Sarah Strong’s 21-point, 10-rebound effort propelled top-seeded UConn to a 63-42 victory against fourth-seeded North Carolina in the Fort Worth Regional 1 semifinal of the NCAA Tournament Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.

Blanca Quinonez shot 7-for-11 for 16 points off the bench and Azzi Fudd had 10 points and five assists to boost the Huskies, who made only 4 of 20 shots from 3-point range in their lowest-scoring game of the season. They scored at least 71 points in every other game.

The defending champions won their 53rd game in a row. UConn (37-0) will face sixth-seeded Notre Dame, a 67-64 winner against second-seeded Vanderbilt in the early game, in Sunday’s regional final.

Indya Nivar had team highs of 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals for North Carolina (28-8), which shot 28.3% from the field and committed 24 turnovers.

The Huskies led 28-20 at halftime, scoring the last five points in the final 90 seconds of the second quarter. Strong, with 13 points by the break, and Quinonez (11) supplied all but four points in the half for UConn. Nivar had 11 points and six rebounds by the break.

UConn then scored the first 12 points of the third quarter and carried a 48-25 lead into the fourth.

The teams combined to make only three of the game’s first 18 shots, with UConn going 1-for-9. North Carolina led 12-11 at the end of the first quarter despite committing seven turnovers compared to none charged to the Huskies.

The Tar Heels held a 17-11 rebounding edge in that frame and a 45-38 edge by game’s end.

–Field Level Media