There will be no Cinderellas at Amalie Arena on Friday with No. 1 seeds South Carolina, UCLA and Texas at the NCAA Women’s Final Four.
They will be joined in Tampa by the betting favorite to win it all, UConn, a No. 2 seed that has been playing the best of any team over the past month.
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South Carolina will face Southeastern Conference foe Texas for the fourth time this season in one semifinal Friday night. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
UConn, appearing in a record 24th Final Four, will play UCLA in the other semifinal at 9:30 p.m.
The Longhorns (35-3) and Huskies (35-3) completed the Final Four field by winning their regional titles on Monday. South Carolina (34-3) and UCLA (35-2) earned their trips to Tampa on Sunday.
At Spokane, Washington, Paige Bueckers scored 31 points in UConn’s 78-64 victory over No. 1 seed Southern California, which couldn’t overcome the loss of star JuJu Watkins, who tore an ACL in the tourney’s second round.
Freshman Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds for the Huskies, who have won a record 11 NCAA titles, all under Coach Geno Auriemma. Their most recent championship was in 2016, the last of a run of four straight.
"It's a Connecticut thing, I hope that when we get in these situations, we know how to win," Auriemma told ESPN. "I'm really proud of that."
The Huskies' reward: Another cross-country trip to Florida.
At Birmingham, Alabama, Madison Booker scored 18 points and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defense to top well-traveled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU, 58-47.
Texas won a regional final for the first time under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State.
Rori Harmon, who was sidelined by a knee injury last year, drew the assignment of defending Van Lith much of the night.
“Just to see us get to the Final Four after recovering and coming back from my ACL injury in 10 months,” Harmon said. “I thought it was an amazing thing, and I was just really proud of myself in that moment.”
