UConn, Geno Auriemma Beat Notre Dame To Secure 25th Women's Final Four Berth
📖 Full Retelling
All-America forward Sarah Strong and her UConn teammates got quite a compliment from coach Geno Auriemma, who donned a cowboy hat and did a little dance on the court after the undefeated Huskies made their 25th Final Four in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The 12-time championship coach, who has more wins than any men's or women's NCAA coach, said he has never been more proud of a group that he has taken to the final weekend of March Madness. [Live Updates: NCAA Men's, Women's Basketball Tournament: Who'll Advance to Final Four?] "This group, they don’t have that kind of swagger, trash-talking kind of mentality," Auriemma said after his 1,288th victory. "It’s not the kind of team that I’ve had in the past that has gone this far undefeated. It’s not. They don’t have that kind of mentality off the court, on the court. They’re just a bunch of really nice kids that play hard for each other." And they are headed to Phoenix after Strong scored 21 points, Blanca Quinonez added 20 points off the bench and the defending national champion Huskies beat Notre Dame on Sunday, 70-52. While this is a younger group for Auriemma after Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, and Kaitlyn Chen were seniors on last year's championship team, UConn (38-0) has won 54 games in a row and clinched the first spot for this year's Final Four. "Seeing him excited and kind of goofy is really good for us," Strong said. "He’s usually all serious or like anxious, grumpy. Just seeing him let loose and be his true self was really good." "He doesn’t say anything [that] he doesn’t mean," said All-America guard Azzi Fudd, the fifth-year senior on this squad who had 13 points, four assists and three steals. "He doesn’t give out compliments too often, depending on who you are, so to hear him say that it does mean a lot — and we feel the same way. We love this team so much." Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (25-11), plus three more steals to increase her NCAA single-season
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All-America forward Sarah Strong and her UConn teammates got quite a compliment from coach Geno Auriemma, who donned a cowboy hat and did a little dance on the court after the undefeated Huskies made their 25th Final Four in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The 12-time championship coach, who has more wins than any men's or women's NCAA coach, said he has never been more proud of a group that he has taken to the final weekend of March Madness. [Live Updates: NCAA Men's, Women's Basketball Tournament: Who'll Advance to Final Four?] "This group, they don’t have that kind of swagger, trash-talking kind of mentality," Auriemma said after his 1,288th victory. "It’s not the kind of team that I’ve had in the past that has gone this far undefeated. It’s not. They don’t have that kind of mentality off the court, on the court. They’re just a bunch of really nice kids that play hard for each other." And they are headed to Phoenix after Strong scored 21 points, Blanca Quinonez added 20 points off the bench and the defending national champion Huskies beat Notre Dame on Sunday, 70-52. While this is a younger group for Auriemma after Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick, and Kaitlyn Chen were seniors on last year's championship team, UConn (38-0) has won 54 games in a row and clinched the first spot for this year's Final Four. "Seeing him excited and kind of goofy is really good for us," Strong said. "He’s usually all serious or like anxious, grumpy. Just seeing him let loose and be his true self was really good." "He doesn’t say anything [that] he doesn’t mean," said All-America guard Azzi Fudd, the fifth-year senior on this squad who had 13 points, four assists and three steals. "He doesn’t give out compliments too often, depending on who you are, so to hear him say that it does mean a lot — and we feel the same way. We love this team so much." Hannah Hidalgo had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (25-11), plus three more steals to increase her NCAA single-season
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