TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd didn’t even need much help from superstar Paige Bueckers to propel UConn into the national title game, leading the Huskies to a remarkably easy 85-51 victory over UCLA on Friday night in the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Strong finished with 22 points and Fudd scored all of her 19 points in the first half for the second-seeded Huskies, who are one win away from their 12th national championship and first since the team won four straight from 2013-16, led by Breanna Stewart. The eight-year title drought is the longest for the Huskies since they won their first in 1995.
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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. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
From left, UCLA guard Londynn Jones (3), guard Kiki Rice (1) and forward Timea Gardiner (30) react during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UConn during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn players react late in the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against the UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma motions to players during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the first half during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) falls over UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen (20) as they go after a rebound during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) shoots against UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) is greeted by teammates as she comes off the floor during a break in play against UCLA during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5), forward Sarah Strong (21) and center Jana El Alfy (8) react late in the game against UCLA during a national semifinal Final Four game of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
From left, UConn forward Sarah Strong (21), guard Paige Bueckers (5) and guard Azzi Fudd (35) react during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) and UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) react during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
“We aren’t worried about the past. Every single day you walk into the gym and live up to the standard of playing UConn basketball,” Bueckers said. “Not comparing yourself to other teams and players before. We want to fill their shoes and make them proud. Wear the jersey with pride.”
UConn will face defending champion South Carolina on Sunday for the title after the Gamecocks beat Texas 74-57 earlier Friday night. It’s a rematch of the 2022 championship game, which the Gamecocks won 64-49. The teams met in February and UConn shocked South Carolina with a 29-point road victory.
“They've played basketball at an exceptionally high level when you think about the Final Fours they've been too and the consistency in their program," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “The ability to win national championships multiple times and (they) are in a position to win back-to-back ones.”
Bueckers, the likely top pick in the WNBA draft on April 14, finished with 16 points after topping 30 in each of the previous three games for the Huskies (36-3).
“If Paige had 16 last year, we wouldn't have made it to the Final Four,” Auriemma said. “If she had the game she had today the previous year, it would be almost impossible for us to win.”
All-America center Lauren Betts scored 26 points for top overall seed UCLA (34-3).
UConn got off to a hot start with Strong and Fudd leading the way. Even when shots looked off, they found their way in. Fudd, one of the best shooters in the country whose career at UConn has been interrupted by multiple injuries, banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key, prompting Auriemma to throw his arms in the air and smile.
“It’s just so much fun to watch her play with joy and be at this stage,” Bueckers said of Fudd. “You see all the ups and downs, the bad days, the good days and to be at this spot where it’s the light at the end of the tunnel and for her to perform and be at this stage, it means everything to us.”
The Huskies led 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. They continued the onslaught behind Fudd to open a 42-22 advantage at the break. Bueckers had the play of the half with a touch pass in the air to Kaitlyn Chen for a layup late in the second quarter.
UCLA never threated in the second half as the 6-foot-7 Betts had little help. UConn ended up breaking its own record for margin of victory in the Final Four or national title game — the Huskies won the 2013 championship by 33 points over Louisville.
The Bruins fell short in their first appearance in the NCAA Final Four. UCLA won a national title in 1978 in the pre-NCAA era of women’s basketball. The Bruins were looking to become the first team from the Big Ten, a conference they joined this season, to win a championship since Purdue did it in 1999.
UCLA cruised through its best regular season, earning the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 for the first time and holding the spot for 14 weeks.
The Bruins only lost twice this year before Friday, both to JuJu Watkins and USC. UCLA got a measure of revenge by beating USC to win the Big Ten Tournament in its first year in the league after the dismantling of the Pac-12. The Bruins set a program record for wins in a season and won 23 consecutive games, including 22 in a row by double digits.
“We’ve obviously gone to new heights this year, but we got to let the pain of this hopefully teach us to go to new heights next year," UCLA coach Cori Close said. “Learn from this and be better the next time. (It’s) really unusual to be in this position at the Final Four and have zero seniors in your locker room and have an opportunity to come back stronger, more connected, learning from this experience and be better the next time.”
