Women’s NCAA Tournament Kingston Region Sweet Sixteen Breakdown
One of the nation’s hottest college basketball teams just saw its travel schedule take a breather for the NCAA tournament. The big trip is to Denver for the finalist from this regional, but the top seed only has to travel 100 miles across state lines, from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Kingston, Rhode Island. The Huskies’ road to the Final Four isn’t safe by any means, but it is looking like you might see Geno Auriemma at another national semifinal.
Let’s take a look at the two games from the Kingston regional. Starting times were not set as of Tuesday night, so check back for further information.
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 4 Penn State (Sunday at Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island)
This is another one of those “Well, somebody has to play them” games. Don’t get me wrong, Penn State is a good basketball team, but after what Connecticut has done in recent games, one has to wonder what the Huskies will do for an encore in the Sweet 16. This Big East-Big Ten showdown features a team that had an easy time advancing through the first two rounds against a team that had a bit closer play.
The closer team was Penn State (26-6), which started out the tournament by beating 13th-seed Texas-El Paso 85-77. Maggie Lucas and Alex Bentley combined for 44 points, over half of their team’s scoring, in the victory. Lost in the win was the fact Penn State trailed in this game for much of the first half, which isn’t a good sign when you’re the champion of the Big Ten, one of the stronger women’s conferences in the country. Penn State then downed fifth-seed LSU 90-80 in a very high scoring affair. Lucas was key once again, pouring in 30 points in the win. Ariel Edwards scored 15 points and Mia Nickson added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Connecticut (31-4) made things look absolutely unfair in the first two rounds. The Huskies started with an 83-47 victory over 16th-seed Prairie View as Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis led the way with 23 points. If people thought that game was one-sided, wait until they saw the second-round game. It was an absolute thrashing against Kansas State as the Huskies held K-State to the lowest number of points in tournament history. Twenty-six points. Yes, 26. It was a 72-26 victory as Mosqueda-Lewis led the way with 15 points.
Sorry, Penn State fans. Connecticut is playing some of the best basketball it has all season, and the emergence of a true freshman as one of the top players at tournament time only makes Connecticut that much stronger. Look for Connecticut to easily cruise to the Elite Eight against the winner of…
No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 2 Kentucky (Sunday at Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island)
The West Coast Conference faces the Southeastern Conference in a matchup not many expected to happen. The champions of their respective conferences have not seen each other this season, but now that Gonzaga Is away from the cozy comforts of home we’ll see how the Bulldogs fare.
It is no surprise that McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington was hopping once again as Gonzaga (28-5) took its two opponents by surprise. The 11th-seed Bulldogs first stunned Rutgers, 86-73, as Kayla Standish scored 23 points and Haiden Palmer added 21 points to account for half of Gonzaga’s scoring. Gonzaga wasn’t done, as it shocked third-seeded Miami 65-54 to score a third straight berth in the Sweet 16. Standish led the way with 19 points. Miami definitely missed Riquna Williams and the 16 points per game she brought to the table; Williams was left behind due to unspecified team violations and did not play in the tournament.
Kentucky (27-6) has not played like a true No. 2 seed at all in the tournament. The Wildcats began with a 68-62 win over McNeese State in the first round, despite SEC Player of the Year A’dia Mathies scoring just six points. Keyla Snowden scored 11 points and Azia Bishop added 10 points. Kentucky then barely squeaked by seventh-seed Wisconsin-Green Bay as it survived 34 turnovers and a near surrender of a 17-point lead to prevail 65-62. Samarie Walker led the way with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Snowden chipped in 13 points.
Do I dare predict a third win for Gonzaga despite not playing on its vaunted home court? Yes. This is my upset special out of the semifinal bracket. Kentucky has just looked lackluster in the opening games of the tournament, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bulldogs move on to the Elite Eight. It will be close, but Gonzaga will prevail.
