UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen sparked two Husky runs during Monday’s Elite Eight win over the USC Trojans. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
The No. 2 UConn Huskies punched their ticket to the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Basketball tournament by defeating the No. 1 seed USC Trojans 78-64 at Spokane Arena on Monday.
A lower seed upsetting the top seed would normally be considered a major upset, but considering that USC is playing without star guard Juju Watkins, who was declared “out” for the tournament after tearing an ACL during the Round 2 game against Mississippi State, a UConn win did not come as much of a surprise.
What was missing from Monday’s action was the third iteration of the Juju Watkins – Paige Bueckers match up, which was what most fans were waiting for when the brackets were announced, which pitted both teams in the Spokane 4 Region.
That’s not to say that the Trojans fell apart. After UConn took the early 5-1 lead, the Trojans went on a 10-0 first quarter run as forwards Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall got hot hands. USC led 11-5 with 4:14 left in the opening quarter.
However, forward UConn forward Sarah Strong and Bueckers went a 9-0 run of their own to take the 14-11 lead at the quarter break. Strong scored 10 of the team’s points in the quarter.
A Marshall layup cut the USC deficit to one point when the second quarter began, but Strong led the Huskies on their next run. Strong hit a three pointer and made a layup, plus guard KK Arnold made a jump shot, to extend the Huskies lead to 21-13 with 7:37 left in the half.
Marshall made a layup and two free throws after getting fouled by Bueckers, but the UConn guard made a three-point play just as it looked like the Trojans could narrow the gap. The teams traded baskets, and free throws, when Marshall’s layup made it 28-23 in favor of the Huskies with 2:41 remaining until halftime.
UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen was the next Husky player to step up and put the team on her back. She scored on back-to-back layups, and converted a free throw on the second one after getting fouled by USC guard Avery Howell. This sparked Bueckers, who made two three-pointers in the closing minute. Trojan guard Kennedy Smith made the only field goal in the last couple minutes, a jump shot over Bueckers outstretched arms. UConn finished the quarter on an 11-2 run and led 39-25 at the halftime break.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers shoots over USC guard Talia von Oelhoffen during Monday’s Elite Eight game at Spokane Arena. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
When play resumed, Strong made another three-pointer and Bueckers made two free throws after getting fouled by Smith. The Huskies now led by 19 points, 44-25, with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter and there was a lot of basketball left to be played.
USC guard Talia von Oelhoffen provided the spark for the Trojans much like Chen did for UConn a quarter earlier. von Oelhoffen made two free throws after getting fouled by Huskies guard Azzi Fudd, and then made a three-pointer. Bueckers responded with a three-pointer of her own. von Oelhoffen drove for a layup and made a free throw after getting fouled by UConn guard Ashlynn Shade. Bueckers responded with a jump shot. USC guard Kayleigh Heckel made a basket, and Strong responded with a layup. UConn still led 51-35 with 4:39 left in the quarter.
The Trojans clamped down on defense and forced the Huskies into missing tough shots and turning the ball over. Meanwhile, Smith made a layup. Heckel made one of two free throws after getting fouled by Arnold. Marshall made a shot. Iriafen converted two free throws after UConn forward Ice Brady fouled her. Marshall made two free throws. von Oelhoffen tossed up an off-balance shot from the free throw line which beat the buzzer for the score. USC finished the quarter on an 11-0 run and cut the deficit to five points. UConn led 51-46 with one quarter to go.
The Huskies relied on Fudd to recover from their scoring drought. The UConn guard missed nine consecutive shots in the first three quarters, but connected on her tenth shot, a three-pointer, to open the fourth quarter scoring. Marshall went to the line and converted two free throws for USC. Then Bueckers made a jump shot followed by a three-pointer. Fudd made her second three-pointer of the quarter and the Huskies jumped out to a 62-48 advantage with 6:54 left in the game.
Azzi fouled Howell on the close out during a three-point shot attempt. The shot missed so Howell went to the line and converted the three free shots. Bueckers and Fudd each made baskets to nullify the Howell effort.
Trojan forward Rayah Marshall led USC with 23 points and 15 rebounds during Monday’s Elite Eight game at Spokane Arena. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
Marshall made two consecutive trips to the free throw line, making three of four shots, and then connected on a bank shot over the outstretched arms of Strong. The USC deficit was cut to 10 points. UConn led 66-56 with 2:30 left in the game.
Again, Chen tried becoming the spark for the UConn offense. She made a layup and converted a free throw after getting fouled by Howell. Iriafen made two free throws after getting fouled by Bueckers. Chen made a layup. Howell answered with a three-pointer. Chen went back to the line and made two more free throws after getting fouled by von Oelhoffen.
The Trojans were still in the game but were running out of time. Then Iriafen made a costly mistake. She dropped an inbounds pass, which went out of bounds for a turnover. The officials reviewed the play and upheld their on-court call. The clock was reset to 48.4 seconds, but it was now UConn ball with an 11-point lead.
