SAN ANTONIO (AP) — DiJonai Carrington first got hit on her elbow, then again in the face before falling hard to the floor with Baylor down by one with one second to go in the River Walk final against top-seeded UConn.
The Lady Bears wanted a foul called, but UConn felt the no-call was the right decision.
Carrington’s shot came up well short after the contact with two defenders. But no free throws were forthcoming since no foul was called against the Huskies who advanced to their 13th consecutive women’s NCAA Final Four with a 69-67 win.
“I personally don’t see it as a controversial call,” Carrington said, when asked about the non-call. “I’ve seen the replay, and one girl fouled me in my face and one girl fouled me in my arm. So, at that point you can’t do anything else.”
It was a very physical game with 30 combined fouls called and many more not called, including the one at the end.
UConn (28-1) added a free throw in the final second after No. 2 seed Baylor (28-3), the champion in the last NCAA Tournament played two years ago, committed a foul.
Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey said afterward that she had still shots and video from two different angles showing the multiple fouls against Carrington, who was defended by Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
When asked for an explanation from the referees, the NCAA said the question was outside of the scope of what the officials talk about. While the refs weren’t talking others were.
Even NBA superstar LeBron James agreed with Carrington and Mulkey.
“Cmon man!!! That was a FOUL!!,” James tweeted, following that up with another post about what a great game it was.
Former Connecticut All-American Swin Cash agreed with James that her former squad got away with one tweeting
“I love my Huskies but yeah they missed that foul…. whew child,” she said.
The lack of a whistle on the play was what everyone wanted to talk about. Though there was no explanation from the refs.
Carrington also went on Twitter to more express her frustration, with a post that read, “You can’t swallow your whistle when the game is on the line.” She added the emoji of a shrugging woman.
After Carrington made two free throws with 19 seconds left to get Baylor within 68-67, Christyn Williams missed two free throws for UConn before the Lady Bears called timeout. They set up a final play with two options, the first being All-American forward NaLyssa Smith and then Carrington, who finished with 22 points.
