UConn overcome scary injury to Juhasz to reach NCAA tournament Final Four

UConn’s players were visibly shaken Monday night when teammate Dorka Juhasz suffered a horrific injury to her left arm during the first half of the Huskies regional final win over North Carolina State.

But in what has become a team hallmark this season, Connecticut shook off that adversity and beat the Wolfpack 91-87 in two overtimes to advance to a 14th straight Final Four, where they will face defending champions Stanford.

“I think having been through all the things that we have been through and knowing that we’re in the middle of a game right now, I think they refocused pretty well, considering,” coach Geno Auriemma said after a thrilling contest.

The Huskies were led by 27 points from Paige Bueckers, who was playing just her ninth game back after missing almost three months with a fracture and torn meniscus in her left knee, an injury suffered during the last minute of a win over Notre Dame in December.

“She’s still a kid and she still did miss two months of basketball,” Auriemma said. “And not just the games, she missed two months of practice. It was going to take time. Who knew? I had no expectation this would come, this kind of moment that she had. But you know, Paige is different.”

The Huskies also got 19 points from freshman Azzi Fudd, the nation’s top-rated recruit this fall, who also missed two months of the season with a stress injury in her right foot.

In Monday’s other game, Hailey Van Lith scored 22 points, Olivia Cochran made a series of crucial baskets in the final minutes, and Louisville held off Michigan 62-50 in a physical contest to return to the Final Four for the fourth time in program history.

Chelsie Hall added 15 points and Emily Engstler balanced out a poor shooting night with 16 rebounds and