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PHOENIX (AP) — This year’s Final Four at the women’s NCAA Tournament features a quartet of powerhouse programs, teams that have overwhelmed almost all of their opponents with superior talent and veteran coaching.
They have size. They are athletic. They have pedigree.
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But they haven’t faced a ton of on-court adversity — particularly in March.
That could change on Friday night when UConn faces South Carolina and Texas meets UCLA in the national semifinals at Mortgage Matchup Center. After beating up on inferior adversaries for the majority of March, it’s time for the game’s elite to pick on someone their own size.
Here’s how they’re preparing for potential clutch moments this weekend.
South Carolina (35-3)
The Gamecocks have had a few tough losses this season, including two to Texas. They also dropped a road game against Oklahoma, blowing a seven-point halftime lead before losing in overtime.
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South Carolina got its revenge last week, beating the Sooners in the Sweet 16.
The Gamecocks haven’t faced much friction in the NCAA Tournament, winning their four games by an average of 40.3 points.
Coach Dawn Staley said the way to stay fresh for late-game situations is to simulate them in practice so that players are comfortable when tense moments come. For instance, during last week’s regional in Sacramento, the coach said they made sure to go over sidelines inbounds plays since the benches were in a spot that was different than most of the games they had played.
Guard Raven Johnson said Staley did a good job of ramping up the intensity after the early-season setbacks, holding them to the program’s standard that has been built over the past two decades.
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“When we took losses throughout the season, I think practices, they shifted,” Johnson said. “They were hard. She was on our butts. She was a different person.
“I think that made us come closer. That made us realize that people here, this is their first time ever experiencing things like this. We had to remind them that our standard here is very high. We had to remind them in practice, good habits are contagious. When you have…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/rusty-crunch-time-womens-final-225427934.html
Author : DAVID BRANDT
Publish date : 2026-04-02 22:54:00
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