Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe NCAA women's basketball Final Four field is set. And to no surprise, the University of Connecticut is there for the ninth consecutive season.
Joining the UConn Huskies in Indianapolis this weekend will be Oregon State, Washington and Syracuse. All three are first-timers to the national semifinals.
It's the first time since 1994 that three women's teams will make their first Final Four appearance in the same season. That was the year before UConn won the first of its 10 national championships.
Oregon State, which will face UConn on Sunday night, isn't a major surprise after winning the Pac-12 and earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Still Oregon State hadn't won more than one game in the tourney before this season.
Syracuse and Washington shocked nearly everyone, pulling off major upsets to advance. The Washington Huskies became the first No. 7 seed to go this far since Minnesota pulled it off in 2004. Not bad for the fifth-place team in the Pac-12.
UConn secured its spot Monday night with an 86-65 victory over Texas. The victory, UConn's 73rd straight overall, was also the school's 22nd consecutive one in the postseason, breaking a tie with Tennessee for the most in a row. UConn has won every game this season by double digits.
Two more victories will give Coach Geno Auriemma an 11th title, moving him past vaunted UCLA men's coach John Wooden for most all-time in college basketball history.
The Huskies will be trying for a record fourth consecutive national championship.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.