot since mid-season. We’ve learned a lot. As teammates, we hold each other accountable, and it’s worked for us.”South Carolina, 38-0 last season, is looking to become the fourth team to win back-to-back women’s titles. It would also be the fourth national championship for the head coach, Dawn Staley, who also won the crown in 2017 and 2022.Two SEC foes, South Carolina and Texas, split their regular-season series before the Gamecocks drilled the Longhorns in the SEC Tournament championship game, 64-45. Ms. Staley doesn’t expect the rematch to be as easy.“It’s that time of year,” she said. “We’re going to have to grind for every single win that we can get and manufacture.”Texas last reached the Final Four in 2003. It’s the third Final Four for the head coach, Vic Schaefer, who led Mississippi State to the national semifinals in 2017 and 2018.

Who Needs Caitlin Clark? Women’s Final Four Is Packed With Intrigue

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