Paige Bueckers received 31 points and no. 2 seed Uconn held on short-handed no.
The Huskies (35-3) took the lead on a 9-0 driving during the first quarter and never looked back, left in front of the USC for the rest of the way.
The Trojans (31-4), who played without the injured national player for this year’s candidate Juju Watkins, threatened at different times throughout the competition. Rayah Marshall rose in Watkin’s absence to get 23 points and take 15 returns.
Freshman Sarah Strong met 4 out of 6 from the 3-point area on the way to 22 points and took a career high 17 returns for Uconn, who is moving forward to meet UCLA in Final Four on Friday in Tampa.
Huskies’ Kaitlyn Chen added 15 points, six during the fourth quarter. Azzi Fudd showed up after a slow start to play a huge role along the route and got all eight points during the final period.
USC’s Talia von Oelhoff scored all ten points during the second half, and Kiki Iriafen also had 10 points in 3-AV-15 shooting. The Trojans could not overcome 32.8 percent shooting from the floor – or UCONN’s quick response to the Trojan runs.
Fill missed her first nine field-goal attempts, but she broke through at an appropriate time.
The USC went on a 21-7 run during the third quarter to reduce a deficit of 19 points down to five that entered the final period. Fill, however, opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and she made another trey to meet an 11-2 run that set Huskies set up 62-48 with 6:54 to go.
Uconn pushed the lead back to 15 points during the fourth quarter on the way to the victory.
Bueckers passed Napheesa Collier to become the third leading painter in Uconn history. Monday was the third straight game where Bueckers logged 31-Plus points. She also drew six assists against the Trojans.
USC’s Avery Howell, which received nine points, shot 2-for-5 from 3-point distance. The rest of the Trojans went a combined 1-for-8 beyond the arch.
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