Forward Alyssa Thomas shoots during the No. 4-seed Terps’ 76-73 victory over No. 3-seed Louisville in the Elite Eight at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., on April 1, 2014.
Staff writer Paul Pierre-Louis looks at the other teams joining the Terrapins women’s basketball team in Nashville, Tenn., this weekend on the hunt for the national championship.
TEAM: Notre Dame
SEED: No. 1
RECORD: 36-0, 16-0 ACC
ROAD TO NASHVILLE: 93-42 win vs. No. 16 Robert Morris on March 22; 84-67 win vs. No. 9 Arizona State on March 24; 89-72 win vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State on March 29; 88-69 win vs. No. 2 Baylor on March 31
COMMON OPPONENTS: Clemson (71-51 win Jan. 5), Boston College (95-53 win Jan. 9 and 82-61 win Feb. 13), Virginia (79-72 win Jan. 12), Pittsburgh (109-66 win Jan. 16), Tennessee (86-70 win Jan. 20), Miami (79-52 win Jan. 23), Virginia Tech (74-48 win Jan. 30), Duke (88-67 win Feb. 2, 81-70 win Feb. 23 and 69-53 win March 9), Florida State (81-60 win Feb. 6 and 83-57 March 7), Syracuse (101-64 win Feb. 9), Georgia Tech (87-72 win Feb. 17), Wake Forest (86-61 win Feb. 20), North Carolina (100-75 win Feb. 27), NC State (84-60 win March 2 and March 8).
TERPS RECORD: 4-2; Terps lost their last meeting, 87-83, on Jan. 27, 2014 at Comcast Center
KEY PLAYERS: guard Kayla McBride (Associated Press All-American, 17.2 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game); guard Jewell Loyd (18.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game)
HISTORY: This is the Fighting Irish’s sixth Final Four appearance and fourth straight. They won the national championship in 2001.
OTHER INFO: Notre Dame will be without forward Natalie Achonwa, who tore her ACL in the Elite Eight against Baylor on Monday. She is the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 7.7 per game, and also had 14.9 points per game. During The Fighting Irish’s last game against the Terps, however, Loyd and McBride led the way, scoring 31 and 20 points, respectively. Achonwa only had seven points and thee rebounds in that game.
TEAM: Connecticut
SEED: No. 1
RECORD: 38-0, 18-0 AAC
ROAD TO NASHVILLE: 87-44 win vs. No. 16 Prairie View on March 23; 91-52 win vs. No. 9 Saint Joseph’s on March 25; 70-51 win vs. No. 12 BYU; 69-54 win vs. No. 3 Texas A&M on March 31
COMMON OPPONENTS: Ohio State (70-49 win Dec. 1), Duke (83-61 win Dec. 17), Louisville (81-64 win Feb. 9, 68-48 win March 3 and 72-52 win March 10)
TERPS RECORD: 0-3; Terps lost their last meeting, 72-55, on Nov. 15, 2013 at Comcast Center; UConn bounced the Terps from last season’s NCAA tournament in the Sweet 16.
KEY PLAYERS: forward Breanna Stewart (Associated Press All-American, 19.4 points per game, 8.1 rebounds per game); forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (13.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, .420 three-point field goal percentage); center Stephanie Dolson (12.4 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game); guard Bria Hartley (16.3 points per game, 4.4 assists per game); guard Moriah Jefferson (10.2 points per game, 4.8 assists per game)
HISTORY: This is the Huskies’ 15th Final Four appearance and seventh straight. They have eight NCAA titles and are the defending national champions.
OTHER INFO: UConn hasn’t lost since March 12, 2013, when Notre Dame defeated them, 61-59, in the Big East tournament championship game. The Huskies are the only team in the Final Four this year whose five starters each average more than 10 points. In their matchup against the Terps this season, Stewart had 26 points, while Dolson had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Mosqueda-Lewis was sidelined with a nerve contusion in her elbow that night.
TEAM: Stanford
SEED: No. 2
RECORD: 33-3, 17-1 Pac-12
ROAD TO NASHVILLE: 81-62 win vs. No. 15 South Dakota on March 22; 63-44 win vs. No. 10 Florida State on March 24; 82-57 win vs. No. 3 Penn State on March 30; 74-65 win vs. No. 4 North Carolina on April 1
COMMON OPPONENTS: Boston College (83-71 win Nov. 9), Connecticut (76-57 loss Nov. 11), Texas (63-54 win Nov. 23), Tennessee (76-70 win Dec. 21), Florida State (63-44 win March 24), North Carolina (74-65 win April 1)
TERPS RECORD: 1-1; the Terps lost their last meeting, 98-87, on March 31, 2008 in Spokane, Wash.
KEY PLAYERS: forward Chiney Ogwumike (Associated Press All-American, 26.4 points per game, 12.1 rebounds per game); guard Amber Orrange (10.1 points per game, 4.5 assists per game)
HISTORY: This is the 11th Final Four appearance for the Cardinal and its third in four seasons. It has won two national titles.
OTHER INFO: Earlier this year, Ogwumike became first player in Pac-12 history to score 900 points in a season. She has 952 points entering the Final Four. Stanford beat the Terps in the Elite Eight during the 2008 NCAA tournament. On Dec. 30, 2010, the Cardinal snapped UConn 90-game winning streak — the longest in Division I college basketball — with a 71-59 win.
[ READ MORE: The Diamondback’s Guide to the Final Four ]
