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BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — By the time the first overtime tipped off Monday night in the Bridgeport Regional final of the 2022 women’s NCAA tournament, the game was already an instant classic.
Never mind that the No. 1 seed NC State Wolfpack and second-seeded UConn would play 10 more minutes before the Huskies sealed a trip to the Final Four with a 91-87 double-overtime victory.
The two teams had battled all night, UConn seeking its 14th consecutive trip to the national semifinals, NC State chasing its first Final Four since 1998.
It all added up to one spectacular game: Two overtimes. Twenty-six lead changes. Eighteen ties. The crowd at Total Mortgage Arena roaring all night as the teams traded baskets.
The details made this the game of the women’s NCAA tournament so far. Even as upsets dominated the first two rounds and two 10-seeds made it to the Sweet 16, this was the game that captured the epitome of March Madness: Two heavyweights battling for the opportunity to make it to Minneapolis and compete for a national championship.
This was a game where UConn was a four-point favorite over the region’s top seed largely because this game was in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a stone’s throw from the UConn campus in Storrs. Vivid Seats’ Fan Forecast estimated that 84% of the crowd was cheering for UConn, and each time the crowd cheered following a key basket or a forced turnover, the noise felt like it exploded in your chest.
But this was also a game where no matter whose side you were on, you could feel your heart beat in your ears and a lump rested right at the top of your throat. Because there were stakes. UConn hadn’t missed a Final Four since 2009, and NC State hadn’t been in 24 years. The Wolfpack had been eliminated in three consecutive Sweet 16s. Even as upbeat music pumped through the speakers, the crowd barely clapped along. Because who could clap in rhythm…
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Source : espn
