USC women see Final Four dreams dashed by Paige Bueckers, UConn again

SPOKANE, Wash. — There was no JuJu Watkins and there will be no Final Four trip for the USC women’s basketball team, either.

Paige Bueckers carried Connecticut to its record 24th NCAA Tournament Final Four, scoring 31 points in a 78-64 victory over USC in a regional final on Monday night, as the Trojans could no longer overcome the loss of their injured star.

UConn (35-3) heads to Tampa, Florida, to face overall No. 1 seed UCLA on Friday.

Freshman Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds for the second-seeded Huskies, who have won a record 11 NCAA titles, all under Coach Geno Auriemma. Their most recent championship was in 2016, the last of a run of four straight.

Rayah Marshall scored 23 points and 15 rebounds for top-seeded USC (31-4) which also lost to UConn in the Elite Eight last year when Watkins was a freshman.

Fans undoubtedly anticipated a rematch between Bueckers and Watkins when the brackets were announced, but the matchup lost some luster when Trojans’ star guard tore an ACL early in their second-round game and needed season-ending 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.

USC trailed by 14 at halftime and 47-30 in the second half before an 11-0 run helped the Trojans get within

UConn led by 19 points in the third quarter, but USC got within 51-46 going into the fourth before UConn regained control. Bueckers and Azzi Fudd made consecutive 3-pointers that extended the Huskies’ lead to 62-48.

“I think there was never a point where this team gave up, so making that run was huge,” USC’s Talia von Oelhoffen said. “Coming out of halftime, we just needed to have a good third quarter, but 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 getting big shots.”

Avery Howell’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 70-61 with 1:04 left, but the Trojans got no closer.

Bueckers scored a career-best 40 points and matched her career high with six 3-pointers in the Huskies’ 82-59 rout of Oklahoma in the regional semifinals.

Bueckers, a senior, earned AP All-America honors and was the Big East Player of the Year for the third time. The only thing left for her to achieve is a national title after she and the Huskies were beaten in the Final Four last year by Caitlin Clark and Iowa.

Bueckers and her teammates didn’t cut down the net after securing their trip to the Final Four, even though a ladder was set up and ready to go. The reason was simple: The Huskies aren’t done yet.

“We’ve got a whole lot of heart, and a whole lot of toughness about us. And we play together as a team. We’re super well-connected,” Bueckers said. “I feel like every team that I’ve played on, we’ve been super well-connected. But just the way we’ve been through so much adversity as individuals, as a team, how much it’s brought us together, how much it’s made us stronger.”

USC was seeking its first Final Four appearance since 1986 and first title since going back-to-back in 1983 and ’84.

The Trojans led early before Strong made back-to-back jumpers for the Huskies to pull in front 12-11. Bueckers didn’t get her first basket until nine minutes into the game.

With Bueckers off to a slow start, Strong took over, nailing a 3-pointer that gave the Huskies a 21-13 lead. Bueckers hit a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 39-25 lead at the half.

“None of it would happen without the team, and everything that goes into a performance,” she said. “So just trying to lead with what the game is calling for, lead with what we need at that moment, at that time, whether it’s passing, rebounding, scoring, just trying to do whatever it takes to win.”

Another 3-pointer by Bueckers gave UConn a 47-30 lead.

HONORING JUJU

Just like in the Sweet 16, USC’s players had a small Watkins Funko Pop with them. The doll was tucked in a shoe in Watkins’ place during the national anthem, then sat on the Trojans’ bench during the game.

More to come on this story.