The 2025 Women’s NCAA Title Game Preview

Summary

No Offseason: The Athletic Women's Basketball Show
Episode: The 2025 Women’s NCAA Title Game Preview
Release Date: April 5, 2025
Host/Authors: Zena Keda, Chantel Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and Ben Pickman
Presented by: MassMutual

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Introduction

In this episode of No Offseason, the hosts—Zena Keda, Chantel Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and Ben Pickman—delve into the highly anticipated 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Title Game. With defending champions South Carolina set to face off against UConn, the discussion covers recent game performances, key player analyses, team strategies, and predictions for the championship showdown.

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Recap of Last Night’s Games

South Carolina vs. Texas

Zena Keda opens the discussion by expressing surprise over last night’s outcomes:

“These games did not go the way that I think the entire nation expected them to go, at least from a competition perspective.” ([05:15])

Sabrina Merchant highlights Texas’ challenges against South Carolina:

“It's really hard to beat South Carolina when they make jumpers... South Carolina, although their shooting has not been to the level that it was last year during their undefeated season, if they can start hitting some threes, it’s...” ([07:02])

Ben Pickman focuses on Texas’ defensive struggles:

“Giving up 38 points to South Carolina in the first half... That spelled trouble.” ([07:36])

Shantelle Jennings points out Madison Booker's uncharacteristic second foul:

“It just felt really uncharacteristic for her and I wonder sort of what was going on in that situation.” ([09:37])

Zena Keda critiques Texas' overaggressive strategy:

“They were more aggressive trying to get the guards, the South Carolina guards, to catch the ball way further outside the arc...” ([10:17])

UConn vs. UCLA

Shantelle Jennings praises UConn’s defensive prowess against UCLA:

“Their defense was fantastic... UConn made sure no one else did. London Jones and Gabriela Hawke has held a zero points, no midfield goals.” ([14:33])

Ben Pickman comments on UCLA’s offensive collapse:

“They couldn't buy a bucket, they couldn't stop a bucket. Like what was going on.” ([15:37])

Sabrina Merchant underscores UConn’s offensive efficiency:

“UConn's offense statistically was the best in the country over the course of the regular season.” ([28:16])

Zena Keda reflects on UConn’s historical performance:

“If you’re UConn, you’re not guaranteed to get back to two games away from a national championship every year...” ([20:09])

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Key Player Performances and Insights

Madison Booker (Texas)

Ben Pickman discusses the impact of Booker’s fouls on Texas’ game rhythm:

“Madison Booker scored 11 points and has one rebound, which was her stat line last night.” ([09:37])

Shantelle Jennings emphasizes Booker’s critical role:

“Texas does not get to the national championship if Madison Booker scores 11 points...” ([09:37])

Lauren Betts and Sarah Strong (UConn)

Shantelle Jennings lauds Sarah Strong’s composure and skill:

“Sarah Strong looks like she's shooting hoops in her backyard... she is so comfortable, so unfazed.” ([22:28])

Zena Keda echoes the sentiment, highlighting Strong’s pro-ready abilities:

“If Sarah Strong was available in today's draft, I take her before I take Paige Beckers.” ([25:13])

Sabrina Merchant analyzes UConn’s offensive strategy:

“When UConn shoots the ball well from three, they're basically impossible to beat.” ([31:03])

Az Fudd (UConn)

Shantelle Jennings notes Fudd’s breakout performance:

“AZ Fudd can keep up this hot shooting... she had six three-pointers.” ([36:28])

Zena Keda anticipates Fudd’s role in the championship:

“She needs to start hitting these shots and seeing them fall.” ([36:29])

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Team Strategies and Coaching

South Carolina’s Depth and Team Play

Ben Pickman highlights South Carolina’s balanced scoring:

“Nine players played more than 15 minutes against Texas and seven players scored at least six points.” ([25:35])

Sabrina Merchant emphasizes the importance of South Carolina’s depth:

“They have the number of bodies that they can just continue to put out there to keep the level of activity high defensively.” ([33:04])

UConn’s Defensive Dominance

Shantelle Jennings praises UConn’s defensive tactics:

“They forced 14 first half turnovers and 19 overall in the game.” ([14:33])

Sabrina Merchant discusses UConn’s ability to maintain offensive efficiency:

“They can maintain their offensive efficiency... that's a testament to that program and their consistency.” ([29:00])

Coaching Insights

Zena Keda commends Dawn Staley’s leadership:

“I do not want to bet against Dawn Staley because she is a mastermind.” ([40:58])

Ben Pickman analyzes UConn’s coaching resilience:

“They played their worst game at the worst possible time... knowing that they played their worst game at the worst possible time.” ([19:17])

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Preview of the Title Game: South Carolina vs. UConn

Zena Keda sets the stage for the rematch:

“This is now an opportunity for South Carolina to get their look back, but it’s looking like UConn is playing like a team possessed.” ([21:03])

Shantelle Jennings focuses on UConn’s offensive strength:

“With Paige Beckers and Sarah Strong, they have not been lower than 30 minutes even in some very big margins of victory.” ([31:03])

Sabrina Merchant outlines South Carolina’s potential strategies:

“Speed up the pace of the game so that UConn can't be so deliberate within its half-court sets.” ([33:04])

Ben Pickman highlights key matchups and X-factor players:

“An X factor question... she is the ultimate X factor.” ([33:58])

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Predictions and Final Thoughts

Ben Pickman predicts a UConn victory with a significant lead:

“I see this going the reverse of that [South Carolina jumping out to a lead against Texas].” ([38:44])

