There is no question that Baylor Lady Bears center Brittney Griner was the Most Outstanding Player in the 2012 NCAA women's Final Four. Although a closer look at her statistics certainly illustrates that, it was the things that are harder to quantify - or at least attribute to one individual - that truly illustrate Griner's dominance.
"Well, you know at Baylor, they used to not let the Baptists dance," Baylor Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said after their win in the 2012 NCAA women's basketball national championship game. "I bet they're dancing now!"
In tonight's 80-61 loss to Baylor, Notre Dame wasn't able to close the rebounding differential after halftime, at least in part due to forward Devereaux Peters' foul trouble.
The Baylor Lady Bears completed their season of dominance by defeating Notre Dame 80-61 in the 2012 NCAA women's national championship game to finish the season with a 40-0 record.
It might be hard to learn much from that beyond what many already think: Baylor is the favorite to win. But a few things immediately jump out as worth watching.
It's sometimes hard to appreciate what the game plan of a losing team, but the Stanford Cardinal should be applauded for their game plan on both sides of the court against the Baylor Lady Bears on Sunday in the Final Four. Nevertheless, Baylor's guards responded to lead them to the win.
Although it didn't really show up on the scoreboard, Notre Dame really struggled to establish any sort of rhythm in their normally-fluid offense in the first half against UConn in the Final Four. But with the ball in Brittany Mallory's hands toward the end of the first half, the Fighting Irish seemed to calm down a bit.
"My whole team was telling me to keep shooting, they're going to fall, they're going to fall," Notre Dame's Brittany Mallory said. And in overtime against rival Connecticut, Mallory's two 3's were icing on the cake to help the Irish advance to the 2012 NCAA women's national championship game.
Stanford's Nnake Ogwumike made a statement that resonated with the fans after Sunday's Final Four loss to the Baylor Lady Bears. A statement that showcased why this team, while it might not be the 'best' in Cardinal history, has a place as the 'favorite'.
To the Stanford Cardinal's credit, they played relatively outstanding defense for most of tonight's game against the Baylor Lady Bears. The problem was on the other end - after a strong start and heading into halftime only down 2 points, Stanford's offense went stagnant in the second half and Baylor slowly expanded their lead to win a low scoring 59-47 game.
It's hard to even fully account for what happened at the end of regulation, but a wild sequence ended with Notre Dame hitting a big shot and UConn senior Tiffany Hayes passing the ball as time expired. In overtime, UConn just looked deflated while Notre Dame continued to execute. But it was UConn's inability to control the ball under 5 minutes in the regulation that made the difference in the game.
The Baylor Lady Bears are the favorites to win the 2012 NCAA women's basketball championship for good reason, but if anyone could design a game plan to disrupt their quest for 40 wins it's Stanford Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer.
Although Notre Dame won two of their three meetings this season, a more confident Connecticut team won the last one to take the 2012 Big East Tournament championship. And put simply, there hasn't really been one major statistical category that has determined winning and losing in the first three games these teams have played.
While Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Devereaux Peters is one of the nation's top rebounders, players like Kayla McBride have been the ones to step up on the boards against UConn.
Despite the program's expectations, Auriemma's expectations for this team varied throughout the season, from believing the team had a chance early in the season to the end of January and February when he was unconvinced. Auriemma said it was not until the Big East Tournament that he thought UConn had a shot at the championship.
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer hasn't been under any illusions about the need for someone to step up in order for the Cardinal to win games this season. And as described on Wednesday, both Amber Orrange and Joslyn Tinkle have picked up their games since that point and both will need to play well in order for Stanford to beat the Baylor Lady Bears in the Final Four.
Although Brittney Griner is unquestionably the Baylor Lady Bears' MVP, Brooklyn Pope and Destiny Williams' work on the offensive boards could be a key part of their success in the Final Four.
Baylor Lady Bears center Brittney Griner is obviously a prolific shot blocker, but her impact on the game can be quantified in other ways as well.
Tonight's 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament schedule features Elite Eight matchups in the Kingston and Raleigh Regions. Can the Connecticut Huskies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish make the Final Four a sweep of No. 1 seeds?
The Baylor Lady Bears defeated the Tennessee Lady Vols 77-58 in the Des Moines Regional of the 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament to advance to the Final Four. While there's plenty to be said about the game, obviously people are talking about the standoff at the end of the game, which has already been described by Kris Willis at SB Nation Dallas.
The left side of the 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament Final Four will be filled in tonight, as Baylor squares off with Tennessee and Stanford faces Duke in the Elite Eight.
The Raleigh Regional matchup saw the Notre Dame Irish post a convincing 79-35 victory over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. To compete, the Bonnies had to establish a strong start on the offensive end. They didn't.
Laurin Mincy and Alyssa Thomas have drawn praise for scoring 21 points apiece to lead the Maryland Terrapins to an 81-74 win over the Texas A&M Aggies, but freshman point guard Brene Moseley played a vital role as well that can't be overlooked.
The Kingston and Raleigh brackets of the 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament will be paired down to four teams after today's Sweet Sixteen action.
One of the more intriguing potential Elite 8 matchups when looking ahead in the tournament was the Maryland Terrapins - Notre Dame Fighting Irish pairing that could occur in the Raleigh Bracket. However, the Terrapins will have to make it past the tough defense of the Texas A&M Aggies before that happens and it could be a tough pairing for the ACC Tournament champions.
When the 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament brackets were first released, it looked to some like the Kingston bracket was the "UConn Invitational". However, with the way a team like Penn State is playing, it's not a given that they'll advance to the Elite Eight.
