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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Madison Williams

UConn Makes Women's Final Four History With Dominant 34-Point Win Over UCLA

UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong and guard Paige Bueckers react to a play on the bench during the Final Four. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies stepped onto the court in Tampa on Friday night and absolutely dominated over the UCLA Bruins.

The No. 2 Huskies beat the No. 1 Bruins by a whopping 34 points as the final score ended at 85-51. This margin of victory is the biggest win in women's Final Four history. It's the only time a Final Four team has won by 30 or more points, in fact. And, UConn became the first team in NCAA tournament history (men's or women's) to beat a No. 1 seed by over 30 points, per OptaSTATS.

Freshman Sarah Strong shined in Friday's semifinal contest, finishing with a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds. She became just the third UConn freshman in program history to score 20 points or more in a Final Four game after Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore, some legends of the game.

It was an overall historic night for the Huskies as they look to make more history on Sunday at the national title game. They will face South Carolina for a chance to win their 12th program championship. It would be the first title for all the current Huskies players, including projected No. 1 WNBA pick Paige Bueckers, who has reached the Final Four in every season except for the one she missed due to an ACL tear.

UConn last won the national title in 2016, and they last played in the title game in 2022.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as UConn Makes Women's Final Four History With Dominant 34-Point Win Over UCLA.

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