The New York Liberty scored two points in the final minute of regulation in the WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx. Breanna Stewart collected both from the free-throw line with nearly five seconds left, sending the winner-take-all Game Five to overtime.
Energy levels inside the Barclays Center, the Liberty’s home since 2021, rose with each defensive stand the team made during the extra period. They peaked in the final 10 seconds.
Leonie Fiebich, a rookie who gave New York a lead they never relinquished just seven seconds into overtime, intercepted Bridget Carleton’s inbounds pass. She tossed the ball over to Stewart, who dribbled out the clock as the Liberty captured their first-ever WNBA championship.
Road teams visiting the Barclays Center faced the same intimidating atmosphere that college basketball programs do when playing at Gampel Pavilion. New York went 16-4 at the 19,000-seat arena in the regular season and 6-1 during their championship run. Only the Lynx beat the Liberty more than once in New York City, doing so once at UBS Arena and twice in Brooklyn.
The UConn women’s basketball team will experience that Barclays Center environment during the inaugural Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic on December 7.
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UConn joins a four-team field featuring the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, Iowa Hawkeyes and Louisville Cardinals. Only the Huskies will remain a constant in the landmark event, a significant variation from the men’s State Farm Champions Classic.
Bringing in three new teams annually, preferably in blocks, will give fans an opportunity to see several championship-caliber programs. One could feature the reigning national champion South Carolina Gamecocks and the Stanford Cardinal. Another might include the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Baylor Bears.
Mid-major programs like the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters and Old Dominion Monarchs, both national champions during the 1980s, could return to the primetime spotlight. Other teams hungry for their first title, such as the NC State Wolfpack and Indiana Hoosiers, might join the fray.
If planned accordingly and strategically, the event can regularly highlight some of the sport's premiere programs. The possibilities are endless.
But the Women’s Champions Classic will be much more than just another major non-conference showcase. It is a stepping block in the dynamic growth of women’s basketball that has occurred over the past 10 years. Having two contests that could set viewership records in Brooklyn, home of the reigning WNBA champions, will be huge for the sport’s popularity.
40th-year head coach Geno Auriemma sure feels that way.
“Any time we get a chance to play in an event where there is a lot of other good teams, … we feel like we can elevate the game,” college basketball’s second-winningest coach said at Big East Media Day. “I know that the building has the potential to be that kind of spectacle [like the WNBA Finals].”
Perhaps the Barclays Center can make the Women’s Champions Classic stand out from other showcases that take place in December. It will almost definitely be a notable change from other marquee nonconference events Connecticut has been a part of.
The Huskies finished runner-up to eventual national champion South Carolina in the inaugural women’s Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in 2021. Azzi Fudd guided UConn to two victories, including one over Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes, and a championship in the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy Tournament. Azura Stevens scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Huskies in the inaugural PK-80 Phil Knight Invitational five years earlier.
Back in 2014, Stewart and Kia Nurse led Connecticut to a tournament crown in the second-ever Gulf Coast Showcase. The Huskies’ multiple-team event list continues well beyond the past 10 seasons.
Most of those contests resulted in UConn emerging victorious. In an age of parity, however, the showcases the Huskies participate in going forward could turn into instant classics.
Connecticut’s clash with Louisville in the 9 p.m. game could be as spectacular as both of their national championship game tilts. Forwards Nyla Harris and Olivia Cochran both averaged 6.6 rebounds and combined for 11 double-doubles. Senior guards Jayda Curry and Ja’Leah Williams should both help fill the Kiki Jefferson-sized hole in the Cardinals’ starting lineup.
ESPN HoopGurlz’s No. 19 prospect Imari Berry headlines Louisville’s star-studded freshman class. Berry earned McDonald’s All-American honors and won Tennessee Ms. Basketball during her senior year at Clarksville High School. Four-star players Mackenly Randolph and Tajianna Avant-Roberts should each provide an immediate impact for the Cardinals.
Louisville’s non-conference slate features duels with the UCLA Bruins in France and Kenny Brooks’ Kentucky Wildcats at Rupp Arena. Should the Cardinals win both of those battles, the Huskies could be involved in another top-10 matchup.
Iowa and Tennessee precede that game with their first meeting since the 1993 Final Four. Even without Clark or former head coach Lisa Bluder, the Hawkeyes should remain a Big Ten powerhouse known for its high-flying offense. As for the Lady Volunteers, this revenge match is the highlight of their nonconference schedule.
Excitement and anticipation for the showcase have slowly started rising, both for the coaches and the players involved.
Preseason All-Big East Team selection Ashlynn Shade viewed playing in the Women’s Championship Classic as “a cool opportunity” at Big East Media Day. She highlighted that specific contest at the Barclays Center as “one of the most exciting [games] to look forward to.” Fudd shared the same sentiment.
“You see the energy that Barclays can have,” the Preseason All-Big East Team guard commented last Wednesday. “Just getting to play there and be one of the first teams to be a part of that [Champions] Classic is going to be really special.”
Beyond Brooklyn, UConn has critical road games against the Fighting Irish, the Lady Volunteers and the Gamecocks. Fans should not take the Huskies' Women's Champions Classic contest for granted, however. Connecticut’s bout with Louisville has the potential to be their prominent neutral-site test of the regular season.
Regardless of how the showcase itself goes, December 7 should be an entertaining and historic night for women’s basketball and women’s sports in general.
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