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WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — 2024-25
USC vs. UConn — Elite Eight as it happened
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Henry Kofman / Daily Trojan
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Henry Mode & Stefano Fendrich from Spokane, Wa.
The Trojans are battling UConn with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Top-seeded USC is a 14.5 point underdog against superstar redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers and the Huskies. Without their own superstar guard, sophomore JuJu Watkins, the Trojans have a tall task on their hands to reach their first Final Four since 1986.
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8:46 p.m.
When the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament bracket came out on Selection Sunday, even the most casual of hoops fans noticed one key detail: USC and UConn were placed in the same region — setting up a potential marquee rematch between superstar guards sophomore JuJu Watkins and redshirt senior Paige Bueckers.Just over two weeks later, the duel everyone was waiting for took place, but with one key asterisk. Watkins tore her ACL two rounds prior, leaving the Trojans (31-4, 17-1 Big Ten) without their crown jewel to counter Bueckers. USC fought valiantly but, without Watkins, had no answer for the depth and experience of the Huskies (35-3, 18-0 Big East) — eventually falling 78-64 Monday night at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.While it was freshman forward Sarah Strong who did the heavy lifting in the first half, it was UConn’s veteran guard trio that slammed the door shut late. Bueckers — along with fellow guards senior Azzi Fudd and grad student Kaitlyn Chen — combined for 25 of the Huskies’ 27 fourth-quarter points. The youthful Trojan backcourt looked a bit lost as Bueckers, Fudd and Chen, who have 13 years of collegiate basketball experience between them, clinched UConn’s fourth Final Four of the former’s Husky tenure.USC’s back-to-back wins without Watkins were impressive, but it was always going to take a level to overcome UConn that is simply outside of the Trojans’ capacity without the presumptive Naismith Player of the Year. That said, USC was still one victory away from a first Final Four in 40 years, and the defeat is sure to sting just the same.
8:19 p.m.
It’s the foul game now for the Trojans to try and stay in this game. It’s back to an 11 point lead for the Huskies with under a minute to play.
8:16 p.m.
Chen has buckets on two straight possessions for UConn, both heavily contested layups. USC has called a time out to try and make one last push. 70-58, 1:13 left to play for USC’s season.
8:13 p.m.
Marshall has been willing USC back into this game, up to 23 on the day, good for a season-high. But UConn still has an 12 point lead with under two minutes to play. Iriafen is going to the line to cut into that deficit.
8:05 p.m.
Beuckers and Fudd are just too much for the Trojans, who’ve had to run around to guard them all game. The duo has all of UConn’s points in the fourth and putting the nail in the coffin to USC’s season. 66-51 with just over three minutes to go.
8:02 p.m.
Fudd has come alive in this fourth quarter, hitting two huge 3-pointers. It has pushed the UConn lead to 13. Smith and Becukers are continuing to battle, both putting their bodies on the line.
7:52 p.m.
The lead is just five for UConn after a buzzer-beating layup by von Oelhoffen. She pushed away the other defender and laid it in to close a 10-point quarter for the guard. It’s not over yet, USC has one more quarter to complete the comeback.
7:50 p.m.
USC is making a run late to end the third quarter, currently on a 9-0 run after Marshall hit a pair of free throws. The Trojans have cut the lead to just seven.
7:43 p.m.
Smith just limped to the bench; she looks pretty exhausted after chasing Bueckers around for almost three quarters, and also has three fouls. The Trojans are just about sticking around — trailing 51-40 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter.
7:33 p.m.
Defensive struggles aside, von Oelhoffen has come alive on offense for the Trojans. The Washington native has scored eight points in a row for USC, keeping them somewhat within touching distance of the Huskies. 47-33 UConn midway through the third quarter.
7:22 p.m.
The Trojans have come out of the locker room for the second half, which could potentially be the last one of their season. Turnovers and a lack of synergy on offense have plagued USC so far. They’re down 14 and have one last gasp to try to extend the season.
7:10 p.m.
The Trojans just had no answers on offense in that opening half. They shot 35.7% from the field across the 20 minutes, and did not make a single triple. They have only attempted three shots from behind the arc. That number will need to go way up if they’re going to mount a second-half comeback.
7:08 p.m.
UConn leads 39-25 at the break after Bueckers closed the half with back-to-back triples. Bueckers is shooting basically every time she can get away from Smith — and it’s not a bad strategy. Every other Trojan looks pretty overwhelmed matched up against the three-time AP First-Team All-American.
7:01 p.m.
UConn is aggressively hunting graduate guard Talia von Oelhoffen on defense. Bueckers just went right at her to draw a foul, and earlier urged sophomore guard KK Arnold to attack von Oelhoffen in transition. Smith is still wreaking havoc on defense, but the Huskies appear content to just stay away from her matchup for now — attacking von Oelhoffen and freshman guard Kayleigh Heckel instead.
6:51 p.m.
USC is floundering on the offensive end a bit now. Iriafen and Marshall are leading the way with 16 of the 19 points, but only one other Trojan has made a shot. UConn’s lead is slowly getting bigger at 26-19.
6:47 p.m.
Smith may be slowing down Bueckers, but Strong is dominating Iriafen — or really anyone in front of her. She is up to 15 points on 6-7 shooting already, and is 3-3 from behind the arc. UConn leads 23-17 with 6:38 to go in the quarter.
6:39 p.m.
A low-scoring first quarter sees the Huskies in front 14-11 at its conclusion. The Trojans have been very impressive on defense, holding Huskies other than Strong to just four points (including just two for Bueckers). But it hasn’t been pretty on offense — USC is seriously struggling to find answers on that end; five turnovers to end the quarter.
6:35 p.m.
UConn star freshman forward Sarah Strong is torching the Trojans early. Strong missed a crucial free throw in the Huskies’ loss to USC earlier this season, and mentioned this potential matchup was absolutely circled on her calendar. She has ten points already to lead all scorers.
6:30 p.m.
11-8 USC with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Graduate forward Kiki Iriafen has already taken six shots and scored six quick points. Iriafen will need to continue to be uber-aggressive to give the Trojans a chance tonight.
6:27 p.m.
Freshman guard Kennedy Smith is all over UConn redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers early — as expected. That combined with some promising early offense has USC up 9-5 midway through the first quarter.
6:15 p.m.
Here are the starting lineups:
USC
G Talia von Oelhoffen
G Avery Howell
G Kennedy Smith
F Kiki Iriafen
C Rayah Marshall
UConn
G Paige Bueckers
G Azzi Fudd
G Kaitlyn Chen
F Sarah Strong
C Jana El Alfy
5:41 p.m.
Will USC rewrite history and avenge its Elite Eight loss from last year? Can the Trojans stop UConn redshirt senior Paige Becukers without their own superstar, sophomore guard JuJu Watkins? Tipoff is less than 35 minutes away in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
5:41 p.m.
Will USC rewrite history and avenge its Elite Eight loss from last year? Can the Trojans stop UConn redshirt senior Paige Becukers without their own superstar, sophomore guard JuJu Watkins? Tipoff is less than 35 minutes away in Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
5:15 p.m.
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