<p><p>TAMPA, Fla. – Paige Bueckers came to UConn to win a national championship. The star senior guard has made it clear that is her goal.</p></p><p><p>Sunday afternoon, she’ll have the chance to do just that.</p></p><p><p>No. 2 UConn (36-3) ran top overall seed UCLA (34-3) 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.</p></p><p><p>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.</p></p><p><p>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 her three-point play extended 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.</p></p><p><p>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 was 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.</p></p><p><p>UCLA, meanwhile, turned the ball over 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 was she had no help. After shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc against LSU in the Elite Eight, UCLA went ice cold from deep on Friday – finishing at 25%. Midway through the third quarter, the Bruins were shooting just 14% on the night, continuing to feed Betts to see if they could make anything happen.</p></p><p><p>UConn is looking for its 12th national championship under Auriemma and first since 2016. Most important, 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.</p></p><p><h3>South Carolina downs Texas</h3></p><p><p>South Carolina looked like a team vying for its third national championship in four years, overcoming a sloppy start to pull away from Texas for a 74-57 win in the women’s Final Four.</p></p><p><p>The Gamecocks (35-3) fell behind early as Texas star Madison Booker lived up to her billing as an All-American and the SEC’s Player of the Year. She hit her first three shots and had an early steal as Texas (35-4) built a 12-7 lead.</p></p><p><p>It didn’t last in part because Booker couldn’t stay on the court. She picked up a pair of first-quarter fouls and drew another in the second quarter when she tried to go after a 50/50 ball with the Gamecocks’ Tessa Johnson. Booker threw her hands in the air to try to convince the referees, then threw them on her head in disbelief.</p></p><p><p>The Longhorns outscored South Carolina by eight in the nine minutes Booker played in the first half, but were outscored by 11 in the 11 minutes she sat out. It was a continuation of Texas’ season; when Booker struggled, the team struggled. She scored 20 points in the Longhorns’ lone win over South Carolina earlier in the year and 17 combined in their two previous losses, including the Gamecocks’ 64-45 triumph in the SEC title game.</p></p><p><p>Booker’s foul trouble helped the Gamecocks to settle in after a sluggish start (three turnovers in the first 3½ minutes). But South Carolina also showed the second-half poise of a defending national champion. With Booker on the floor in the third quarter, the Gamecocks extended a three-point halftime lead to as many as 15. They held Texas scoreless in a four-minute span that included back-to-back air balls.</p></p><p><p>Though Joyce Edwards (13 points, 11 rebounds) was South Carolina’s brightest star, the Gamecocks won, as usual, with a balanced effort befitting one of the nation’s deepest lineups. Seven players scored at least six points, and the Gamecocks tallied 35 points off the bench. It was only the fifth time all season that Texas gave up at least 70 points.</p></p><p><p>When Texas’ Jordan Lee hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter, Te-Hina Paopao responded with a 3-pointer. Texas faded from there for an early exit from its first Final Four appearance since 2003.</p></p><p><p>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.</p></p><p><p>Coach Dawn 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.</p></p>