Shantelle Jennings anticipates a closer game but still in favor of UConn:

“I have UConn by six. I think it'll be a lower scoring game than we saw for UConn against UCLA.” ([39:18])

Sabrina Merchant confidently backs UConn:

“I think the Huskies get their first since 2016.” ([40:16])

Zena Keda underscores the strategic and coaching prowess on display:

“These are two of the best coach teams in the country that are going to be going up against each other.” ([37:20])

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Conclusion

The hosts wrap up the episode by reaffirming their predictions and the excitement surrounding the upcoming championship game. With South Carolina’s depth and team play pitted against UConn’s offensive and defensive dominance, the title game promises to be a thrilling showdown. The episode concludes with anticipation for the reaction and analysis in the following week’s episodes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Zena Keda: “These games did not go the way that I think the entire nation expected them to go...” ([05:15])
• Sabrina Merchant: “It's really hard to beat South Carolina when they make jumpers...” ([07:02])
• Ben Pickman: “Giving up 38 points to South Carolina in the first half...” ([07:36])
• Shantelle Jennings: “It just felt really uncharacteristic for her...” ([09:37])
• Zena Keda: “They were more aggressive trying to get the guards...” ([10:17])
• Shantelle Jennings: “Sarah Strong looks like she's shooting hoops in her backyard...” ([22:28])
• Ben Pickman: “Madison Booker scored 11 points and has one rebound...” ([09:37])
• Sabrina Merchant: “When UConn shoots the ball well from three, they're basically impossible to beat.” ([31:03])
• Zena Keda: “If Sarah Strong was available in today's draft, I take her before I take Paige Beckers.” ([25:13])
• Ben Pickman: “I see this going the reverse of that [South Carolina jumping out to a lead against Texas].” ([38:44])

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Credits

• Host: Zena Caida
• Co-Hosts: Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, Ben Pickman
• Producer: Tanika Burrell
• Executive Producers: Andrea B. Scott, Cassius Fleming
• Theme Music: Marcus Begala
• Video Editor: Brenna Haupt
• Managing Editor of Women’s Basketball at The Athletic: Shannon Ryan
• Head of Audio: Jessie Burton
• Director of Audio Operations: Tim McMaster

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Stay tuned for more in-depth analysis and exclusive interviews on No Offseason as the excitement builds towards the championship game.

Transcript

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[Zena Keda]

Hello everyone and welcome to no off season presented by MassMutual. I'm Zena Keda.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I'm Shantelle Jennings.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I'm Sabrina Merchant.

[Ben Pickman]

And I'm Ben Pickman.

[Zena Keda]

Today on the show, the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball title game is set. Tomorrow, defending champion South Carolina will face off against UConn for all the glory and we are going to get into what to expect, what to look out for all the major players, as we always do. But first, we got to talk about last night. Y'all. I'm gonna tell you right now, these games did not go the way that I think the entire nation expected them to go, at least from a competition perspective. Before we dive into those, how are y'all feeling?

[Shantelle Jennings]

Pretty tired.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, pretty tired. I heard some of y'all got home at what time? 2.

[Sabrina Merchant]

2Am Eastern time is an abomination. Just unnecessary.

[Zena Keda]

It was insane to me to look up and realize it's 11:30pm and there are women's basketball players on the floor. Yeah, like, that is crazy. And it makes sense that Gino Oriemma went off after the fact. About time. About the super regionals, all the above.

[Shantelle Jennings]

But it made sense that he went off about the super regionals. After the national semifinal game, after his.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Team had played what he considered a mistake free game, he decided to hold court yet again about something that happened five days ago. No, I'm not sure.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I think it's Pete Coriyama.

[Zena Keda]

Right? And he's. I mean, I'm saying that from a perspective of looking out for the student athlete. He's absolutely right. But yes, his team was phenomenal last night. That was the second game of the night. Let's go to the first game of the night because Dawn Staley and her Gamecocks put on a show, taking down Texas 74, 57. There were times I kept looking at the bench for Texas and I'm looking at Vic Schaefer and I'm like, stand up. Do something like poking at this team. Um, Sabrina, I'm gonna start with you. Overall, what'd you think of that matchup?

[Sabrina Merchant]

It's really hard to beat South Carolina when they make jumpers. You know, you think about that run that they had in the third quarter when they limited Texas to nine points. I think it was a three point game at halftime. But, you know, Brie hall hitting jumpers, Tina pow, pow, Hitting three to start things. I mean, Texas is not the kind of team that can score a lot of points in bunches. They need to keep things close, and then they just can out execute you. They're not going to be the kind of team that can put a flurry of points on the board. And South Carolina, although their shooting has not been to the level that it was last year during their undefeated season, if they can start hitting some threes, it's. I don't really know what you're supposed to do with that combination.

[Zena Keda]

Absolutely, Ben. The only thing I Kept thinking about last night was Ben talking about shooting threes, Texas not being able to shoot threes. And you can't put a dent in a lead if you can't shoot threes.

[Ben Pickman]

Yeah, but for me, it wasn't even their offense. It was their defense. That really was the thing that. That plagued them the most. I mean, giving up 38 points to South Carolina in the first half. You know, I don't know how Texas necessarily felt in the locker room at halftime considering they were still only down three and hadn't played a very good half. But that was the alarming statistic, the alarming number, just big picture number for me, the 38 points given up, because Texas loves to hold teams to 50 points or under 60, like that is one of their goals. And so when it was cleared, that was not going to happen. That spelled trouble, because knowing that they were not then going to match on the other end, I mean, the game had this kind of weird rhythm, right? Because Maddie Booker looked like for the first three minutes, four minutes, she was going to have just a day, like she was going to go off 3 for 3. Her jumper was real pretty. It was real smooth.