Marshall fouled Bueckers, who made two free throws. Howell made another three-pointer with 29 seconds remaining to pull the deficit back to 10 points. Marshall fouled Bueckers again, who made the free throws to push the lead back up to a dozen. Iriafen fouled Strong, who made two free throws for the game’s final score. UConn won 78-64.
UConn went 27-for-60 (45.00 percent) from the field; 10-for-22 (45.45 percent) from three-point range; and 14-for-17 (82.35 percent) from the free throw line.
USC guard Avery Howell launches one of her two made three pointers during Monday’s Elite Eight game against UConn at Spokane Arena. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
“Obviously these games are really, really, really hard. There was just so much going on in the game that both teams, I think, had to struggle through. And as we said, there’s a way that you win these games and, generally speaking, they are on the backs of one or two particular players that are going to put the team on their backs and get us to the next level, to get us to the Final Four, and obviously Sarah [Strong] and Paige [Bueckers] both did that tonight in their own way, and you couldn’t ask any more of them. They both played 40 minutes and they both played their hearts out,” said Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma.
“But like anything else, somebody else has to step up, and I thought Kaitlyn [Chen] was fantastic tonight. Probably more than anything, I’m really proud of her because she left college, took a chance, I want to go to the Final Four, I want to try to play for a National Championship, and I’m glad that we’re able to provide the opportunity for her.So these three guys deserve all the credit that you want to give them and obviously we would be going home without the three of them,” Auriemma added.
USC was 19-for-58 (32.76 percent) from the field; 3-for-13 (23.08 percent) from three-point range and 23-for-26 (88.46 percent) from the charity stripe.
“I thought it took a lot for us internally to get to the point where we were legitimately a national championship contender, a real top-five team all year long. We lost a tough game to Notre Dame and we looked inwardly, and I just couldn’t be more proud of our group,” said Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
UConn forward Sarah Strong shoots over USC forward Kiki Iriafen during Monday’s Elite Eight game at Spokane Arena. Strong became only the second UConn freshman to made 600 points in a season. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
“We lost a National Player of the Year, probable, one week ago today and we’ve won two NCAA tournament games, second and Sweet 16 rounds, because they really became a team. And I was just very proud of the way that we competed tonight. I think you saw the heart and character of our team on display, and I’m disappointed for them that we don’t get to go to Tampa and get two more games, but I’m not sad with the way this group represented themselves and I think our senior class is really, really special,” Gottlieb added.
The Huskies were led by Paige Bueckers 31 points and six assists. Sarah Strong scored 22 points and pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds. Kaitlyn Chen added 15 points.
“It’s been an incredible experience so far. Honestly, I never thought I would make it to a Final Four, but here I am. But that’s all – all the credit goes to my coaches and my teammates because we wouldn’t be here without them,” said Chen, the transfer student. “Honestly, I feel like I relied on my teammates a lot throughout this whole process. A lot of them have experienced this and deep runs in the NCAA tournament and just sort of looking towards them for guidance, and they’re always so composed throughout the whole tournament, so just sort of fitting in and staying on par with them.”
Strong, the freshman, echoed that sentiment. “I would say the same, relying on my teammates. They have been here before and they know what to expect, so just following them,” she said.
The Trojans were led by Rayah Marshall’s 23 points and 15 rebounds. Kiki Iriafen and Talia von Oelhoffen each pitched in with 10 points in the effort.
“I think there was never a point where this team gave up, so making that [third quarter] run was huge. And coming out of halftime, we knew we weren’t out of it and we just needed to have a good third quarter, but it just felt like we couldn’t get stops when we needed to at critical moments during runs. So credit to UConn and the adjustments they made and hitting big shots, but just proud of how we fought regardless of the halftime score,” said von Oelhoffen.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers bends referee Roy Gulbeyan’s ear during Monday’s Elite Eight game against USC at Spokane Arena. Photo by Tim Ashman/Sportspage Magazine
Bueckers has now scored 105 points in the last three games, which is the most for any UConn Husky in a three-game span in team history. Also, with 2,406 points in her career, Bueckers has now surpassed Napheesa Collier and is third all-time in Huskies scoring. Breanna Stewart finished with 2,676, and Maya Moore holds the record with 3,036 points. Bueckers has announced her intention to participate in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Should she change her mind and return for her final year of eligibility, she could chase Moore’s school scoring record.
“Just taking it one possession at a time, the possession you’re in is the most important possession of the season, not getting too caught up in what if that, what if this, just staying present, staying in the moment, not worrying about the pressures or the stakes because everybody’s dealing with it, everybody’s there to win a national title, and nobody is there on accident. Everybody there is elite and great and there for a reason. So just sticking to being in the moment, staying present and capitalizing off of everything,” Bueckers said regarding lessons learned from past NCAA tournaments and Final Four experiences.
Strong is now only the second UConn rookie to ever reach 600 points in a season. Her 611 points ranks second all-time in rookie scoring for the Huskies, behind the 678 points scored by Moore in the 2007-2008 season.
The Huskies will now make their 24th Final Four appearance and are chasing their 12th National Championship. They will take on the UCLA Bruins in the National Semifinal on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The winner will take on the winner of the Texas/South Carolina National Semifinal for the championship on Sunday afternoon.
