By Field Level Media
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Paige Bueckers scored 31 points and No. 2 seed UConn held off short-handed No. 1 seed Southern California 78-64 on Monday to win the Spokane (Wash.) Region 4 and advance to its 24th Final Four.

The Huskies (35-3) took the lead on a 9-0 run in the first quarter and never looked back, remaining in front of USC the rest of the way.

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The Trojans (31-4), playing without injured national Player of the Year candidate JuJu Watkins, threatened at different times throughout the contest. Rayah Marshall stepped up in Watkins’ absence to score 23 points and grab 15 rebounds.

Freshman Sarah Strong hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range en route to 22 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds for UConn, which advances to face UCLA in the Final Four on Friday in Tampa.

The Huskies’ Kaitlyn Chen added 15 points, six in the fourth quarter. Azzi Fudd emerged after a slow start to play a huge role down the stretch, scoring all eight of her points in the final period.

USC’s Talia von Oelhoffen scored all 10 of her points in the second half, and Kiki Iriafen also had 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting. The Trojans could not overcome 32.8 percent shooting from the floor — or UConn’s timely responses to Trojans runs.

Fudd missed her first nine field-goal attempts, but she broke through at an opportune time.

USC went on a 21-7 run in the third quarter to cut a 19-point deficit down to five entering the final period. However, Fudd opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and she made another trey to cap an 11-2 run that put the Huskies up 62-48 with 6:54 to go.

UConn pushed the lead back to 15 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the win. Bueckers passed Napheesa Collier to become the third-leading scorer in UConn history. Monday was the third straight game in which Bueckers logged 31-plus points. She also dished six assists against the Trojans.

USC’s Avery Howell, who scored nine points, shot 2-for-5 from 3-point distance. The rest of the Trojans went a combined 1-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Texas pushes past TCU to advance to Final Four

Madison Booker led all scorers with 18 points and Texas used a major run spanning the third and fourth quarters to hold off TCU 58-47 in the Birmingham (Ala.) Region 3 final and advance to the program’s first Final Four since 2003 on Monday.

The top-seeded Longhorns (35-3) will face SEC rival South Carolina for the fourth time. They split the two-game regular-season series before South Carolina defeated Texas in the SEC championship game.

Texas set the defensive tone early, holding TCU without a field goal for the opening 5:33. The No. 2 seed Horned Frogs battled back, however, forcing a tie in the third quarter.

Texas responded with a 13-4 run over the period’s final five minutes for a 42-33 advantage. After TCU pulled within six points, a 7-1 surge provided the Longhorns all the breathing room they needed down the stretch. Texas did not allow a field goal for 5:14 during its decisive stretch early in the fourth.

Booker grabbed six rebounds, while Rori Harmon finished with 13 points and a game-high five assists for Texas.

TCU star Haily Van Lith overcame a slow start to finish with 17 points and eight boards. She was the Horned Frogs’ only double-figure scorer.

Texas limited Van Lith to 3-of-15 shooting, however, and successfully neutralized Sedona Prince in the lane. The Horned Frogs’ second-leading scorer on the season, Prince finished with just four points before fouling out on Monday.

TCU (34-4) ended its best season in program history shooting just 12-of-45 from the floor (26.7 percent), including 4-of-20 from 3-point range. Texas also forced the Horned Frogs into 21 turnovers while committing just eight on the other end.

The Longhorns converted those 21 takeaways into 17 points. Booker, Harmon and Kyla Oldacre helped key the turnover-generation with two steals apiece.

Texas outshot TCU from the floor, going 24-of-61 (39.3 percent), but the Horned Frogs’ ability to get to the free-throw line kept them within striking distance. TCU went 19-of-21 at the charity stripe, with Van Lith scoring 10 of her points at the line.