TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sarah Strong and Aji Hood didn’t need much help from superstar Page Bookers to push UConn into the national title game.
Strong finished with 22 points, while FUDD scored all 19 points in the first half of the second seed husky. He won one win from his 12th National Championship, with the team having four straight wins from 2013-16, led by Breanna Stewart in the four straight. The eight-year title drought is the longest for the Husky since winning its first title in 1995.
UConn will face the South Carolina defending champions on Sunday after the Gamecocks defeated the Texas 74-57 on Friday night. This is the rematch of the 2022 Championship Game, in which the Gamecocks won 64-49. The team met in February, and UConn shocked South Carolina with a 29-point road victory.
“At this point, nothing that we did before the season means anything. The records are 0-0 and the team is tied to 1-0 in the final game,” Bueckers said. “So keep the defensive strength like tonight. They’re a really good team. They’re out during the transition and have interior play and great guard play, so we’re going to fill up our hands.”
The Bueckers, who are likely to be the top pick in the WNBA draft, finished with 16 points after breaking over 30 in each of the previous three games for the Husky (36-3).
Lauren Betts of All-America Center scored 26 points overall Seed UCLA (34-3).
UConn got off to a hot start, led by Strong and FUDD. Even when the shots were missed, they found their way. FUDD is one of the best shooters in the country whose UConn career has been suspended by multiple injuries, banked with three pointers from the top of the key, and Auriema threw his arm into the air to give him a smile.
“It’s so much fun to be at this stage to see her play with joy,” Bookers said of FUDD. “You see all the ups and downs, bad days, good days, and that’s the light at the end of the tunnel and she’s here to be playing at this stage, and that means everything to us.”
The Husky led 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. They continued the onslaught behind FUDD, opening up a 42-22 advantage with a break. The Bueckers played half on a touch pass to Kaitlyn Chen for a layup late in the second quarter.
UCLA did not threaten the second half as there was little help to 6-foot-7 Betts. UConn broke its own record with margins of victory in the Final 4 or National Title Games. The Husky won the 2013 Championship with 33 points in Louisville.
UCLA runs are finished
The Bruins made their first appearance in the NCAA Final Four. UCLA won the national title in 1978 during the pre-NCAA era of women’s basketball. The Bruins had been aiming to become the first team in the Big Ten, the conference they’ve participated in this season, in order to win the championship since Purdue went in 1999.
UCLA cruised throughout the best regular season, earning the first place ranking in the AP Top 25, and held the spot for 14 weeks.
The Bruins only lost twice this year to both Juju Watkins and USC before Friday. UCLA won the revenge scale by beating USC to win the Big Ten tournament in its first year in the league after the demolition of the PAC-12. The Bruins set a winning program record for the season, winning 23 times in a row in a row in 22 digits.
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