Napheesa Collier had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 2 UConn rally to beat sixth-seeded UCLA 69-61 on Friday night in the Albany Regional semifinals.
Trailing 50-49 entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies scored the first six points of the period to start a 15-4 run.
Crystal Dangerfield, who had a quiet night until the fourth quarter, had a nifty lefty-handed layup high off the glass during the spurt. She had nine points during the game-changing burst. She finished with 15 points.
Katie Lou Samuelson, who had gone without a basket in the first three quarters, finally scored to cap the run. The senior stole the ball near halfcourt then drove in for a layup and was fouled. She hit the ensuing free throw and the Huskies (34-2) were able to hold on for the win. Samuelson finished with six points on 1-for-6 shooting.
The Huskies will face either No. 1 Louisville or fourth-seeded Oregon State in the regional final on Sunday. UConn will be trying to extend its record Final Four run to 12 consecutive years. During that stretch the team has won six national championships and had a record 111-game winning streak.
Samuelson had been battling a back injury for the past few weeks that forced her to miss the American Athletic Conference Tournament. She didn't have her first points until the third quarter when she was fouled driving to the basket. The officials reviewed the play and ruled it a flagrant foul.
The Huskies were down 46-41 at that point after UCLA had rallied from a five-point halftime deficit. Samuelson hit one of the free throws and then hit two more on the ensuing possession.
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UCLA was up by one after three before UConn took over.
The loss ended a strong run for UCLA (22-13). The Bruins won 10 of their final 12 regular-season games after losing its top two scorers from last year to the WNBA in Jordin Canada and Monique Billings. The Bruins stumbled through two separate four-game losing streaks during the season, but really got going in Pac-12 play. They made it to the conference tournament's semifinals before losing to Oregon in overtime.
Japreece Dean scored 16 points to lead the Bruins and Kennedy Burke had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
UConn got down 5-0 before Collier got going. She had 10 points in the first quarter as the Huskies built a 22-15 lead after one. The lead grew to 12 before the Huskies went cold from the field and didn't score for the final 5:15 of the half. UCLA was able to cut its deficit to 31-26 at the break, scoring the final seven points of the half.
