PORTLAND, Ore. — Not so fast, freshman.
JuJu Watkins propelled USC to a meteoric, magical, mesmerizing one-year rise to get back into the national championship conversation after decades of irrelevance. Paige Bueckers, Connecticut’s senior guard, ended it.
Bueckers starred in UConn’s 80-73 win over top-seeded USC in the Portland 3 Regional final Monday in Moda Center with 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, reasserting UConn’s position as an inevitable dominant force in the sport. The Huskies (33-5) return to the Final Four to face No. 1-seed Iowa on Friday in Cleveland.