Women’s Final Four recap

It’ll be Connecticut and Louisville set to square off with the 2013 women’s basketball national title on the line. Both teams faced tough opponents in the Final Four to punch their tickets to the final game.

UConn faced a Notre Dame team which had sent them home with losses in two national semifinal games and three regular season games. In fact the momentum was heavily in favor of the Irish as they were on a 30 game winning streak.

But there was no luck for the Irish this time as Geno Auriemma and his UConn squad were determined to get one back from Notre Dame when it counted most. The Huskies turned in an 83 point performance where they were 6 of 14 from downtown and shot 46 percent from the field to secure the 83-65 win.

UConn was lead by freshman Breanna Stewart who had a hot hand, as she racked up 29 points and four blocks. It was a career high effort for the first year player from Syracuse. Coach Auriemma said it was one of the greatest individual performances he’s seen at this level.

But as one young player starts her career with a bang, the final buzzer marked the end of another career that has drawn a lot of attention. This was the final game for Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins.

She turned in four years of success at Notre Dame but in this game she just could not get it going, managing only 10 points in her last performance with the Irish. Despite her success at the collegiate level, Diggins leaves without a national title.

As for Louisville, they had to make it through second seeded Cal to move on to the big game. The Cardinals have been a surprise team in this tournament, pulling off several unexpected wins, much like this 64-57 victory over Cal.

The Cardinals were down by 1o at halftime, but 18 points from Antonita Slaughter and 17 points from Bria Smith helped make Louisville the first team seeded at less than fourth to win a Final Four game on the women’s side.

With this win, Louisville will now have two basketball squads playing for a national title. The men’s team will face Michigan on Monday night with everything on the line.

The women’s championship is set for Tuesday night.