Paige Bueckers, left, and UConn teammate Ashlynn Shade celebrate during Monday night's Elite Eight game vs. USC in Spokane. (AP photo)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Paige Bueckers carried UConn to its record 24th Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament, scoring 31 points Monday night in a 78-64 victory over Southern California, which couldn’t overcome the loss of injured star JuJu Watkins.

UConn (35-3) heads to Tampa, Florida, to face overall No. 1 seed UCLA on Friday.

Freshman Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds for the second-seeded 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.

Rayah Marshall scored 23 points and 15 rebounds for top-seeded USC (31-4) which also lost to UConn in the Elite Eight last year when Watkins was a freshman.

Fans undoubtedly anticipated a rematch between Bueckers and Watkins when the brackets were announced, but the matchup lost some luster when Trojans’ star guard tore an ACL in the second round and needed surgery.

While the Trojans got past Kansas State in the Sweet 16 without Watkins, they had a tougher challenge against UConn and Bueckers, the likely No. 1 overall pick in next month’s WNBA draft.

UConn led by 19 points in the third quarter, but USC got within 51-46 going into the fourth. Bueckers and Azzi Fudd made consecutive 3-pointers that extended the Huskies’ lead to 62-48.

Avery Howell’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 70-61 with 1:04 left, but the Trojans got no closer.

Bueckers scored a career-best 40 points and matched her career high with six 3s in the Huskies’ 82-59 rout of Oklahoma in the regional semifinals.

Bueckers, a senior, earned AP All-America honors and was the Big East player of the year for the third time. The only thing left for her to achieve is a national title after she and the Huskies were beaten in the Final Four last year by Caitlin Clark and Iowa.

USC was seeking its first Final Four appearance since 1986 and first title since going back-to-back in 1983 and ’84.

The Trojans led early before Strong made back-to-back jumpers for the Huskies to pull in front 12-11. Bueckers didn’t get her first basket until nine minutes into the game.

With Bueckers off to a slow start, Strong took over, nailing a 3-pointer that gave the Huskies a 21-13 lead. Bueckers hit a 3 to give the Huskies a 39-25 lead at the half.

Another 3 by Bueckers gave UConn a 47-30 lead before USC responded with an 11-0 run.

TEXAS 58, TCU 47

Madison Booker scored 18 points and No. 1 seed Texas used its stifling defense to reach the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, beating well-traveled point guard Hailey Van Lith and second-seeded TCU in Birmingham.

The Longhorns (35-3) will face defending champion South Carolina on Friday night in Tampa, Florida, for a spot in the national title game.

Texas won a regional final for the first time in four tries under coach Vic Schaefer, who previously made two Final Four trips with Mississippi State. The Longhorns’ 35 wins are one more than its only national title-winning squad had in 1986 under Jody Conradt, who was in the stands Monday night and led Texas to its three previous Final Fours.

Van Lith scored 17 points in her collegiate finale for TCU (34-4), but Texas neutralized the Horned Frogs’ star center, Sedona Prince, who had four points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 6:32 left in the game.

TCU had never made it past the second round of March Madness, but Van Lith helped the Horned Frogs make program history while taking her third school to the Elite Eight.

Booker, Texas’ offensive dynamo, scored 14 points in the second half. Rori Harmon added 13 points, 11 in the first half.

Nothing came easy for the Horned Frogs’ high-scoring trio of Van Lith, Prince and Madison Conner. Van Lith shot 3 of 15 from the field but made 10 of 11 free throws. The 6-foot-7 Prince attempted only four shots, and Conner scored nine points.

The Longhorns forced 21 turnovers and had nine steals and six blocks, but they didn’t pull away until center Kyla Oldacre intercepted Van Lith’s pass and went coast-to-coast early in the fourth quarter.