[Zena Keda]

Like in her spot in her zone.

[Ben Pickman]

You could see like, this is the best player on the floor. And then in an instant, when she picks up two fouls from 355 to, I want to say, 308, everything started to flip and the whole rhythm of the game changed from then on out. And we saw South Carolina get back in the game, take the lead, and they never really. Texas never really recovered after Booker went out early on, the whole game flipped from there on out.

[Shantelle Jennings]

That second foul, to me, felt like a freshman moment, like, for as good as we've seen Madison Booker play all season. That was one of those things where it's like, you have to be on the floor for this team to win this game and, and to advance to the national championship. Texas does not get to the national championship if Madison Booker scores 11 points and has one rebound, which was her stat line last night. And it's like she picked up that second foul, kind of jumping into a passing lane, going for a pass. And it was like, you don't make that play a few minutes into the first quarter of the game when you've already picked up one. Like, that's not, you know, and it. It just felt really uncharacteristic for, for her and, and I wonder sort of what was going on in that situation. But, like, Vic had to pull her at that point, had to sit her for, like, 10 minutes. And that's just.

[Ben Pickman]

I mean, they were all in between fouls, right? The first one was a block charge call that she sort of was trying to get set and she just didn't hit it clean. She got hit in the side. The second one, as you mentioned, was like a little bit of a hesitation. And then the third to, you know, look like a cornerback or a safety in football who wasn't sure if they should make a break on the ball. Like, do they have enough time? Do they have enough? Like, you know, they're trying to gauge the. The distance of the pass. And she made a late break and she realized too late that, like, oh, no, I'm gonna hit, you know, the South Carolina player. And she knew it right away. And you could see the reaction from her. I think they went to her dad on the broadcast. You could see his reaction, and you know that it was that kind of night for Texas, simply put.

[Zena Keda]

But the thing is, on that second foul, I feel like it is uncharacteristic of Matty Booker, but it wasn't uncharacteristic of what Texas was trying to do in that first half. You saw them overplaying the lanes and overplaying the passing lanes a lot. They were more aggressive trying to get the guards, the South Carolina guards, to catch the ball way further outside the arc than I'd ever seen this season. And so I feel as if that was the game plan from Vic Schaefer. But that absolutely, I think, was the shift for Texas. So now Texas season is over. If I'm Vic Schaer, I'm looking for shooters in the transfer portal. I mean, what's the kind of closeout for Texas now that they're leaving Tampa?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, I mean, what's the point of looking for shooters if you're not going to empower them to shoot threes?

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Like, I don't really think the problem with the Longhorns is not that they don't have people who can't make shots, it's that they just don't take shots.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Yeah, I think that's fair.

[Ben Pickman]

I mean, to me, so much of their stealing next year is just going to be about Booker again. Right. Like, if she feels more comfortable shooting, you know, from the perimeter or if her game continues to develop, like, she might be the best player in the country next year.

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[Zena Keda]

Yeah.

[Ben Pickman]

And if she is, that this team is going to be really, really, really good because they're going to play great defense whether Rory Harmon comes back or not. They're really well coached. We know that they're super talented. And Booker is, is that player like she is that good. You know, it was. It was a great historic season for Texas getting back to the Final Four. First time since 2003. Most wins ever in program history in a single season. Like, they have a lot to be proud of. They just ran into a South Carolina team that was super, super crisp on both offense and defense. They played free, they played with flow. I mean, players talked about it after, like they were happy to get out of Birmingham. That was pretty clear. They were happy to get back to the Final Four and get. Get out of Birmingham.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Yeah, well, those freshmen I think gained really valuable experience this season that are coming back. Preston Lee and Carlton, like this is a team. Like Booker will be the star of this team next year. But you have freshmen who got really good experience in minutes this year that can kind of build around her.

[Zena Keda]

And that's where I think the system will shift. Because I saw Jordan lee put up seven threes last night and play 27 minutes and they needed her. She had 16 points, led Texas and I think the system will shift. I saw a really great clip. I think it was CBS Sports that asks the players, if you could bring one player back from all NCAA history to join your team, what would it be? And it was hilarious that both Taylor Jones and Madison Booker both kept reiterating, we need shooters. So we need shooters. Who can we bring? We need shooters. So clearly Texas knows what's going on. All right, let's move it forward to UConn versus UCLA, where the two seed put a whoopin on UCLA. 85, 51. Now, I came into this game knowing that UConn would win. I came into this game knowing that in my opinion they were the better team. I did not come into this game knowing that they would win by this deficit. I mean, this was from jump a pure beat down. Chantel, what was it that UConn was did like from opening tip to be able to control this game?

[Shantelle Jennings]

I thought their defense was fantastic. I think especially early on they were aggressive and smart with the gambles that they took. They forced 14 first half turnovers and I don't know how many points they scored off those in the first half, but 19, 19 overall in the game they scored 27 points off UCLA turnovers and this isn't a super turnover prone team. They averaged 14 a season that UConn also got, I believe, nine steals. No, 13 steals. I think it was nine in the first half. And so it was just like that defense got out, set the tone, set the pace, set the intention of the game. And I think UCLA was kind of playing on its heels at that point. And you know how they decided to defend Bets. They really pushed her out, didn't let her get her passes as deep as she wanted them throughout the game. It was like you could see she was like trying to get them to throw the ball higher. And Jana L. Alfie, again, I was, you know, made the case for UCLA a few days ago that Jana L. Alfie is not good enough to guard Lauren Betts one on one. But what they decided to do and sort of pushing her out of her positions, you know, it was a smart, smart move on the Huskies part. And their defense fueled their offense. And then, you know, they got Az Fudd going early, which I think was really, really smart for UConn.

