UConn in the final for the 12th consecutive year

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UConn, who scored 14 points at 3, nearly lost an 11-point lead in the final at 1:47.

Louisville scored 10 of 11 points to reduce his deficit to 75-73 with 26.6 seconds. Samuelson then hit two free throws to make it a two-possession game.

Asia Durr suffered a foul a few seconds later, but the top Cardinals official missed both free throws. Napheesa Collier was the victim of a foul after the Cardinals missed an opportunity for an offensive takeover. She stepped up and sank the two free throws on the other end to make it 79-73.

As the bell rang, the Huskies assaulted Samuelson at the demarcation line to celebrate another trip to the Final Four.

"It's amazing to be part of this program and to wear that name on our chest every day," Samuelson said. "You know that you are part of something special, and they have created something extraordinary here, and for us, we just want to be part of it and keep it as long as we can."

Louisville (32-4) was looking to become the second team to beat UConn twice in a season over the last ten years, joining his compatriot Notre Dame of ACC, who did it in 2012 and 2013 The Huskies could face the Irish in Final Four in Tampa, Florida, if Notre Dame beats Stanford in the Chicago Regional Finals on Monday (9pm, ESPN2).

UConn was not ranked number 1 for the first time since 2006. Although much has been said about what preceded this match, the only real difference, as coach Geno Auriemma said, is that his team would wear the blues sitting on a different bench. The Huskies group also played the national anthem before the game. It was certainly not a road match, however, with a very professional crowd of 9,204 people at the Albany site, about a two-hour drive from Connecticut.

Samuelson is suffering from a back injury since he was injured towards the end of the regular season. She missed the entire tournament at the American Athletics Conference and had a hard time defeating UCLA in the Sweet 16 win, scoring just six points and not touching the basket until the fourth quarter.

She was much better against Louisville despite the fact that she was struggling with big problems.

His fifth game score at the end of the third quarter gave UConn a 10-point lead. Shortly after her fourth foul, Louisville was able to reduce her deficit to 57-53 before the final period.

The Cardinals trailed and lost 66-62 when Samuelson hit a 3-pointer. At 3:02, Samuelson hit another 3-pointer and was fouled. She missed the free kick that followed, but that gave UConn a 72-63 lead.

Durr saw her brilliant career finish as she scored 18 of her 21 points in the second half to lead the Cardinals.

Samuelson sent UConn earlier. She hit a 3-pointer wing in the first quarter while UConn scored the first seven points of the match.

Louisville bounced back with a 9-0 run to go up 16-12. The Huskies scored the last 10 points of the quarter to lead 22-16. Durr missed his eight field shots during the period, but had five rebounds and three assists.

The lead has increased to 10 before Louisville tries to make it to four. The Huskies were up 41-34 at halftime, while Megan Walker had 12 points, allowing four of the nine players to score three UConn points in the first 20 minutes. UConn hit eight in the defeat against Louisville in January.