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COURAGE — It would’ve been easy for No. 1 seed UConn to collapse when No. 2 seed Mississippi State roared to a 29-13 lead in the second quarter. Among the body blows was a 12-0 run by the upstart Bulldogs. The Huskies never led in the first half, even after they capped their own 12-0 run with a 3-pointer by Saniya Chong to trim the deficit to 29-25. But even as UConn stayed within striking distance all the way and turned an eight-point halftime deficit into overtime, a historic 66-64 victory belonged to Mississippi State, the team with Texas-sized gulps of courage in one of the unlikeliest upsets in NCAA women’s tournament history.
OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS — The Huskies grabbed exactly one offensive rebound in the first half by Napheesa Collier. So it was no surprise when UConn came out in the third quarter and hit the glass hard. Better rebounding helped the Huskies get back in the game. UConn took its first lead at 40-39 when Collier scored on a putback. But the Bulldogs forced the Huskies into bad shots — and one-and-done shots — to disrupt their usually potent offense.
3-POINT SHOOTING —- With only three 3-pointers in the first half as a team, UConn junior Kia Nurse buried two of her own in the third quarter to fuel the momentum of a fighter. UConn sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson buried a huge 3-pointer of her own to cut Mississippi State’s lead to 56-55 just as the Bulldogs were trying to pull away. The Huskies never relinquished that grip on character, even as a buzzer-beating dagger ended their seemingly unconscious 111-game winning streak and four straight national titles.
COACHING — UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who won his ninth AP National Coach of the Year award Thursday, crossed his arms in his 10th consecutive Final Four on Friday. Experience matters in these moments and Auriemma kept the Huskies in a game where they played flat to start and heroic to finish. This was Mississippi State’s game to lose after they punched UConn hard in the first quarter. But the Huskies wobbled and fought back until a clock and a new kid in the Final Four beat them.
GABBY WILLIAMS — The freakishly athletic Williams kept the Huskies in this game when the stubborn Bulldogs refused to lose to banners and ghosts. She led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a 7-of-11 mark from the foul line. On a night when UConn stumbled and struggled early, Williams’ shoulders grew broader and bolder by the moment. No one jumped higher or gave more for the Huskies than Williams.