[Zena Keda]

Absolutely. Gotta give credit to Janelle Alfie because the way in the positions in which Lauren Betts was grabbing the ball lower toward the mid post forced her to have to make some moves that she's not used to making. She likes a one dribble elbow close to the basket. Get up there. She had to maneuver a little bit more with Jana Alfie on her. Things shifted a little bit. She got some buckets when I sprayed that in there, you know, but, you.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Know, she still had 26.

[Zena Keda]

She's got 26. Right. But.

[Shantelle Jennings]

But I think also UConn made sure no one else did. London Jones and Gabriela Hawke has held a zero points, no midfield goals. Like, it was an excellent team defensive performance. Like we said in the intro. I don't think I've ever heard Gino Oriyama say he has like, no, no issues. He didn't see any errors. And I was like, what? Like, is this man okay? Like, what did they do with Gino? Yeah, it was just, I think their team defense really, it was a vintage UConn performance. They won by 34 points. It's the most. It's the highest win margin ever in a regional semifinal game. And the next three highest are all UConn. So I think we can look at this team and say, like, wow, this is truly a historic group.

[Zena Keda]

There you go. And you talked about, you know, the fact that UCLA could not find a bucket outside of Lauren Betts. That was the name of the game. But also, Ben, their defense was non existent. They couldn't buy a bucket, they couldn't stop a bucket. Like what was going on.

[Ben Pickman]

I mean, in that way though, they are much like pretty much every other team. Yukon has played in this NCAA tournament that no one has seemingly sustained the Yukon run and punched back to an equal degree. Right? We saw that with Oklahoma in the second half. South Dakota State in the round of 32, like got off to a little bit of a fast start and then Yukon blitzed them. And we saw the same thing here against ucla. Like the second quarter is really when the, the Huskies started to pull away and UCLA both couldn't get stops and then they couldn't score on the other end. And that was kind of. The game was lost there, right? Like they, it was one big run, blew it open and then it was a wrap. Like it's as simple as that.

[Zena Keda]

There's something to be said about the fact that the team that had the closest margin was a juju less usc, right? Like, and I give credit to the babies at USC because without their fearless leader on the floor, they really did put up if a fight. Overall, Sabrina, I'm looking at ucla. I tell you right now, there was nothing more awkward than I think it was a third quarter timeout in which they announced WBCA Division 1 coach of the year scorey close while her team was down 23 points or so. I mean, what. Where does UCLA go from here?

[Sabrina Merchant]

The whole idea of the seating of this tournament is just so strange to me, first of all, because all of us came into this thinking, oh, UConn's the best team and they were number two seeded. None of us complained about that because UCLA was obviously the number one overall seed. So I don't know, it's just very weird to me that we're talking about these teams based on their seating, as if we don't know that UConn is the better team even though they played crappy biggie schools all year. But UCLA has the opportunity to return every single player on this team. The only senior is Angela Dugalic. She has an extra year because of a medical red shirt. So they could bring back their entire roster. They've got Lauren Betts sister coming in. They've got Charlize Ledger Walker coming off of a tournament acl. This is a absolutely stacked roster. Obviously there are no guarantees that everybody does come back or that nobody decides to go pro. You know, the portal is the portal. But you know, you look at what Chantel was saying about Madison Booker having a freshman moment with those fouls and there was a certain level of experience that you could see South Carolina exert over Texas having been in the situation before. And I think you saw the same thing with Yukon and UCLA and Ruins mentioned that a number of times, like Kiki Rice said, just, you just don't know what the stage is until you get there. And Corey Close said that she tried to seek out wisdom from a lot of other people about being in this opportunity and she didn't feel like she was her best self coaching the Bruins in this game. And, you know, no teams usually win the championship in their first Final Four. It's. I think it's Texas A and M in 2011 and Baylor in 2005, and they were playing another team that was also in its first Final Four. So it's just very hard to level up this early. And I think UCLA has done a lot of leveling up this year. You know, in terms of winning a conference title for the first time since 2006, getting to the Final Four for the first time in NCAA Tournament history. It's just a lot of firsts to have to hit all at once. So, I mean, I'm not excusing their performance because you don't get opportunities like this all the time. It's. You're not guaranteed to get back to two games away from a national championship every year unless. Unless you're UConn, obviously. But I think that there was. I don't know. I'm not. I'm not surprised by the outcome, but I do think. I don't want to just say, like, oh, UCLA is going to come back better than ever. Like, it's not. It's not guaranteed that you get to this point, that you have a healthy season, that you have everything clicking on all cylinders all the time.

[Shantelle Jennings]

You said you're not surprised by the outcome, but what about the margin?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Oh, the margin is surprising. Yeah. I, I didn't really recognize that UCLA team in the first half. I mean, they have spurts, you know, where they have difficulty entering the ball. DeLorean. Or where, you know, they give up a little too many jump shots on defense. But just the combination of everything going poorly at once, all of the mistakes they were making in terms of gameplay and execution, it's just. It's the worst game they've played all season. And just they picked a terrible, terrible time to tail.

