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Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
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TAMPA, Fla. — The last time the UConn women’s basketball team met up with UCLA before Friday night was a day coach Geno Auriemma wanted to forget.
The Bruins jumped out to a 16-point lead in the first quarter and rolled to a convincing 78-67 win, their first over the Huskies, on Nov. 24, 2023 in the Cayman Islands Classic
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It wasn’t as close as the final score might indicate.
“The coaches told me not to watch that game,” Auriemma said. “Generally speaking, when we’re really, really bad I don’t watch it. After that game I was hoping the season would end right there and then. They told me, ‘It’s worse than you think.’ So I tried to remember how bad it was and it was God-awful.”
TAMPA, FLORIDA – APRIL 04: Kiki Rice #1 of the UCLA Bruins and Paige Bueckers #5 of the UConn Huskies battle for the ball in the first quarter in the Final Four game of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 04, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
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Fortunately, Auriemma brought a different team to Amalie Arena to take on the NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed in a Final Four semifinal game. And he was confident the result would be different.
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UConn contained UCLA All-American center Lauren Betts inside and the Bruins’ effectiveness from the outside while forcing them into turnovers that the Huskies turned into points. UConn’s 85-51 rout of UCLA puts it into Sunday’s final against reigning national champion South Carolina.
“We all just wanted to lock in defensively,” UConn guard and 2025 Wade Trophy winner Paige Bueckers said. “I think that’s all of our main mindset and our main goal as a team, to be super-locked in defensively, talk, communicate, play with energy, effort on that side of the floor. And it translates into what we want to do on offense.”
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UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) tries to score against UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) and guard Paige Bueckers (5) during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women’s NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla.
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UConn’s pace of play was too much for the Bruins and had Betts walking up and down the court by the middle of the third quarter.
She still managed to put up 26 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the floor but never was a dominant figure. The Huskies (36-3) also held UCLA to 4-for-16 shooting from behind the arc after giving a dozen treys in the previous meeting. UCLA shot 38.5 percent.
“The thing I was concerned about was we were going to play Lauren Betts one-on-one and we’re going to give our post guys an opportunity to see what they can do,” Auriemma said. “But we’re not sacrificing the guys on the perimeter to help. So if she gets] 30 or 35, as long as we keep scoring we’re going to keep guarding her that way.”
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UConn never trailed. The Huskies forced the Bruins into 14 first-half turnovers in taking a 20-point lead and 19 turnovers for the game.
More importantly, UConn turned the miscues into points, finishing with a huge 27-5 advantage in points off of turnovers and 13-4 edge in fast-break points.
TAMPA, FLORIDA – APRIL 04: Lauren Betts #51 of the UCLA Bruins takes a shot against Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies in the first quarter in the Final Four game of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on April 04, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
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“The turnovers are really what killed us in the first half just because we didn’t have shot attempts at the basket,” UCLA guard Kiki Rice said. “We’ve always talked about this year we need the ball to score. And when you have the ball and we take care of the ball we’re a really good team.
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“But I think it was difficult for us to get in rhythm both offensively and defensively when you’re continuously turning the ball over. And they’re a great defensive team.”
Rice, who scored 24 points in UCLA’s win last season, was held to eight points Friday night. Two starters – Gabriela Jaquez and Londynn Jones – who were averaging 18 points per game combined coming in put up zero.
UCLA forward Janiah Barker (0) battles for a rebound against UConn guard KK Arnold (2) and guard Paige Bueckers (5) during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women’s NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla.
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The Bruins entered the game averaging 78.7 points per game but were held under 60 for the first time.
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“Tonight our defense was incredible, but we don’t have any right to be that good of a defensive team given the youth of some of our guys,” Auriemma said. “They’re bigger than us at every position. But when we score, now the pressure on you is immense.”
Redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy played 23 minutes and was a plus-22. Ice Brady gave the Huskies solid minutes. The Huskies’ small lineup, usually their best, gave Betts issues with All-American Sarah Strong doing the job.
“We just wanted to limit Betts from the start and limit their threes and get out in transition,” Chen said. “Jana played a big part in that in setting the tone for us defensively.”
El Alfy was the best defensive center on the floor, outplaying the Big Ten and national Defensive Player of the Year who often look confused as the Huskies got most shots they wanted and hit 55.0 percent of them.
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The Bruins finish 34-3 after reaching the NCAA Final Four for the first time. UConn was making its 24th appearance in the national semifinals including its 16th in the last 17 tournaments.
“They’re a really good team,” Jaquez said. “They’re well-coached, and they came out ready to play.”
