The No. 2 seed UConn Huskies, led by superstars Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong— who combined for 53 points— defeated the No. 1 seed JuJu Watkins-less USC Trojans to advance to an NCAA-best 24th women’s Final Four.
The UConn Huskies, who have almost made a second residence in the Final Four, have now reached the national semifinals in 16 of the last 17 NCAA Tournaments.
UConn Reaches NCAA-Best 24th Women’s Final Four
Legendary UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma has now clinched his 24th Final Four appearance, as well, which is also the most in women’s NCAA history.
Despite being without superstar JuJu Watkins, who exited the Trojans’ Second Round game with an ACL injury, USC threw the first punch. USC got out to a 10-0 run early, fueled by bigs Rayah Marshall and Kiki Iriafen.
Still, UConn didn’t bow down. They went on a 9-0 run themselves behind the excellent play of freshman Sarah Strong in the first quarter. She scored 10 points on 100% shooting from the floor in the first quarter.
Throughout the game, Strong displayed what makes her one of the great freshmen in UConn history. She ended the game with 22 points and 17 rebounds, which put her over 600 points for the season, which only Maya Moore has done in a freshman season for the Huskies.
This was also the second 20-point-10-rebound game she posted in this tournament. Again, only Maya Moore has done this in UConn history.
Strong also was big on the defensive end. USC’s Iriafen started the game shooting 3-4. After that point, she was 0 of her last 11, mainly due to Strong’s defensive prowess.
Throughout the game, the Huskies’ role players had to step up, and they did so. Kaitlyn Chen scored 15 points at significant moments. At the end of the second half, she had a possession stretch where she could score five points and calm things down for the Huskies, and she did so with two minutes left in the game.
Sarah Strong started this game for the Huskies, but Paige Bueckers was the middle and ending to this Elite 8 story. Bueckers only totaled two points in the first quarter, but that did not slow her down in the game. Miss Buckets went on a flurry at the end of the half with back-to-back threes, giving her 11 in the first half.
In the second half, the senior superstar did not stop there. She was getting to her spots and delivered every time UConn needed a bucket. The First-Team All-American ended the game with 31 points.
This is the 3rd straight 30-point game for Paige Bueckers, the second time in Husky history that this has happened. The first time this happened was during her freshman year by Paige Bueckers. Over the last three games, she has totaled 105 points—more than any other UConn player in their history.
Even though Bueckers is running through UConn Husky records left and right, she still manages to put the team over herself.
When Holly Rowe spoke with the senior after the game, she said, “It’s a team win. We have just come together throughout everything, throughout the injuries, throughout the adversity. We have remained a team and remained connected.”
Scott Van Pelt had a postgame interview with UConn coach Geno Auriemma where he asked Auriemma about Bueckers. Auriemma had glowing words for Bueckers, saying, “She just has a flair for the moment. No matter what happens, she knows who she is. She knows she is built for this and doesn’t shy away from that.”
The Huskies now fly to Tampa to play against the UCLA Bruins, the top overall seed led by star center Lauren Betts.
Bueckers aims to return to her second championship game appearance in her collegiate career. The Final Four showdown tips off Friday, April 4, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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