The UConn women’s basketball mounted a spectacular comeback but came up just short in a 72-70 loss to No. 7 USC in front of a sold-out crowd at the XL Center on Saturday night.
The No. 4 Huskies (10-2) fell behind by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, then outscored USC 41-30 after halftime to cement the matchup as an instant classic despite their second defeat of the season. Superstar Paige Bueckers led UConn with 22 points shooting 9-for-22 from the field, and freshman standout Sarah Strong recorded the third double-double of her career with 22 points and 13 rebounds plus five assists.
USC star JuJu Watkins was impressive with 25 points plus six rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Projected WNBA lottery pick Kiki Iriafen added 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Trojans.
UConn came out sluggish allowing a 9-0 run over the first four minutes of the game, but Bueckers ignited the Huskies’ offense with a signature off-balance pull-up jump shot for the team’s first field goal of the game. Strong, who scored UConn’s first points on a pair of free throws, got involved quickly adding a contested 3-pointer moments later to close the Trojans’ lead to a single possession.
A 6-0 UConn run ended with an pull-up jump shot from Watkins, who logged 10 points in the first quarter alone. The sophomore phenom started 2-for-2 from 3-point range contributing to a 3-for-5 first quarter for USC, while the Huskies’ shooters struggled to get hot beginning 1-for-5 from outside. Though Watkins picked up her second foul late in the opening quarter, USC continued to extend its lead to 24-25 holding UConn scoreless for nearly six total minutes in the first.
Huskies sophomore Ashlynn Shade found some rhythm with four straight points in the second quarter, but UConn found itself trading layups and jumpers for 3-pointers amid an elite shooting performance from the Trojans. USC had one of its best halves of the season going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc, powered by its trio of top 20-ranked freshmen. Kennedy Smith, playing in her first game since undergoing a surgical procedure on Nov. 23, hit a pair of threes in the first half, and Kayleigh Heckel hit one as part of her perfect shooting start from the field. Smith finished the game with nine points going 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
UConn ended the first half on a three-minute scoring drought, and Bueckers entered halftime with just seven points shooting 30% from the field. She made the Huskies’ lone 3-pointer of the second quarter on an assist from Fudd, but Strong was held to two points in the second and finished the half with two of the Huskies’ eight turnovers. USC hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, more than it had made in six of 11 previous complete games this season.
The Huskies struggled to find momentum again early in the second half, but Bueckers came out aggressive and put up six points in the first five minutes of the third quarter. KK Arnold then checked off the bench and injected life into the Huskies helping force four turnovers in five minutes against the Trojans. The string of defensive stops turned into a 14-2 run that got UConn back to a single digit deficit.
The roar of the crowd hit its loudest decible of the game as Arnold made a steal that she converted into an assist on a Shade 3-pointer, the roared even louder when she did the same for Bueckers off another Trojans turnover moments later. UConn ended on a 13-2 run with nine points from Buckers in the quarter, and the Huskies combined to force seven turnovers against USC after finishing the first half with seven.
The teams traded buckets to open the fourth quarter until the Huskies hit four field goals in a row to close the Trojans’ lead to just one point with six minutes to play. The arena exploded as Morgan Cheli drained a 3-pointer that made it a possession game, and Bueckers added one of her signature off-balance jump shots to put UConn within one and force a USC timeout.
It was another back-and-forth down the stretch as USC fought to maintain its suddenly-narrow lead. UConn took a brief lead with more than five minutes to go, then tied the game with less than three minutes left, and cut it back to a one-point deficit in the final 30 seconds after the Trojans responded. Strong drew a foul against Watkins from the 3-point line with just five seconds to play, but she hit just one of her free throws, and the Huskies couldn’t get a final shot attempt up.
