Women's March Madness Roundup: Bueckers leads UConn to Elite Eight

PORTLAND, Ore. — Paige Bueckers scored 24 points to lead third-seeded UConn and its injury-depleted roster back to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 53-45 victory over No. 7 seed Duke on Saturday night.

A year after having to watch March Madness while sidelined by a knee injury, Bueckers was again the best player on the floor, lifting the Huskies into their 28th regional final. And this one will be among the more unlikely in coach Geno Auriemma’s 39-year tenure.

UConn dressed eight players and played only six. But it still has Bueckers, the 2021 national player of the year who has returned to that form after injuries limited or sidelined her for most of the past two seasons.

The Huskies' victory set up the matchup fans had anticipated since the brackets were released — top seed Southern California against the Huskies on Monday night with Bueckers squaring off against fabulous freshman JuJu Watkins. The 18-year-old Watkins had 30 points in USC’s 74-70 win over Baylor in the other Portland 3 Region semifinal.

Aaliyah Edwards and KK Arnold each scored 12 points for the Huskies, who scored their second-fewest points in a March Madness victory.

LSU 78, UCLA 69

ALBANY, N.Y. — Angel Reese says LSU's players are embracing the role of "good villains” as they make a run toward repeating as national champions.

Flau’jae Johnson had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Reese put up her 26th double-double of the season Saturday as LSU (31-5) beat UCLA 78-69 in the Sweet 16.

Reese had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out late in the game for the Tigers, who closed the game on a 14-2 run. Aneesah Morrow had 17 points and Mikaylah Williams added 12.

And all the while the Tigers did their usual trash-talking, screaming and waving goodbye to their opponent.

“We’re the good villains,” Reese said. “We’re impacting the game so much and all of us are super competitive and want to win and do whatever it takes to win. We’re just changing the game."

LSU advanced to the Elite Eight, where it will face either Iowa or Colorado in Monday night’s regional final.

Lauren Betts had 14 points and 17 rebounds for UCLA, which finished the season at 27-7. Londynn Jones and Gabriela Jaquez also put up 14 points each and Kiki Rice scored 13 for the Bruins.

(1) USC 74, (5) BAYLOR 70

PORTLAND, Ore. — Freshman All-American JuJu Watkins drove the length of the floor for a go-ahead three-point play with 3:13 left and finished with 30 points, leading top-seeded Southern California past Baylor 74-70 on Saturday and into the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament for the first time in 30 years.

Watkins scored nine straight points for the Trojans in the closing minutes and powered a decisive 8-0 run. McKenzie Forbes added 14 points for USC (29-5), which will face either third-seeded UConn or seventh-seeded Duke on Monday in the Portland 3 Region final for a spot in the Final Four.

Sarah Andrews scored 17 points for Baylor (26-8), which was making its 20th straight March Madness appearance and was vying for its first Elite Eight spot since 2021, Kim Mulkey's final season as coach of the Bears.

USC won national titles in 1983 and ‘84, but the Trojans’ deepest run in the tournament since was a regional final loss in 1994 under coach Cheryl Miller to Louisiana Tech.

Watkins surpassed Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell (873 points in 2014-15) for second on the all-time freshman scoring list. The 18-year-old Los Angeles native has 891 points, seven shy of the record set by San Diego State's Tina Hutchinson in 1984.

Watkins — the nation's second-leading scorer behind Iowa's Caitlin Clark — missed 20 shots from the field, going 8 of 28 overall and 2 of 11 from 3-point range, but went 12 of 13 from the free-throw line.