[Ben Pickman]

How do you feel like UCLA talks so much about, like, their mind gym, like, Corey Close focuses so much on, you know, approach and player mental health and, you know, the mental aspect of the game. How do you feel like they will regroup after this game? I mean, did you get a sense of what they might do over the summer into the fall? Yeah, just how they were Thinking about it, knowing that they played their worst game at the worst possible time.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I mean, I think we have a blueprint of what's going to happen based on how they responded to the LSU loss in last year's Sweet 16.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Sabrina Merchant]

They got into the gym, they worked on their toughness, their ability to execute in special situations. And I think you saw that over the course of the season that UCLA was a very good team out of timeouts, you know, out of bounds plays, like they. They fixed all the things that they wanted to from that LSU game and they got to another level from what they were last season. I just think that there were too many steps to have to take from what they were last year to being a team that could beat UConn and contend for a national championship. And you can't just do that all in one calendar year.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Your point stands, though. Like the two teams that are playing for national championship, neither one of those coaches, neither one of those programs won the national championship in their first Final Four appearance. Like, this isn't a death sentence for UCLA at all. This is a step forward. Despite having this performance, it's a huge step forward.

[Zena Keda]

Okay. With the title game set, tipping off tomorrow at 3pm Eastern. You awake, Sabrina. South Carolina will be facing none other than UConn. So let's get into it. Of course this is going to be a rematch. And last time that UConn faced off against South Carolina, they took care of business by 29 points worth of business. They got off quick, they got off fast, and then they got out of there in a hurry. This is now an opportunity for South Carolina to get their look back, but it's looking like UConn is. They're playing like a team possessed. I mean, they are on a mission. And whether it's Paige Beckers that's stepping up, whether it's Az Fudd and her 19 halftime points yesterday against UCLA, or Sarah Strong, they seem poised to take over the helm from the reigning champions in South Carolina. First, I want to go around in the games yesterday one statistic or observation about either of these teams. You can do both or either. That really stood out to you for South Carolina and. And UConn. Chantelle, I'll start with you.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I'll start with the UConn observation, because that was the game I was courtside for. Sarah Strong is.

[Zena Keda]

Sorry.

[Shantelle Jennings]

So good. So good and just so unfazed by the moment. I mean, we're talking about being here for the first time. Like, you know, we just got done saying, you don't win national championship. The first time you're at the Final Four. Like, Sarah Strong looks like she's shooting hoops in her backyard. There's no one watching. And it's like just her in sandals, like shooting a basketball. Like, she is so comfortable, so unfazed, so ready for this moment in a way that we don't see freshmen. I think we need to at some point, not today, but have a conversation about the best freshman seasons in UConn basketball history and college basketball history. And Sarah Strong needs to be a part of that. And, you know, she's sort of the victim of being at UConn, where she happens to be on a podium with someone who won the national player of the year as a freshman and Paige Becker. So it's like you can have a historic season and still be second, third or fourth best at UConn, but that's sort of why you go to UConn. But damn, like, just to watch her play in for, in person, if you haven't had a chance to do that. It's. It's just really beautiful, beautiful basketball.

[Zena Keda]

I'm so happy that you just said Sarah Strong because I'm just going to go ahead and double down. That was going to be my observation for ucon. And my observation is we got to start talking about Sarah Strong the same way we talked about Juju Watkins. Now, don't get me wrong, Juju Watkins averaged like 27 points her freshman year, et cetera. But the whole premise around juju was she's pro ready. She's pro ready. And I'm gonna shout out our athletic colleague Richard Deitch for saying this. He said yesterday on Blue sky, if Sarah Strong was available in today's draft, I take her before I take Paige Beckers. And it started me thinking in my mind, like, Sarah Strong is pro ready. And I started looking this up. Asia Wilson averaged 13 and 6 her freshman year at South Carolina. Aaliyah Boston averaged 13 and 10. Nafeesa Collier wasn't even in that conversation. She had like six and seven maybe, right? Asia Wilson, I mean, and Brianna Stewart, 17 or so. All of them are prolific players, right? In the, in the wnba. If this is an indication of what she's doing now, 16, 10 as a, as a freshman, she's pro ready. In my opinion, she is ready for the pros. It was. That's probably the number one thing that I noticed about the game yesterday is that, you know, of course everyone talks about Az Fudd having a big game, but Sarah Strong, I'm looking across the aisle. Who on South Carolina is going to be able to guard her, to stop her and to and really take her out of the game? And I don't see anyone on that aisle. So that's my observation. I'm with you, Shinto. What about you, Ben?

[Ben Pickman]

Well, one, I just want to also give another shout out to Richard Deitch and just speaking into existence. Maybe it's a jinx or reverse jinx. I believe if UConn wins on Sunday, Richard Deitch wins the no off season bracket challenge pool. You can say it's home cooking, but it really isn't.

[Sabrina Merchant]

This was a none of us doing very well.

[Ben Pickman]

We're doing okay, I think climbing up the boards. But yeah, I believe Richard is will win.

[Sabrina Merchant]

I thought of South Carolina beat Yukon.

[Ben Pickman]

Oh, is it if South Carolina wins. Do I have that totally wrong?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, you wrote that South Carolina has to be UConn so I don't know actually which one it is.

[Shantelle Jennings]

You're wrong at one point. I didn't know when you wrote it.

[Ben Pickman]

Either way, Richard has something at stake and could win this.

[Zena Keda]

There you go.

