UConn Blows By the Bruins in the Final Four
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UConn women’s basketball took the floor at Amalie Arena and wiped the UCLA Bruins with it, jumping out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter on their way to an 85-51 win in Friday evening’s second semifinal contest. They’ll meet South Carolina on Sunday afternoon for the national championship game after the Gamecocks downed Texas.
“This was somewhat unexpected,” Geno Auriemma said after the victory. “You always go into these games this time of the year expecting it to be incredibly, incredibly difficult...I don't think we made a mistake the entire evening, especially on the defensive end.”
Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd led the way for the Huskies as Paige Bueckers’ shots weren’t falling. Geno Auriemma’s squad won with defense, forcing six turnovers in the first quarter and holding UCLA star Lauren Betts in check early as they took control of the game.
Jana El Alfy held her own in the post in the first quarter but got her second foul early in the first minute of the second quarter, sending her to the bench. Her defensive stability continued through the second half as the lead got out of hand.
“I thought her performance was the tone setter for the night,” Bueckers said.
UCLA finished 38 percent from the field and 25 percent from three with 19 turnovers.
“We all just want to lock in defensively. I think that's all of our main mindset and our main goal as a team, to be super locked in defensively, talk, communicate, play with energy, effort on that side of the floor,” Bueckers said. “It translates into what we want to do on offense.”
Fudd caught fire in the second quarter, heading into the locker room with 19 points as the Huskies took a 42-22 lead at halftime. The Bruins’ turnovers were piling up, and Fudd made them pay from all over the floor, not just behind the arc.
“My mindset tonight was just to be aggressive...starting on the defensive end,” Fudd said. “That was our entire team's mindset, trying to make things difficult for them and having that lead to offense.”
The Huskies’ defensive intensity continued through the third quarter and Strong kept going on her way to a team-high 22 points.
“Sarah is an incredible player,” Fudd said. “Something that impresses me the most about her is just how mature she plays and how even-keeled she is. You can never know if she's got 20 points and 20 rebounds, you wouldn't be able to tell. I definitely look up to her in that aspect and how she doesn't care. She looks at her opponent as just another game that night.”
“You can't really say enough great things about Sarah Strong. She just contributes to winning in so many different ways. A lot of things sometimes don't show up in the stat sheet, but everything she does also shows up in the stats sheet,” Bueckers said. “She just has an impact on the game...she's so mature, cool, calm and collected on the court.”
Nothing was working for the Bruins offensively, some of their better looks were rimming out or barely missing in other ways. Bueckers didn’t have her best shooting night but still finished as the Huskies’ third-leading scorer with 16 points.
“I'm just incredibly proud of these guys and what they were able to do and how it was a complete team effort led by these three, obviously,” Auriemma said.
The blowout continued as Fudd checked out for good with eight minutes left, and Bueckers sat with five minutes remaining. Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme got some playing time near the end and some other deep reserves saw some action while the team’s leaders watched excitedly from the bench.
Up next, UConn has a rematch with South Carolina, the team the Huskies walloped in their house on February 16th, not too long ago. The Huskies are in their 13th national championship game, with an 11-1 record in title games, losing one for the first time in 2022, Bueckers’ sophomore year.