PORTLAND, Ore. — The Paige Bueckers comeback tour is headed to the Final Four.
UConn’s junior All-American collected 28 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals while leading the Huskies to an 80-73 victory over Southern California on Monday in the Portland 3 Region final.
The result sends Bueckers, who missed all of last season after undergoing knee surgery, and UConn to the Final Four. The No. 3 seed Huskies will oppose No. 1 seed Iowa in a semifinal game on Friday in Cleveland.
UConn broke open a tie game with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter and never looked back.
There was simply too much Bueckers for USC to deal with, and she was selected the region’s Most Outstanding Player.
“This was one of the most rewarding days of my life, just from where I was a year ago and what I’ve gone through,” Bueckers said.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, “Today was Paige doing Paige things. The biggest moments, she’s not afraid. And she comes through in those moments. The great ones, that’s what they do.”
Aaliyah Edwards added 24 points and six rebounds for the Huskies (33-5), who extended their winning streak to 13 games. UConn made 14 consecutive Final Fours before the streak ended last year in Bueckers’ absence.
Freshman guard JuJu Watkins went for 29 points and 10 rebounds and McKenzie Forbes added 24 points for No. 1 seed USC, which finished the season 29-6.
Shooting percentages proved a big difference in the outcome. UConn connected on 28 of 58 shots from the field (48.3 percent), including 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) from 3-point range. USC made only 23 of 70 attempts from the field (32.9 percent) and 9 of 29 (31 percent) from beyond the arc.
“Credit UConn,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “They earned their way to the Final Four. We didn’t give it to them. They earned it.”
Bueckers shot 11-for-23 from the field. Watkins was 9-for-25 and Forbes 8-for-22. In two games at the Portland Regional, Watkins — the National Freshman of the Year — was 17-for-53 (32.1 percent). Auriemma used several players to defend Watkins, including Bueckers for much of the second half.
“They played great defense,” Watkins said. “Every time I got by the first line, somebody was there.”0
Auriemma said, “That was probably the toughest matchup any of our guards had throughout the entire season — maybe since they’ve gotten to Connecticut. JuJu is probably as difficult a matchup as there is. But for Paige, she looks at it like, ‘They have to guard me, too. I’m a tough matchup, too.'”
UConn came out of the gates quickly in the third quarter to take a 41-33 advantage. Bueckers subsequently scored on a steal and a solo layup, giving the Huskies a 52-40 edge.
USC responded with an 8-0 spurt, as a Taylor Bigby 3-pointer closed the gap to 52-48. UConn’s Ice Brady and USC’s Kayla Padilla traded treys and the Huskies carried a 55-51 lead into the final period.
It was 59-51 before Watkins converted a three-point play. She sank a layup and Forbes followed with a trey to draw the Trojans even at 59-59 with 7:28 remaining.
Baskets by Brady and Edwards gave UConn a 63-59 lead.
Watkins scored four straight points to cut the Huskies’ edge to 65-64, but Bueckers countered with a turnaround jumper, then a 3-pointer from the top to make it 70-64. Edwards followed with a three-point play, and the Huskies’ lead was 73-64 with 2:30 left.
When Bueckers followed with a runner and teammate Nika Muhl made a free throw, it was 76-64 with 1:25 remaining. UConn then missed seven consecutive free throws to open the door for USC, which cut the difference to 76-71 with 17.5 seconds to go. It was as close as the Trojans would get.
“We didn’t get enough stops,” Gottlieb said. “We were playing from behind too much of the game.”
–Field Level Media