[Ben Pickman]

I guess the stat that, that I am looking out for is too from South Carolina's perspective. That jumped out to me. Nine players played more than 15 minutes against Texas and seven players scored at least six points. And that just speaks to. They were kind of clicking on all cylinders. Don was throwing in various players and so many of them were having success. You could generate offense from any number of players. And I know in the locker room after she went around and called out pretty much the entire team just kind of acknowledging all the successes that various players had. You know, the names that normally get shouted out, the Joyce Edwards, the Tahina Powpow, Miriam Daouda. Like people couldn't say enough kind things, nice things about her in the locker room and the three pointer she took. That was one thing that I think stood out to a lot of her teammates. After the win. I mean, South Carolina very much looked like the team people have come to expect in the regular season in pretty much every game except for when they played Yukon. And you mentioned who's going to slow down Sarah Strong. I mean, I think it's going to be a combination of Joyce Edwards, it'll be Sinai Fagan. But more than anything, it's going to be committee. Right. It's going to be by committee, South Carolina way.

[Zena Keda]

And that is so right. That's why they're a juggernaut. They move by committee. Yep.

[Ben Pickman]

And we don't know necessarily who on South Carolina is going to emerge on Sunday. And I think that is a blessing and maybe a curse for them that, like, we might get a big Myelasia Full Wiley game. We might get a big Joyce Edwards game or we might not. We might get a Tahina Papaw game or a Raven Johnson game or a Fagan game like, or a Tessa Johnson game. We have no idea.

[Zena Keda]

Right.

[Ben Pickman]

A Tessa Johnson game like last year's. I think it was the national championship. Like, we have no idea how they are going to fare. It's why they are tough to game plan against. It's why they're tough to stop. They just played with so much more freedom than they did than they did in Birmingham. And the players really did speak about that after. It seems like, you know, I kept thinking about Vic Schaefer's comments in Birmingham of the Elite Eight is the hardest game to win. Well, it seems like South Carolina had internalized that too. Like, yeah, that getting out of that regional playing the way they did just allowed them to say, like, we're here. Like we're playing not with house money, because they aren't. But like there was a different energy, there was a different. There was more freedom. And I think they will feel more confident as a result heading into this rematch with UConn.

[Zena Keda]

Yeah, I feel like they survived Duke and they were like, okay, let's go have some fun now. Let's go BS again. What about you, Sabrina? What were some observations out of the two teams in their wins that stood out to you?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, credit to Chantel. She's been banging the storm all year. When UConn shoots the ball well from three, they're basically impossible to beat. Their last loss against Tennessee came when they shot 25% on three pointers and what they shot 44% against UCLA, even if it was a lower volume. I mean, they're just, they're clicking. It's very hard to get UConn out of a rhythm offensively. The last time they played South Carolina, they also did a very good job taking care of the ball. So those are just, you know, the things that stick out to me because, I don't know, UConn's offense statistically was the best in the country over the course of the regular season. And, you know, you can put your doubts into that just because the quality of opposition they played over the course of, you know, the last two months. But the way they've been able to continue to execute against good teams over the course of the tournament, I mean, it's all just bearing that out and.

[Ben Pickman]

That was something when these two teams met back in February, like there were a lot of reasons why South Carolina lost by 30 points plus points, but their inability to create live ball turnovers was one of them. Like I looked it up last night, like I think they had one steal all game long, you know, one Husky steal and, and South Carolina normally scores almost 20 points off transition. They had just four in that matchup. Again there was, you could rattle off a laundry list, a CVS receipt long like list of things that, that went wrong for the, for South Carolina in that game. But you got to believe the kind of defensive intentionality, the focus on that end. That's going to be one of the places where they start as they prepare for, for this national championship.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I think it's fascinating like for, for all of the knocks that we can put on UConn for the overall schedule that they play because they do play in the Big east. And the teams like the last four games that they've played in a row are the four hardest games that they've played all season. And that's really hard to do when you go through the Big Ten or the SEC and it's like you're doing two day turnarounds against teams that you could see in the Sweet 16. That doesn happen for UConn on a weekly basis until they get to the sweet 16 and then it's like welcome to the big Dance, let's do this. And so I think the fact that they can maintain their offensive efficiency, that is such a testament to that program and their again their consistency. I was talking to a coach who had faced them this season for an anonymous scout that we did and they said basketball is a game of runs for everyone except Yukon. UConn does what they do and it's a game of runs for everyone else. And, and they capitalize when you don't go on your run, basically. And I thought that was really telling that like you know, whether they're playing some Big east, you know, opponents who aren't going to get into the NCAA tournament, that's a conference that got two bids this year. I think the Big 12 got, or the Big 10 got 12, 14. And so you just talk about the, the level of competition that they face to be able to maintain that when they are facing teams like Oklahoma, usc, UCLA on back to back to back nights. It's really impressive.

[Sabrina Merchant]

And you talk about game of runs. I mean the reason that UConn doesn't really concede runs at this stage of the game is because all their best players are actually playing more. You know, we talked about this, that Paige Beckers and Sarah Strong average fewer than 30 minutes during the regular season. They have not been lower than 30 minutes even in some very big margins of victory. You know, both of them past 30 against UCLA, against USC, against Oklahoma. So when you keep that talent on the court for so much longer, it just accentuates all of the strengths that UConn already has.

[Ben Pickman]

And it's. And it sets up a really interesting matchup on Sunday. Sunday, when you see a South Carolina team that, you know, plays all these players less than 25 minutes per game, no one's taken more than 12 shots per game. South Carolina and Don Staley talked about it after Friday night's win. Depth is one of their advantages. They knew over 40 minutes they could wear out a player like Madison Booker because they were just going to throw bodies at her and cycle players in. We'll see if it's successful again.

