UConn vs. USC Women's basketball box score, stats, game summary and more ft. Paige Bueckers
The lone Elite Eight seeding upset in either the men's or women's NCAA Tournaments came in the last game of the event. No. 2 seed UConn, although a favorite because of an injury to USC's JuJu Watkins, defeated the top-seeded Trojans 78-64. The Huskies now advance to the program's 24th Final Four appearance.
UConn vs. USC Box Score
UConn
USC
UConn vs. USC Game Summary
UConn took an early 5-1 lead, but USC then countered by scoring the game's next 10 points. A Kiki Iriafen jumper with 4:14 left in the quarter gave the Trojans the 11-5 advantage. But UConn answered with nine straight points to end the quarter, taking a 14-11 lead.
The Huskies took control in the second quarter, taking a 24-17 lead on a Paige Bueckers three-point play with 6:38 remaining in the quarter. USC pulled within 28-23 but UConn had an 11-2 run to end the half, taking a 39-25 lead into intermission.
UConn pushed its advantage as far as 47-30 on a Bueckers 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining in the quarter. But USC went on a 16-4 run to finish the quarter and trim the lead to 51-46 entering the final period. That run included the final 11 points of the third quarter.
UConn then blew the game open, pushing the lead to 66-51 on an Azzi Fudd layup with 4:42 to go. USC wouldn't get closer than nine points for the remainder of the game.
UConn was led by Bueckers, who had 31 points, six assists, four steals and blocked a pair of shots. She shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds. Kaitlyn Chen also tallied 15 points for the Huskies.
With star JuJu Watkins unavailable due to a knee injury, USC was led by Rayah Marshall's 23 points and 15 rebounds. Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen each tallied 10 points, although Iriafen shot just 3-for-15.
UConn will take on No. 1 seed UCLA in the Final Four on Friday, apparently in the latter game, which will start around 9:30 p.m. EST. This is the first Final Four trip for the Bruins.