All the pressure on Huskies

Albany

That the University of Connecticut isn't the reigning NCAA Women's Basketball champion doesn't matter. The Huskies remain the target of all.

So when UConn takes the Times Union Center floor Monday night against South Carolina in the Albany Regional final, the burden lies not with the team that wears the crown, but the 11-time national champion.

"There's pressure both ways, but for us, if we come short of it, it's a disappointing season," UConn senior Gabby Williams said Sunday. "That just goes with the 30 years of history that this program has that we've built up."

The Huskies (35-0) have made NCAA runs so regularly that many of their large fan base budget trips to the Final Four. UConn has made it the past 10 seasons, six of those resulting in titles.

UConn failed to complete the mission last year, when Mississippi State stunned the Huskies in the semifinals before losing to South Carolina for the title.

The last time Connecticut went back-to-back years without winning it all was 2011 and 2012.

"Two years without winning a national championship, I'll probably have to move from my house," said Geno Auriemma, in his 33rd year of coaching UConn. "Too many people know where I live, and we'll be like 70-2 (over two seasons), and somebody will be out to get me.

"First of all, if we don't win (Monday) night, there's not even any going back to Connecticut. The expectation level is so high, but we created it, so I'm far from complaining. I'd rather have that than where nobody cares."

Most factors point in UConn's favor. The Huskies are 6-0 all-time against the Gamecocks (29-6), including an 83-58 victory Feb. 1 in Columbia, S.C. All of the meetings have taken place in the past 12 years, and the average victory margin is 27 points.

Williams, one of two seniors on the UConn roster (with Kia Nurse), had a bulk of the defensive responsibility last month against A'ja Wilson, the favorite to win national Player of the Year. Wilson was held to 4-for-18 shooting and had 14 points, 8.5 shy of her season average.

"We just tried to play team defense," Huskies junior forward Napheesa Collier said. "Gabby actually guarded her for a lot of the game, but we were trying to limit their post touches and limit how many shots they get."

"It is what it is," said Wilson, who at 6-foot-5 has a six-inch height advantage on Williams. "It's not something like, oh, I can't wait, but at the same time I'm not going to overlook Gabby. She's a great player and great defender and very athletic."

There is no Wilson or likely any Player of the Year candidate on UConn — a case could be made for junior Katie Lou Samuelson, who at 6-3 leads the team in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage — but the Huskies can get scoring, rebounding and assists from any of their starters.

Samuelson leads in scoring at 17.5 despite playing just 29 minutes a game. UConn has six players averaging more than nine points a game, including Azura Stevens (14.9), whose imposing 6-6 frame comes off the bench.

"We do have somewhat of a balanced team," Auriemma said, "and we have players that are capable of carrying us for stretches. I don't think that we have anyone that is going to be asked to do it the whole game and carry a bigger load than anybody else."

The winner will play Friday night in the national semifinals at Columbus, Ohio, against either Notre Dame or Oregon. Those teams meet Monday night in the Spokane Regional final.

"There's no games you ever play at Connecticut where the pressure is not on you," Auriemma said. "Those players that sit up here and go, 'There's no pressure on us, we have nothing to lose,' yeah, you do. You're going to lose the game if you talk like that."

pdougherty@timesunion.com • 518-454-5416 • @Pete_Dougherty