UConn knocks off defending champs Stanford to advance to title game
The UConn Huskies defeated defending champion Stanford 63-58 to advance to the NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship Game.
UConn will match up against South Carolina on Sunday. It will be the Huskies' first national title appearance since 2016.
Paige Bueckers led the way for the Huskies, finishing with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-13 from the field. Bueckers also added five assists and four rebounds in the Final Four victory.
Meanwhile, Stanford's Haley Jones was the game's leading scorer, finishing with 20 points, while teammate Cameron Brink had 15 points in the loss. The two accounted for 35 of Stanford's 58 points.
From the tip-off, the Huskies led throughout the first quarter. They were paced by Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, who had four points apiece, propelling UConn to a 12-9 lead heading into the second quarter.
Stanford kept things close with a solid second quarter, even taking a one-point lead late in the half. Stanford outscored the Huskies 17-15 in the quarter, but a layup with 45 seconds left from Nika Muhl gave the Huskies a one-point lead at halftime, 27-26.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth battle. Neither team led by more than three points during the entire quarter; both teams claimed leads, but UConn held a two-point advantage heading into the fourth, 39-37.
After a third quarter that saw just 23 combined points between UConn and Stanford, the fourth was the highest-scoring quarter of the game.
The Huskies came out on fire, scoring eight of the first 10 points of the quarter, jumping out to an eight-point lead. Stanford would cut the Huskies' lead to just two points late, but clutch free-throws by UConn's Christyn Williams and Aaliyah Edwards sealed the victory.
UConn will battle with No. 1 South Carolina, with the NCAA title on the line, Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
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