SPOKANE, Wash. – The two-seed UConn Huskies dismantled the one-seed USC Trojans 78-64 to win the Spokane 4 Region, and advance to their 24th Final Four in program history. After a slow start to the contest, they gained the upper hand thanks to their star power and role players. As their championship run continues, the Huskies have shown it takes a village to accomplish success in March.
The game started back and forth, with neither team gaining a firm edge. The Huskies took the lead 14-11, thanks to a 9-0 run over the last 3:51 in the quarter. Sarah Strong led the way with 10 points on 4/5 shooting (80%) and two three-pointers, to go along with four rebounds. Although their offensive star Paige Bueckers (BECK-ers) couldn’t get going, she was aggressive on defense with two steals to start. Kiki Iriafen (ear-ee-uh-fin) started strong for the Trojans, scoring six points with one rebound and one steal. Their interior remained strong in the quarter, with Rayah Marshall also contributing with her four points and four rebounds. She finished the contest with 23 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. In a tightly contested first period, UConn proved its defense can get it closer to a championship.
Before the half ended, the Huskies extended their lead to 39-25 over USC. After only scoring two points in the first quarter, Kaitlyn Chen scored seven of her 15 points in the quarter. The Trojans played stronger than the scoreboard suggests, but the end of the period was when Bueckers took over. She scored the last six points for UConn, finishing the half with 13 points as they entered the locker rooms. USC continued to use the post-game to their advantage, with Marshall being the beneficiary. She finished with 12 points before the half ended, which suggested much of the same in the second half. The Trojans struggled to shoot from the outside, not making a three-pointer in their five attempts. They also had trouble taking care of the ball with 10 turnovers, which the Huskies scored 12 points off of. USC had possessions in the first half with good defense, forcing seven turnovers. However, they only scored five points off of them, looking to improve in the second half. As the two teams prepared for the third quarter, both teams reviewed many improvements they had to make before taking the court again.
UConn started the third quarter strong, but the Trojans were able to cut the deficit to single digits, still trailing 51-46. USC ended the quarter scoring 11 points in a row, which got them back in the game. Talia von Oelhoffen (TAH-lee-uh VON OH-leh-HOF-en) scored 10 points in the third quarter, after failing to score in the first half. USC was able to climb back into the game thanks to holding the Huskies to 12 points on four made shots in 16 attempts (25%). Despite the Trojans’ effort to fight back into the game, the Huskies kept their composure and ended the game on the highest note.
UConn was led by its dynamic duo of Strong and Bueckers, who finished with memorable performances. Strong finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds, a career-high. Bueckers finished with 31 points, six assists, and four steals to clinch another Final Four appearance. The other players for the Huskies stepped up, however, in what proved to be a team win. When discussing her teammate Chen’s impact on the game, Bueckers described her ability to step up when the team needed it most.
“(Chen)’s amazing,” Bueckers said after the win. “We needed the aggressive version of her tonight, and she stepped up to the plate and delivered very well.”
Her ability to step up was also highlighted by her head coach, Geno Auriemma (OR-EE-ehm-uh), who also praised the belief he has in her in the key moments.
“I’ve always felt a certain level of confidence in (Chen),” Auriemma said. “She’s not going to shy away from doing great things. It’s exactly what our team needed, and I believe in Kaitlyn Chen a lot and she never disappoints.”
With the other players like Chen willing to step up, along with the stars of the team, the Huskies were able to punch their ticket to the Final Four for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons.
