The UConn women's basketball team advanced to the Final Four with an 80-73 win over USC on Monday, and head coach Geno Auriemma spoke about how Paige Bueckers and the rest of the short-handed roster hung on to come away with the win.

“[Assistant coach] Jamelle [Elliott] just kept saying, ‘Let's ride the wave and when it crashes, it crashes,'” Geno Auriemma said, via Alexa Philippou of ESPN. “Me, there's no wave, there's no nothing, it's just hanging on for dear life … And yet, just when I thought, ‘All right, here it comes,' they would do something that would just make you feel like maybe they got something left.”

Auriemma's UConn women's basketball team is missing key rotational players like Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin, Jana El Alfy, Caroline Ducharme and Ayanna Patterson. All five were expected to play key roles this year. It makes UConn's trip to the Final Four even more impressive than it already is.

In the game against USC on Monday, UConn went up double digits briefly, but Nika Muhl and KK Arnold both had four fouls in the third quarter. KK Arnold was pulled briefly, but Nika Muhl stayed in the game and helped a ton with guarding JuJu Watkins. USC tied the game with 7:32 left in the fourth quarter, and it looked like the Huskies might have just been out of gas, but they found another burst from there to come out with the win.

“Honest to God, man. I can't believe this is actually happening,” Auriemma said, via Philippou.

Bueckers, as expected, was vital in the win and made key baskets down the stretch on her way to a night that included 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Auriemma spoke on the determination that Bueckers and her players showed to come out with the win.

“When you have players that think like there's nothing I can't do, there's nothing that escapes me, they're just on another level. They play the game on another level. They think on a different level. They inspire everybody around them,” Auriemma said, via Philippou. “So, yeah, today was Paige doing Paige things.”

Aaliyah Edwards' 24 points should not go unnoticed as well, and she made some key baskets down the stretch as well as UConn was trying to pull away. Now, UConn will get ready to take on Caitlin Clark and Iowa on Friday with a spot in the national championship on the line.

Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark showdown in the Final Four looms

UConn's win over USC sets up a matchup with Iowa that should get a lot of eyeballs on Friday. Bueckers and Caitlin Clark have faced each other before, but this will be the most anticipated matchup that they will have played in their time in college.

It will be intriguing to see who comes out on top, and what kind of game plan Auriemma has with his short-handed roster to try to slow down Clark.