[Zena Keda]

Well, I'm happy you brought up South Carolina because I feel like this is their game to win or lose. There's a lot of pressure on them. But the way that UConn is coming into this game with all of the momentum and, and the dominant win earlier this season, 87, 58, they broke their 71 game home streak. There being South Carolina's 71 game home streak, like this is South Carolina's opportunity to get revenge from that game and to get a back to back title. So now I'm looking at South Carolina, I'm looking at the fact that they play by committee. They've got this depth to them. What are some of the advantages that South Carolina should look to exploit against UConn to try and slow down this momentum that they're playing with right now?

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, I think Ben's comment about the depth is, you know, really the most important one. You just have to speed up the pace of the game so that UConn can't be so deliberate within its half court sets. Like again, we talked about this. There was just no disruption of UConn's rhythm when they were trying to run their offense. And I think South Carolina, they haven't been as disruptive defensively, I would say, this year as they have in past seasons. But they have at least the number of bodies that they can just continue to put out there to keep the level of activity high defensively. So that's the first thing that I would look for.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I think for me it's that, you know, for all of the gifts and skills that Lauren Betts has, like, you know, where she wants to work her game, it's within a few feet of the basket. And you look at the post players for South Carolina, they're more versatile, they're deeper in terms of their skill set. They're. They're more athletic than what UConn has. Like the Jan El Alfie Lauren Betts matchup. I was like, I don't know how this is going to work. But then sort of, they schemed it in a way, way that it didn't make sense for them. I'm curious how Yukon is going to scheme when you have players like Chloe Kits, Sia Fagan and Joyce Edwards who can all sort of work out of that elbow area as well. Like, they don't have to be three feet from the basket. Their game's range extends a little bit further. I think it's going to put a little more pressure on that one on one post defense or how however Yukon decides to scheme against it.

[Ben Pickman]

And I would just wonder, you know, I've talked about the turnovers and I've talked about the depths. Like, what kind of my or full wy are we getting?

[Zena Keda]

That's the X factor question.

[Ben Pickman]

She is the ultimate X factor. The epitome of an X factor of a player who on any given night can be the best player on the floor and then on another night might only play 10 minutes and like, comes away and you're like, what did they do? Or the other reaction is she plays 11 minutes because, you know, she has a bunch of turnovers or three pointers that are forced. Like, we just don't know what we're getting. It was really interesting to talk to her in the locker room afterwards because she said that she couldn't sleep. Like, she struggled sleeping in the lead up to Friday's final four game against Texas.

[Zena Keda]

Just so excited.

[Ben Pickman]

No, no, no. Not excited because of the nerves, because of the weight of the moment. The opposite, like, ready to play but, like, because everything was kind of weighing on her and Brie hall had to kind of calm her down and say that she was ready. But even still, like she talked about that she recognized she needed to slow down and play at a. Almost decelerate and play at a different speed. But she still only played like 20 some odd minutes. She had seven points. She didn't play a great game by her standards or what she could do. So what she brings, you know, it's an open question to say the least, but an important one to acknowledge.

[Shantelle Jennings]

There is truly no one on one matchup defensively for UConn, for Mylesha, I mean, there's not in the country. I don't know who you, who you put on her one on one to slow her down when she is on a roll.

[Zena Keda]

I'm thinking, I mean, I'm looking at the game yesterday. Raven Johnson is going to have some work to do against Paige Beckers. Of course, I'm assuming that's going to be her matchup. I'm definitely assuming Chloe Kitz will most likely start on a Sarah Strong, maybe Sinai Fagan, but Joyce Edwards. I'm actually very excited for the Joyce Edwards series.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Battle of the freshman.

[Zena Keda]

Yes.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Battle of the babies.

[Zena Keda]

Take the ball. Inbound it. Her guard passed it back. I think Brie hall passed it back to her. She brought it up. The court was waiting for a dribble handoff to Raven Johnson. That got blown up. She protects the ball off of like a nice little crossover, protects the ball and then turns the corner and takes it in for herself. I was like, the freshmen are freshmen. What's going on? That is a matchup. I'm looking forward to any other matchups.

[Ben Pickman]

As we close this up. And we should say on those two players, they have played each other as recently as I want to say it was last December or last November in their senior years of high school. Um, in that game, Sarah strong, she scored 15 of her team's first 17 points. She had seven three pointers. She had 31 and 17 to beat Joyce's team by six points. So there is some, some shared history there.

[Zena Keda]

There you go. Wow.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I'm fascinated to see if AC Fudd can sort of keep up this hot shooting. That was such a huge change for UConn when they played at Columbia when.

[Zena Keda]

They played eight points.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Yeah, I think she had six three pointers. Like, that was such a breakout game for her. Such a confidence building game for her. She's played well this most recent game. I wouldn't say she shot the ball extremely well. She missed nine straight shots in that game against USC and it just sort of felt like UConn kept feeding her the ball. Like, we've got to get her going, we've got to get her going because we know we need her. At some point she has to start hitting these shots and seeing them fall. So I'm curious to see what they do to AZ to try and get into her game so that she's not able to get going and sort of how UConn counteracts that to make sure she does get going because they need those three players to show up if UConn wants to win this national championship.

[Zena Keda]

Sabrina, what you looking for?

[Sabrina Merchant]

I think Fudd vs. Powpow is probably the one. Just both of them have the ability to just make shots that either really settle their team or change the momentum of how, you know, a run is going. So both of them are veterans, been in these situations before. I think the last time Fudd played a national title, though, she was deathly ill before the game against South Carolina. So this is.

