April 7, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: How UConn won it all
By The Next
Baker: 'They just overwhelm their opponents'
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Howard Megdal talks with The Next’s BIG EAST beat writer Tee Baker about the UConn Huskies’ dominating defeat over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s championship game. Megdal is also joined by other writers from The Next to discuss details of the game and other items of note.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?
Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.
Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.
Megdal opens the show by asking Baker what they thought was the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s game, as well as Friday’s Final Four game, where UConn also crushed its opponent. “I mean, it’s just a dominant performance this weekend,” Baker says. “There’s just so many different weapons, so many different options, so many different lineups, and they just overwhelm their opponents.”
Later on, Megdal asks The Next’s Rob Knox about the vibe in the South Carolina locker room after the game. “The locker room was subdued,” Knox says. “Obviously, not that much chatter in the locker room. … The players were what you expect, composed, mature, and very respectful.”
Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his latest book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.
To close out the show, Megdal talks to The Next’s Bella Munson about some positive takeaways South Carolina can hold onto from their journey through the 2025 NCAA Tournament. “There was a lot of gratitude among the seniors,” Munson said, describing the post-game press conference. “What they’ve been able to experience is something that most college basketball players will never experience.”
Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!
The Next, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom
The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