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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. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
From left, UCLA guard Londynn Jones (3), guard Kiki Rice (1) and forward Timea Gardiner (30) react during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UConn during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn players react late in the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against the UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma motions to players during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the first half during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) falls over UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen (20) as they go after a rebound during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) shoots against UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) is greeted by teammates as she comes off the floor during a break in play against UCLA during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5), forward Sarah Strong (21) and center Jana El Alfy (8) react late in the game against UCLA during a national semifinal Final Four game of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
From left, UConn forward Sarah Strong (21), guard Paige Bueckers (5) and guard Azzi Fudd (35) react during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) and UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) react during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Days of unrelenting downpours swelled rivers to near record levels across Kentucky on Monday, submerging neighborhoods and threatening a famed bourbon distillery in the state capital.
Inundated rivers posed the latest threat from persistent storms that have killed at least 23 people — 10 in Tennessee — since last week as they doused the region with heavy rain and spawned destructive tornadoes. Though the storms have finally moved on, the flood danger likewise remains high in several other states, including parts of Tennessee, Arkansas and Indiana.
Cities ordered evacuations and rescue crews in inflatable boats checked on residents in Kentucky and Tennessee, while utilities shut off power and gas in a region stretching from Texas to Ohio. Floodwaters forced the closure of the historic Buffalo Trace Distillery, close to the banks of the swollen Kentucky River near downtown Frankfort, Kentucky.
Salon owner Jessica Tuggle watched Monday as murky brown water approached her Frankfort business. She and her friends had moved her salon gear — styling chairs, hair products and electronics — to a nearby taproom.
“Everybody was just, ‘stop raining, stop raining,’ so we could get an idea of what the worst situation would be,” she said.
Officials diverted traffic and turned off utilities to businesses in Frankfort as the river crested just short of a record Monday. More than 500 state roads across Kentucky were still closed Monday morning, Gov. Andy Beshear said.
Ashley Welsh, her husband, four children and pets had to leave their Frankfort home along the river Saturday evening, abandoning a lifetime of belongings to the floodwaters.
When she checked her house’s cameras Sunday morning, the water had risen to the second floor.
“My stuff was floating around in the living room. I was just heartbroken. Our life is up there,” Welsh said.
Twenty-three deaths have been reported since the storms began Wednesday. Among the four confirmed killed in Kentucky, a 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home, police said. A 16-year-old volunteer Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm.
A Carroll County, Tennessee, electric department lineman died while working in the storms, state emergency management officials said.
Kentucky State Police said Monday that they recovered the body of a McCracken County man swept away by floodwaters Sunday while trying to retrieve his boat. And Beshear reported the flood-related death of a Trigg County man Monday.
The Arkansas Division of Emergency confirmed the death of a man found by the Sherwood Fire Department in a submerged vehicle.
Two men sitting in a golf cart, a father and son, were killed when a tree fell on them at a golf course in Columbus, Georgia, according to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan.
The Kentucky River crested at Frankfort Lock at 48.27 feet (14.71 meters) Monday, just shy of the record of 48.5 feet (14.8 meters) set there on Dec. 10, 1978, according to CJ Padgett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Louisville, Kentucky, office.
Beshear said more than 1,000 people had no access to water and nearly 3,000 were under boil water advisories. The city of Harrodsburg about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Frankfort said on social media that its water system had to discontinue pumping around midnight because of flood levels on the Kentucky River. Bottled water was being handed out Monday.
John and Phyllis Sower hunkered down about a half-block from the river in their Frankfort home, which had about 4 feet (122 centimeters) of water in the cellar. A neighbor waded over Monday to bring them flowers on their front porch.
“We are an island in the Kentucky River,” Phyllis Sower said.
In northeastern Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the scene “absolutely heartbreaking” around the town of Hardy, which took damage to its city hall and other buildings. Sanders and local officials vowed to rebuild.
West Memphis, Arkansas, Fire Chief Barry Ealy told WREG-TV that crews in the flood-prone city have rescued more than 100 people.
A tornado destroyed more than 100 structures in McNairy County, Tennessee, tearing through the town of Selmer with winds estimated up to 160 mph (257 kph), local emergency management officials said. State officials say severe weather killed five people in the county of roughly 26,100 residents.
Though significant rains have ended in the Southern Plains and the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys, flooding on most rivers will persist this week, with some smaller waterways receding in the next few days, according to the weather service.
Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.
The NWS said 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas — making it the wettest day ever recorded in April in the city. Memphis, Tennessee, got 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain from Wednesday to Sunday, the NWS said.
Marshall County in western Kentucky received nearly 16 inches (41 centimeters) over the last five days, said Padgett, the meteorologist. Parts of central Kentucky received 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 centimeters) over those days and eastern Kentucky received 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters), Padgett said.
The storms come after the Trump administration cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20%, or double the level of a decade ago.
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in New York; Kimberlee Kruesi and Jonathan Mattise, in Nashville, Tennessee; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Adrian Sainz in Memphis; Tennessee; and Obed Lamy in Rives, Tennessee.
In an aerial view, a bourbon barrel floats on the floodwaters of the Buffalo Trace Distillery on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
In an aerial view, the flooded Buffalo Trace Distillery is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A flooded structure is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Azariah Boone, of Owenton, Ky, looks out over debris and rising floodwater from the Kentucky River washing up Crittenden Street, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Gratz, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Water seeps through a flood wall on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
In an aerial view, the flooded Buffalo Trace Distillery is seen on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A mobile home park floods where rising waters of the Little Sugar Creek meet the Ohio River, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Napoleon, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Buildings in a flooded downtown area are seen on Monday, April 7, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
The rising Ohio River floods along Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., is seen amid floodwaters on Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
Camp Turn-A-Bout is flooded by the rising Ohio River at the Gunpowder Creek, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Union, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Camp Turn-A-Bout is flooded by the rising Ohio River at the Gunpowder Creek, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Union, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Camp Turn-A-Bout is flooded by the rising Ohio River at the Gunpowder Creek, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Union, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A boy looks on as people ride a boat down a flooded road on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A Canada goose flies along the rising Ohio River at the flooded Anderson Ferry ramp Monday, April 7, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Dale Bardes, the oldest resident of Rabbit Hash, Ky., drives on the edge of the rising Ohio River floodwaters as he checks the water levels near the Rabbit Hash General Store on Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Dale Bardes, the oldest resident of Rabbit Hash, Ky., drives on the edge of the rising Ohio River floodwaters as he checks the water levels near the Rabbit Hash General Store on Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The rising Ohio River floods along Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The rising Ohio River floods along Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The rising Ohio River floods along Lower River Road, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Rabbit Hash, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The rising Ohio River partially submerges the bronze statue of James Bradley along Riverside Drive, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Covington, Ky. Cincinnati and the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge are seen across the Ohio River. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A Canadian goose swims in the rising Ohio River at the intersection of River Riverside Place and Ben Bernstein Place, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Covington, Ky., across the river from Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Carole Smith walks through her flooded home on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Search and rescue firefighters carry a boat to a flooded neighborhood on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A flooded neighborhood is seen on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Road crews work to clear Lee County Rd. 681 in Saltillo, Miss, Sunday, April 6, 2025, of downed trees that blocked the road following the severe weather that passed through the area Saturday night. (Thomas Wells /The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal via AP)
CORRECTS TO MICHAEL NOT MICHALE Michael Scott Memering looks out of his trailer after evacuating the Licking River RV Campground that was flooded by the rising waters of the Licking River, seen behind, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Falmouth, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Bill Jones pulls his boat ashore, filled with bottles of bourbon, from a flooded home near the banks of the Kentucky River on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Search and rescue firefighters conduct wellness checks in a neighborhood on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Abner Wagers stands near flooded homes in the rising waters of the Kentucky River in Monterey, Ky,. Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The flooded downtown area is seen on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Search and rescue firefighters speak to a resident in a flooded neighborhood on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
A group of people survey damage at Pounders Mobile Home Park following a strong line of storms in the area in Muscle Shoals, Ala, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)
Search and rescue firefighters conduct wellness checks in a neighborhood on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)
Abner Wagers walks in the rising waters of the Kentucky River on a flooded Monterey Pike in Monterey, Ky., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Abner Wagers, right, and Brayden Baker, both with the Monterey Volunteer Fire Department, walk in the rising waters of the Kentucky River near a flooded home in Monterey, Ky., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
the rising waters of Cedar Creek and the Kentucky River overflow their banks, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Monterey, Ky. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