[Shantelle Jennings]

It was against South Carolina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Exactly. So this is her chance to redeem herself. Whereas Pow Pow obviously had a very nice game against Iowa last year. But yeah, just two veteran guards, excellent shooters who just, you know, every time they hit a shot, it feels like it can suck the life out of a building or like breathe air into whatever their team is trying to do.

[Zena Keda]

I want this to be a movie. I want this to be an amazing game. But after what we just saw in the final four, you don't know what to expect. But what we do know is that these are two of the best, best coach teams in the country that are going to be going up against each other. I'm imagining the energy and the electricity between the fan bases because even in the first game and the second game you could tell clearly way more South Carolina fans than there were Texas and way more UConn fans than there were UCLA fans. So the energy is going to be exciting. I'm going to close this out asking you guys. We already wrote this actually on the athletics, so it's live. But final predictions for the championship.

[Ben Pickman]

Yeah, I see this one being a script reversal from the 2022 national championship. I know both coaches have said these are different teams, but if you remember that game, South Carolina jumped out to a 14 point lead. I want to say after the first quarter or early on against South Carolina or sorry, South Carolina jumped out to that early lead against Yukon and Yukon could never recover. I see this going the reverse of that. UConn getting up to a. A big lead and open, you know, double digit lead and kind of holding on from there. So I have the husky swing and all.

[Zena Keda]

You saw UConn do that last night, 2312 in the first quarter. It's like there was nothing, I mean, a UCLA could do.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Chantel, I'm also going with UConn. I think it's going to be a closer game than that. I have UConn by six. I think it'll be a lower scoring game than we saw ultimately for UConn than last night. Against UCLA just because South Carolina's defensive versatility, depth, athleticism, like, I think that's. It's just too good. And I think they'll. They'll play better. And they come into this game with a ton of motivation. Like I was at that game of UConn, South Carolina and Columbia in February. And to sort of see, you know, I think I talked about it on the pod. Tahina Powpow was not rattled. She was not pissed. She was not angry. It was like she was solidified in her mission of what her role was for the team and how she needed to steady them. So I think she comes in and she really is sort of the buoy for this team moving forward. But ultimately, it's hard to pick against UConn with how. With how Paige is playing right now, with how. And not just the points. It's everything in between. Everything in between the buckets and the rebounds and the passes. Like, there's just something else there right now.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah, I'm gonna make it a clean sweep. I think this is a bad matchup for South Carolina. Just dealing with an offense that can move the ball like this, they can shoot the ball like this. They don't see a lot of these in the sec. I mean, you saw how much success Alabama was able to have against South Carolina. That's a team that can. That their offense is like a diet version of what UConn can do. So. Yeah, I just. I think it's not. Not the team you wanted to face. If you're the Gamecocks. I would much rather have seen UCLA just having. You know, even though they had lost them earlier in the year, there are things that they can do better in that matchup. I don't think it's going to be particularly close either. So I think. I think the Huskies get their first since 2016.

[Zena Keda]

Well, I will make it a coin sweep. I do not want to bet against Dawn Staley because she is a mastermind.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Undefeated in national title games.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Correct. And Sheena's only lost one to Don Staley.

[Zena Keda]

Right. There you go. I. I don't want to bet against her, but the realization I had last night was she's not out there on the court. Yeah, the players are out there on the court. And right now, UConn's big three. I'm not betting against the way they're playing. I'm not betting against them, so. All right, guys, it sounds like the no off season classes you gone across the board. I don't know how we're gonna I don't know how the South Carolina fans are gonna do it.

[Shantelle Jennings]

Marcus Thompson picks South Carolina for our picks. Just to make in fairness, we are.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Notoriously bad at making predictions.

[Zena Keda]

I had South Carolina like I was fully South Carolina until the Elite Eight and now the Final four games. I'm like, there's a momentum that you cannot, it feels you can't stop right now that UConn has built up.

[Shantelle Jennings]

I feel like we should caveat that my original bracket had UCLA over Notre Dame in the national championship. So feel free to take my picks.

[Sabrina Merchant]

With a grain of Salt.

[Ben Pickman]

I had UConn over South Carolina.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Well, congratulations on Sunday. We said you kind of.

[Zena Keda]

All righty. All right. Well, guys, this is gonna be it for today. Thank you, Ben, Sabrina and Chantel and thank you all for listening. We'll be back in your feed on Monday morning with reactions to the big game and then back again Wednesday and then our usual Friday. And don't forget, as always, there's more to read and watch over at our partner, the Yahoo. Sports hub. So check it out at sports.yahoo.com women-sports on behalf of the Athletic, I'm Zena Caida. Thank you for listening. We'll see you next time. No Off Season is hosted by Zena Caida with Chantelle Jennings, Sabrina Merchant, and Ben Pickman. It's produced by Tanika Burrell. Our executive producers are Andrea B. Scott and Cassius Fleming. Our theme music is by Marcus Begala. Brenna Haupt is our video editor. Shannon Ryan is managing editor of women's basketball at the Athletic. Jessie Burton is our head of audio, and Tim McMaster is our director of audio operations.

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[Zena Keda]

ACAST Powers the World's Best Podcasts Here's a show that we.

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Hey folks, it's mark Marin from WTF. It's been more than 15 years now, and I'm still talking to all kinds of people in my garage every week. Sometimes it's Bill Burr, sometimes it's Ariana Grande. She just looks at me cuz she's always going like dad, it's not that big a deal.

[Sabrina Merchant]

Yeah.

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I go sorry, I. I lost my temper. I go, I still love you.

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I think about it all the time.

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