The Huskies put together a near-flawless performance to advance to the national title game.
UConn women’s basketball stomped the No. 1 overall seed UCLA Bruins 85-51 on Friday night in Tampa to advance to the national championship game. The Huskies never trailed.
Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd were sensational. The freshman put up 22 points and eight rebounds in her Final Four debut while Fudd dropped 19 points — all of which came in the first half. Paige Bueckers finished with 16 points despite an uncharacteristic 7-17 effort from the field.
UConn’s defense made life miserable for UCLA all night long. The Huskies forced 19 turnovers while holding the Bruins to a 20-52 shooting performance. Lauren Betts put up 26 points but her teammates combined for just 25 points on 9-34 shooting. Jana El Alfy played the game of her life, holding her own in the low post defensively while finishing with more rebounds (eight) than Betts (five).
After starting slow in its last three games, UConn got off on the right foot with a steal-and-score by Fudd followed by a lay-in from Strong. The Huskies’ offense consistently created (and converted) open looks while the defense forced six turnovers in the opening quarter. Bueckers hit a buzzer-beater to put UConn up by 10 points after 10 minutes.
Both teams went through scoring droughts in the second quarter. The Bruins didn’t put up a point for the first 3:49 while the Huskies went cold for 3:23 soon after. The difference? UConn eventually found the basket again. Fudd had 12 points in the period, out-scoring UCLA in that same span. The Bruins nearly had more turnovers (eight) than points (nine) in the second quarter.
The Huskies closed on a 7-0 run to take a stunning 20-point lead into the half.
Out of the break, UCLA had a chance to seize the momentum and mount a comeback bid when UConn hit a rough patch. The Huskies came up empty on four straight possession — with two bad turnovers mixed in — but the Bruins only managed to string together six points. The gap never got closer than 18 before UConn woke up and regained control.
With a wide lead in hand, the Huskies rendered the fourth quarter meaningless — though they still out-scored UCLA en route to a 34-point victory.
UConn improves to 13-11 in national semifinals with the win and will move onto the national title game for the first time since 2022. The Huskies will meet defending champion South Carolina on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ABC.