Back in November, the then-No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels went on a 20-3 run in the third quarter to pull within three points. Graduate guard Azzi Fudd ended the Rebels’ run with a three-pointer and helped the then-No. 2 UConn Women’s Basketball team hang on 73-60.
In the rematch of the rematch in Spokane, Washington, Fudd’s second-half clutch factor re-emerged.
The No. 1-seed USC Trojans, once down 19, had pulled within five points behind an 11-0 run that closed the third quarter. As was the case in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship game five months earlier, a stunning collapse from the Huskies felt inevitable.
But the 5-foot-11 guard buried a deep three-pointer less than a minute into the final frame. Fudd then knocked down another bucket from behind the arc and landed a layup, getting the lead back up to 15.
It was all No. 2-seed UConn needed Monday night; USC never got within eight points after the All-Big East First Team guard’s spurt.
Fudd’s late-game magic sent the Huskies back to the Final Four as they defeated the Trojans 78-64 in the Elite Eight.
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Head coach Geno Auriemma gave the Class of 2021’s top recruit “one more chance” on the fourth quarter’s first possession. His hunch—he drew that play for Fudd instead of All-American guard Paige Bueckers—paid off immensely.
“You have got to believe in your players. You have to feel like at some point, all we need is one, and then something good can happen,” Auriemma said afterward. “After having missed all of the other ones, that was a big shot by [Fudd].”
While the final frame belonged to the three-time Gatorade Washington, D.C., Player of the Year, Sarah Strong controlled the first half. The Big East Freshman of the Year scored 15 points on 6-9 shooting while grabbing nine of Connecticut’s 15 boards. Strong ultimately secured her sixth double-double in seven postseason games with 22 points and 17 rebounds.
“We made a concerted effort to get her the ball and get her the ball early tonight,” college basketball’s winningest coach commented about the National Freshman of the Year frontrunner. “Sarah [Strong] impacts the game in so many ways that you just have so much confidence in her; so much belief in her. I cannot explain it.”
Monday evening capped off a phenomenal three-game stretch for Bueckers, the Spokane 4 Region’s Most Outstanding Player. The only Husky with three straight 30-pieces picked up 31 points while passing Napheesa Collier for third on the program’s all-time scoring list. Bueckers did so while going 9-18 from the floor, dealing out six dimes, rejecting two shots and picking up four steals.
Former Princeton Tiger Kaitlyn Chen had her signature postseason performance in the Spokane 4 Region Finals against Southern California. Behind an outright dominant four-minute stretch in the second quarter, Chen finished with 15 points at a 6-9 clip, a steal and two assists.
Three different Trojans stepped up in JuJu Watkins’ place. Rayah Marshall entered the Elite Eight averaging 7+ points; she had a season-high 23 with 15 rebounds. Oregon State transfer Talia Von Oelhoffen scored 10 second-half points and sparked a USC rally. Kiki Iriafen scored just seven points in the Sweet 16 on Saturday; she had six in the first frame alone while finishing with 10.
The Trojans landed the first blow with a 10-0 run backed by their potent frontcourt and a defense that limited the Huskies’ shot selection. Yet, Strong prevented USC from building on their 11-5 advantage. The North Carolina native countered Iriafen’s third jumper with a corner three-pointer, then tacked on four more points for a personal 7-0 run. Bueckers capped off the first quarter with a driving layup that extended UConn’s run to nine.
Marshall ended the Trojans’ nearly five-minute scoring drought early in the second period. The senior forward’s next bucket ended a 7-0 Huskies run, one involving two two-pointers and a third long-range bucket from Strong.
Southern California pulled within five points twice, but Chen’s seven points in four minutes put Connecticut up by double figures. Bueckers buried two three-pointers in the half’s final 40 seconds, helping the Huskies take a 39-25 lead into the locker rooms.
UConn stretched their advantage up to 19 behind a three-pointer from the McDonald’s All-American Game co-MVP and two free throws. But starting with her free throws, Von Oelhoffen ignited the Trojans’ comeback efforts throughout the third quarter. The graduate guard scored eight straight points for USC, yet the Huskies’ two leading scorers kept their lead around 14.
Such was the case until Kennedy Smith landed a second-chance layup. That bucket sparked an 11-0 Trojans run over the third quarter’s final four minutes that pulled them within five points. Von Oelhoffen delivered the signature play of that stretch with a floater right before the buzzer sounded.
Fudd ended Connecticut’s four-minute scoring drought and expanded their gradually narrowing advantage. The Spokane 4 Region’s Most Outstanding Player followed 90 seconds later with a 5-0 run that got the Huskies back up by double digits.
Nine fourth-quarter points from Avery Howell and a late push got the Trojans within single digits. Yet too little time remained for Southern California to complete the comeback. Bueckers secured her third consecutive 30-piece as a No. 1 seed fell for the first time between the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments.
UConn has reached the Final Four for the second straight year, 24th time overall and 16th time in the last 17 seasons. The latest addition to that remarkable run is a ride that Chen has thoroughly enjoyed so far.
“I never thought I would make it to a Final Four, but here I am,” the 2022-23 Ivy League Player of the Year gleefully stated. “All of the credit goes to my coaches and my teammates.”
The top-seeded UCLA Bruins, the champions of the Spokane 1 Region and first-time Final Four participants, await the Huskies in Tampa Bay. Tip-off on Friday night from Amalie Arena is at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
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