Paige Bueckers puts away USC, leads U-Conn. women back to Final Four
SPOKANE, Wash. — Connecticut freshman forward Sarah Strong had no intention of letting the Huskies' latest showdown with the USC Trojans be decided at the free throw line in the closing seconds.
Back in December, Strong missed two free throws and a deep heave in the final five seconds of a two-point loss to USC, one of just three defeats U-Conn. suffered all season. When the two powerhouses met again in the Spokane 4 Region final Monday, Strong started hot and stayed hot, scoring 10 of her 22 points in the first quarter of a 77-64 victory. U-Conn. star guard Paige Bueckers brought home the win from there, delivering another brilliant second-half flourish to finish with a game-high 31 points to go with six assists, three rebounds, four steals and two blocks.
No. 2 seed U-Conn. advanced to the Final Four for the 16th time in the past 17 NCAA women's basketball tournaments, joining No. 1 seeds UCLA, South Carolina and Texas in Tampa. Bueckers, a redshirt senior who scored a career-high 40 points in a Sweet 16 win over Oklahoma, earned the region's most outstanding player honors en route to her fourth Final Four.
When the March Madness brackets were released this month, it seemed as if the No. 1 Trojans, led by JuJu Watkins, and the No. 2 Huskies, led by Bueckers, were on a collision course for the Elite Eight. But with Watkins sidelined by a season-ending knee injury and Bueckers content to wait until the second half to search for her own offense, it was Strong who set the tone early and positioned U-Conn. for its fourth straight double-digit victory of the tournament.
The 19-year-old Strong, who was the top-ranked prospect in the high school class of 2024, is a deft outside shooter, a skilled scorer and a willing passer blessed with good size at 6-foot-2 and an excellent motor. Strong opened the scoring for U-Conn. with a three-pointer from the corner, and she unleashed a pretty spin move for a layup in traffic early in the second quarter to help the Huskies find their rhythm during a turnover-filled first half.
U-Conn. rode an 11-2 closing run to take a 39-25 halftime lead as Strong fed Bueckers for a pair of three-pointers to close out the second quarter. There was no mercy after the break: Strong, who shot 8 for 13 from the field and grabbed 17 rebounds, hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to open the third quarter, and USC never got closer than five points despite a strong push late in the third quarter.
Bueckers, 23, made sure of it. The all-American guard drew loud cheers when she swatted a three-point attempt by Talia von Oelhoffen late in the third quarter, and she found guard Azzi Fudd for a three-pointer to start the fourth. With USC on the ropes, Bueckers hit back-to-back jumpers to put U-Conn. back up by double digits, found Fudd for another three-pointer, hit another pull-up jumper and then, after falling to her knees, threaded a pass to a cutting Fudd for a layup in traffic.
The undermanned Trojans couldn't mount another response because they lacked enough sources of quality offense without Watkins, their leading scorer and top playmaker. USC senior forward Rayan Marshall posted a team-high 23 points to go with 15 rebounds, but the Trojans shot just 3 for 13 on three-pointers and finished with their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
The defeat ended a valiant and emotional run from USC, which closed out Mississippi State following Watkins's injury in the round of 32 and held off No. 5 seed Kansas State in the Sweet 16. The Trojans will head into an uncertain offseason: Standout forward Kiki Iriafen will be headed to the WNBA Draft, and Watkins will miss a significant portion of the 2025-26 season at minimum. However, USC boasts several talented underclassmen, including Kennedy Smith, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel, to bridge the gap until Watkins's return.
U-Conn (35-3), meanwhile, will face the UCLA Bruins (34-2), the tournament's overall top seed, in a national semifinal Friday. The Huskies are seeking Coach Geno Auriemma's 12th national championship and the program's first since 2016. U-Conn. was eliminated in last year's Final Four by Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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