UConn earned a record 24th trip to the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-64 win over USC on Monday night.
USC stuck around through most of the first half, until Paige Bueckers erupted in the final minute of the second quarter, knocking down consecutive 3-point shots to give UConn a double-digit advantage.
The Huskies cruised for the most part from that point on. Bueckers ended with 31 points, shooting 9-of-18 from the field, and hit four 3-point shots. Sarah Strong had a career-high 17 rebounds and added 22 points. Her ability to outplay USC post player Kiki Iriafen created an advantage for the Huskies that the Trojans could not overcome.
Iriafen finished with 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. While she struggled, fellow USC post Rayah Marshall led the Trojans with a career-high 23 points and added 15 rebounds.
UConn will return to the Final Four for the fourth time in five years and will face No. 1 UCLA on Friday in Tampa Bay.
Fans undoubtedly anticipated a rematch between Bueckers and JuJu Watkins when the brackets were announced, but the matchup lost some luster when the Trojans’ star guard tore an ACL in the second round and needed surgery.
While the Trojans got past Kansas State in the Sweet 16 without Watkins, they had a tougher challenge against UConn and Bueckers, the likely No. 1 overall pick in next month’s WNBA draft.
UConn led by 19 points in the third quarter, but USC got within 51-46 going into the fourth. Bueckers and Azzi Fudd made consecutive 3-pointers that extended the Huskies’ lead to 62-48.
Avery Howell’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 70-61 with 1:04 left, but the Trojans got no closer.
USC was seeking its first Final Four appearance since 1986 and first title since going back-to-back in 1983 and ’84.
Texas beats TCU to move on to first Final Four since 2003
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