Paige Bueckers Carries Uconn To Record 24th Women's Final Four With 78-64 Win Over Usc

Paige Bueckers carried UConn to its record 24th Final Four of the women's NCAA Tournament , scoring 31 points Monday night in a 78-64 victory over Southern California, which couldn't overcome the loss of injured star JuJu Watkins.

UConn 35-3 heads to Tampa, Florida, to face overall No. 1 seed UCLA on Friday.

Freshman Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds for the second-seeded Huskies, who have won a record 11 NCAA titles, all under coach Geno Auriemma. Their most recent championship was in 2016, the last of a run of four straight.

Rayah Marshall scored 23 points and 15 rebounds for top-seeded USC 31-4 which also lost to UConn in the Elite Eight last year when Watkins was a freshman.

Fans undoubtedly anticipated a rematch between Bueckers and Watkins when the brackets were announced, but the matchup lost some luster when Trojans' star guard tore an ACL in the second round and needed surgery.