UCLA
34-3,15-2Big Ten
UConn
36-3,18-0Big East
Women's Basketball Falls to UConn in Final Four, 85-51
April 04, 2025 | Women's Basketball
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 1-seed UCLA women's basketball team lost to No. 2-seed UConn, 85-51, in a semifinal contest at the NCAA Final Four at Amalie Arena on Friday evening.
The Bruins (34-3) trailed UConn by a 42-22 margin at halftime.
Lauren Betts led UCLA with 26 points and finished the contest with five rebounds and two steals.
UConn's Sarah Strong led the Huskies (36-3) with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Strong made 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range, as one of three Huskies to have scored in double figures. Azzi Fudd totaled 19 points and three steals, while Paige Bueckers scored 16 points.
UConn advanced to the 2025 NCAA Championship contest on Sunday and will face No. 1-seed South Carolina (35-3).
"This is just never easy," said Cori Close, The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach. "Hard balance, credit to UConn. They were the aggressors. They played more purposefully. They played more connected. They were tougher than us tonight and they handed it to us. That being said, we've got to learn from this. We've obviously gone to new heights this year. But we've got to let the pain of this, hopefully, teach us to go to new heights next year and learn from this and be better the next time. Really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room, and to have an opportunity to come back stronger, more connected – learning from this experience and be better the next time."
Friday night's contest marked UCLA's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Final Four. Previously, the Bruins' program had competed in semifinals at the 1978 and 1979 AIAW national tournaments, with UCLA winning the AIAW national title in 1978.
UConn never trailed in the semifinal showdown against UCLA on Friday, pushing ahead by as many as 20 points late in the second quarter. The Huskies led UCLA, 15-11, at the 3:05 mark in the first quarter and used a 12-2 scoring run over the next six minutes to claim a 27-13 cushion early in the second quarter.
UCLA closed the first-half gap to 10 points with 4:34 to play in the second quarter. A 3-point basket by Kiki Rice cut UConn's advantage to 30-20. The Huskies closed the opening half on a 12-2 scoring run to secure a 42-22 halftime advantage.
UConn shot 5-for-13 from 3-point distance in the first half. The Huskies finished the game having shot 55.0 percent overall (33-for-60) and 7-for-16 from long-range. UCLA shot 38.5 percent overall against UConn.
The Bruins never pulled any closer than 18 points of UConn in the second half. Betts scored 15 of her team-leading 26 points after halftime.
UCLA closed the 2024-25 season with a 34-3 record, having won the Big Ten Tournament title and securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
