The Huskies’ quest for the elusive 12th national championship goes through Lauren Betts and the Bruins.
One way or another, Paige Bueckers’ UConn career is coming to an end this weekend at Tampa. The Huskies are on a mission to make sure she goes out with a national championship, though the No. 1 overall seed UCLA Bruins stand in the way.
While this is her fourth trip to the Final Four in as many seasons, Bueckers comes in playing the best basketball of her career, totaling 104 points over her last three games — including a program NCAA Tournament record 40 in the Sweet Sixteen win over Oklahoma. She also has the best surrounding cast of her career: Fellow All-American Sarah Strong and a rejuvenated Azzi Fudd carry the load while the likes of Kaitlyn Chen, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Aubrey Griffin all provide quality depth.
UCLA won’t be easy, though. The Bruins are anchored 6-7 center Lauren Betts but she’s surrounded by a deep group of perimeter players that include Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Londynn Jones and Timea Gardiner.
While UConn is peaking at the right time, this will be its toughest test of the season.
UCLA statistical leaders
Points 20.0 — Lauren Betts
Rebounds: 9.6 — Lauren Betts
Assists: 5.1 — Kiki Rice
Steals: 1.5 — Kiki Rice
3-point %: 39.9 — Timea Gardiner
Series history
UConn is 7-1 all-time against UCLA and 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. All but three matchups have come at neutral sites.
The two schools first faced off on Nov. 17, 1998 in Los Angeles, where the Huskies claimed a crazy 113-102 victory in regulation. That remains tied for the most points they’ve ever allowed in program history. The next year in Storrs, UConn put up 106 points but held the Bruins to 64.
15 years passed before they squared off at Mohegan Sun Arena on Dec. 21, 2014, which the Huskies won 86-74. Then they met in the Sweet Sixteen twice in three years — an 86-71 win in Bridgeport followed by a 69-61 victory up in Albany.
Recently, UConn came out on top in the 2021 Never Forget Classic in Newark while UCLA claimed its first win in the series last season in the Cayman Islands Classic.
Three keys
Contain Lauren Betts: UConn’s frontcourt has been a weak spot for most of the season, but it passed a pair of tough tests at the regionals in Spokane. Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers finished with just 10 points — three of which came on a 3-pointer — on 3-11 shooting while Kiki Iriafen also had 10 points and didn’t make a field goal after the first quarter. Lauren Betts is a different level, though. She’s taller, better and more dominant, capable of single-handedly leading UCLA to a win. The Huskies can’t expect to completely shut her down but they need to contain her, force her into a bad shooting night and keep her off the glass.
Hit 3-pointers: In UConn’s three losses this season, it’s made just 23.7 percent of its threes — well below its season average of 38.3 percent. The Huskies have never scored more than 76 points when hitting less than 30 percent of their attempts from deep. When they make more than that, they’ve never put up less than 70 points. UConn needs to have a good night from beyond the arc to win.
Big games for the big three: Down the stretch of the season, the Huskies have relied on their big three of Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd to lead the way, allowing everyone else to chip in with smaller contributions. Most nights, UConn could get by with big games from two of the three. Case in point: In the Elite Eight, Bueckers (31) and Strong (22) did enough to make up for an eight-point night for Fudd. But on Friday night against UCLA, the Huskies need all three to advance.