Tampa, Fla. — Paige Bueckers is one step away from achieving her ultimate goal at UConn — winning a national championship. In what will be her final collegiate game, the star guard will have the chance to leave Storrs on top.
Bueckers and the second-seeded Huskies put on a historic performance Friday night, overwhelming top-seeded UCLA 85-51 in the national semifinals. The blowout win not only propelled UConn to its 13th national title game appearance but also set a new record for the largest margin of victory in Women’s Final Four history.
With this dominant showing, UConn became the first women’s team ever to defeat a No. 1 seed by 30 or more points in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s humbling to see it play out like that,” said legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma. “You don’t go into a Final Four game thinking you’re going to win by 35 points. That’s almost unimaginable.”
Now, UConn will face defending champion South Carolina in Sunday’s title game — a rematch of the 2022 championship, which the Gamecocks won. Oddsmakers at ESPN BET have the Huskies entering as 5.5-point favorites.
“I think the two most dominant programs in women’s basketball right now are playing for the crown,” Auriemma said. “And both of us deserve to be here.”
UCLA’s season ends with a 34-3 record, following the program’s first-ever trip to the Final Four. Bruins standout Lauren Betts, who led the team with 26 points, said the loss should serve as a wake-up call.
“We need to show up better and be ready to win — that’s on us as players,” Betts said. “Hopefully, this lights a fire in us moving forward.”
While Bueckers has been the heart and soul of the Huskies, Friday’s win was powered by her supporting cast. Freshman Sarah Strong poured in 22 points, and Azzi Fudd added 19, giving UConn scoring from all angles. Bueckers, who had scored 105 points across her previous three tournament games, finished with a quiet — by her standards — 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
Auriemma has long believed that depth would be key to winning another national championship.
“For the first time in years, we felt we didn’t have to rely on one person playing out of their mind for us to win,” Auriemma said. “Tonight proved that. Paige didn’t have to carry us, and we still won big. That’s the mark of a championship team.”
UConn jumped out early, leading 42-22 at halftime after suffocating UCLA’s offense. The Huskies forced 19 turnovers — 14 in the first half — and limited UCLA’s scoring options beyond Betts. The Bruins shot just 25% from three and scored only 14 points outside the paint.
“I don’t think we made a single mistake on defense tonight,” Auriemma said.
One of the night’s highlight plays came late in the second quarter when Bueckers delivered a volleyball-style touch pass to teammate Kaitlyn Chen for an easy layup after a steal — a sequence that perfectly captured UConn’s dominance.
UCLA never seriously threatened in the second half, briefly cutting the deficit below 20 points for less than a minute before UConn surged again.
“From the start, we were locked in,” Fudd said. “We wanted to play 40 minutes of aggressive, relentless UConn basketball.”
Fudd rebounded from a tough shooting night in the Elite Eight by scoring 19 points in the first half alone, nearly outpacing UCLA’s entire team before the break. With Fudd scoring 15 or more, the Huskies improved to 25-1 in her career.
“She’s a competitor,” Auriemma said of Fudd. “She hasn’t had many chances in big moments due to injuries, but tonight was her night.”
Strong, appearing in her first Final Four, took over after halftime, scoring 14 of her 22 points. She became just the third UConn freshman to score 20 or more in a Final Four game, joining legends Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart.
By the end of the third quarter, Fudd and Strong had combined for 37 points — matching UCLA’s total at the time.
Bueckers added 10 of her 16 points in the second half, and together with Fudd and Strong, the trio outscored UCLA 57-51.
“We hadn’t played our best team basketball yet this tournament,” Bueckers said. “But tonight we did — against a really good UCLA team. That’s what makes it so special.”
Defensively, UConn got key contributions from Jana El Alfy, Ice Brady, and Strong, who made life difficult for Betts inside the paint despite her scoring total.
“Betts is a problem,” Bueckers admitted. “But the way our post players battled her was incredible.”
Now, the Huskies will turn their focus to South Carolina, knowing they need to replicate Friday’s intensity and focus if they want to capture their 12th national championship — and their first since 2016.
“We’re never satisfied,” Fudd said. “Tonight was amazing, but tomorrow it’s back to work. A new game, a new challenge — and hopefully, another step toward history.”
