TAMPA, Fla. — Paige Bueckers came to UConn to win a national championship. The star senior guard has made it clear that is her goal.
Sunday afternoon, she’ll have the chance to do just that.
No. 2 UConn ran top overall seed UCLA out of the gym Friday night in the second Final Four matchup of the night with an 85-51 win that sends the Huskies back to the title game. South Carolina beat Texas 74-57 earlier in the evening, setting up a showdown between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley’s teams Sunday.
The Huskies had a 20-point lead entering halftime, the stress on UCLA coach Cori Close’s face evident as the Bruins headed for the locker room. And in the end, UCLA had no answers.
Forward Sarah Strong — arguably the X-factor for a UConn team that has asked much of its true freshman — again starred for the Huskies, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and eight rebounds. She drained 3s, going 4-of-6 from deep, in addition to holding it down for the Huskies down low. Midway through the fourth quarter, when she drew an and-one to extend UConn’s lead to 25 points, she and Bueckers chest-bumped, their excitement evident on their faces. It was over, and they had to know it.
Graduate guard Azzi Fudd, who scored just eight points in UConn’s Elite Eight win against USC, was equally dominant. She finished the night with 19 points (all in the first half) on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Bueckers — whose midrange game continued to be her bread and butter — scored 16 points to go along with five rebounds and two assists. None were more impressive than a touch pass in transition to guard Kaitlyn Chen late in the first half, bringing UConn fans to their feet as the momentum only swung further in the Huskies’ direction.
Huskies hustling, we love to see it
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/flDSbAh0td
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 5, 2025
UCLA, meanwhile, turned the ball over a whopping 19 times. The Huskies’ defense clamped down on star 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, though she still managed to finish with 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. The problem? She had no help. After shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc against LSU in the Elite Eight, UCLA went ice cold from deep on Friday — finishing with a 25-percent mark. Midway through the third quarter, the Bruins were shooting just 14 percent on the night, continuing to feed Betts to see if they could make anything happen.
With the win, UConn now turns its attention toward the Gamecocks, who had no problems breezing past Texas with Longhorns star Madison Booker in foul trouble early.
South Carolina is seeking its third national championship in the past four years and its second consecutive — looking to become the first team since UConn’s 2015 and 2016 teams to repeat. Staley won her first title in 2017 and has managed to propel the Gamecocks back into the title game, despite not having a go-to post down low like she had in the past in A’ja Wilson, Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso.
UConn is looking for its 12th national championship under Auriemma and first since 2016. Most importantly, this is Bueckers’ chance to finally get what she came for. Injuries sidelined her for 19 games as a sophomore and a torn ACL forced her to miss her entire junior season. Having already confirmed she will declare for the WNBA Draft earlier this season, this is her final crack at the title she wants so badly.
The two teams played earlier this season, at South Carolina in mid-February. The Huskies won 87-58 to snap South Carolina’s 71-game winning streak at home and deliver Staley’s crew its biggest loss of the season by a 14-point margin.
Tip off is set for 3 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena.
(Photo: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)