UConn’s 63-42 Sweet 16 win over North Carolina was anything but routine. The Huskies were outscored 13-12 in the first quarter and shot just 23%, struggling to find any rhythm early. Even as they pulled away, their 40% shooting from the field marked their second-worst performance of the season and their lowest scoring output. Head coach Geno Auriemma didn’t hold back afterward, pointing to an unusual factor behind the shooting struggles.

“So you got two pretty good teams that are pretty decent three-point shooters, shooting eight for 42. You wonder how that happens,” Auriemma started. The numbers backed up his frustration. North Carolina, a 35.7% three-point shooting team, went just 4-for-22 (18%). UConn, which shoots nearly 40% from deep and had just hit 50% against Syracuse in the previous round, also struggled to convert from outside.

“You ever noticed when you come to the regionals, they use brand new baskets? These rims have never touched the basketball until now. It’s hard. You can’t get a ball to go boom boom in. Once that ball hits the rim, it’s gone out of bounds. It’s the weirdest thing.”

Azzi Fudd and Blanca Quiñonez were an exception. They each shot 2 for 3 from long range, but Fudd struggled trying to make the mid-range shots that seem so effortless for her most of the time. She finished 4-for-12 from the field, and her three attempts from deep were among her lowest this season. It looked like Fudd adjusted quickly, recognizing the tighter rims, later admitting she was “bothered by that.”

“I completely agree that when you are in the tournament, everything is brand new,” Fudd said. “The court is brand new. It is super sticky. The balls are hard and super bouncy. The rims are super tight. That is all hard to get used to. I thought we shot well (Thursday at practice), but we didn’t have shootaround here today.”

The struggles weren’t isolated to one game either. Several strong shooting teams went cold during the round. Notre Dame shot 1-for-17, while Vanderbilt managed just 5-for-18. UCLA and Duke also had off nights from deep, suggesting something more than coincidence may have been at play.

“It’s hard. It’s hard to make shots in the postseason,” Auriemma further said. “They just break out these new baskets, new rims, and then it gets in the kids’ heads. You look at how many shots were missed today and you just shake your head.”

There is no clarification from the NCAA as to why they do this during the regional semifinals. It could be to standardize the equipment on all sides as they are playing at neutral venues. But those rims can feel different in tension and bounce compared to what teams use all season, forcing players to adjust on the fly, something that’s not easy after 30+ games of muscle memory. 

And once shots start popping out, players lose confidence, a tough mental hurdle at the biggest moment of the season. But fortunately for Geno Auriemma and UConn, the individual brilliance of Sarah Strong pushed them over in this game. 

Geno Auriemma Has High Praise For Sarah Strong after a 21-point game

After a slow start in the first quarter, Sarah Strong took over in the second. She made four consecutive field goals in a two-minute span and took back the lead. That was a crucial point in the game, as it gave momentum to UConn, which carried it till the end. Strong finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks to give them the win. 

“She just plays the way she plays, and you have to really work hard at it to get her to do that. When she does it, it makes it look so easy. It’s effortless,” Geno Auriemma said. “One time North Carolina went into a zone, and we ran this little cut, and she caught it right around the foul line, just turned around, knocked it in, and she had this big smile on her face like this is easy,’ and it’s not.”

That’s what separates this UConn team. Even on an off shooting night, they find answers. Strong’s 21 points alone outscored the rest of the starters combined, while Quiñonez provided a huge lift off the bench. And even without their usual scoring punch, players like Azzi Fudd impacted the game on the defensive end and in other roles. That kind of balance makes UConn a tough team to knock out.