PHOENIX (AP) — The women’s Final Four looked as though it might be a classic, featuring a quartet of the game’s marquee programs along with a number of veteran stars and iconic coaches.
Three sloppy basketball games later, it feels like another missed opportunity. Much like last year’s lopsided title game. The sport is on the rise but the last two Final Fours have featured blowouts, long-distance shooting struggles and point-blank misses.
That’s not to take anything away from UCLA, which understandably thought Sunday’s result was beautiful after beating South Carolina 79-51 for its first NCAA tournament title and first overall since an AIAW championship in 1978.
“I want to grow the game so bad, I felt guilty walking off the floor because it was not pretty in any way, shape or form,” UCLA coach Cori Close acknowledged Friday after her team’s 51-44 win over Texas in the semifinals wasn’t very easy on the eyes.
In that game, Texas All-America selection Madison Booker, one of game’s best mid-range shooters, was 3 of 23 from the field, missing 17 straight shots at one point.