Top-ranked UConn women's basketball demolished fifth-seeded Creighton 100-51 in Sunday's Big East tournament semifinal. The Huskies advanced to Monday's championship game against Villanova.

Sophomore forward Sarah Strong dominated in just 25 minutes on the court, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and six steals. KK Arnold added 18 points and four assists, while Azzi Fudd contributed 16 points and six assists.

The Huskies seized control immediately, opening with a 7-0 run before breaking the game open with a 17-0 surge that built a 29-9 first-quarter lead. UConn shot 12-of-19 from the field in the opening frame while forcing nine Creighton turnovers.

Creighton attempted a second-quarter rally with an 8-2 run, before UConn responded with a 26-5 burst to take a commanding 57-22 halftime advantage. Strong led the charge with 17 first-half points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range, while tying her career-high with six first-half steals.

"Just having so many people being able to come in and contribute — looking at this stat sheet today, seeing that everyone came in, scored, got a rebound, got a steal, they did something," Fudd said postgame.

"Being on a team this deep has been a lot of fun... I feel like we're in a great place."

The margin expanded to 82-38 entering the fourth quarter, with UConn shooting 40-of-70 from the field and 14-of-22 from 3-point range. The Huskies defense forced 19 turnovers and recorded 13 steals, extending UConn's conference tournament winning streak to 38 games.

Kennedy Townsend led Creighton with 13 points, with the Bluejays shooting 18-of-54 from the field.

How to Watch UConn Women's Basketball in the Big East Tournament Final

UConn tips off its 24th championship game on Monday at 7 PM ET, live on Peacock and NBCSN.

Caitlin Clark headlined the list of four Naismith Player of the Year finalists released Tuesday, but one notable name was missing.

Iowa’s star junior is joined as a finalist by South Carolina senior Aliyah Boston, as well as Virginia Tech senior Elizabeth Kitley and Villanova senior Maddy Siegrist. Boston, who won the award last season, has led the Gamecocks to an undefeated record, while Siegrist leads the NCAA in scoring with 29.1 points per game.

Yet while all of these players have shined for their teams, the absence of LSU sophomore Angel Reese from their company was no less glaring.

Reese averages 23.8 points per game (fifth in Division I) and 15.7 rebounds per game (second in Division I) as a veritable double-double machine, with 27 in the regular season. She broke Sylvia Fowles’ program record for consecutive double-doubles in her first season at LSU after transferring from Maryland.

While Reese did make the list of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith award, she did not make the cut as a finalist. Neither did she make the list of semifinalists for the John R. Wooden Award, though LSU later revealed the sophomore is ineligible for that award as she does not meet all of the criteria.

Among the four finalists, Clark averages 8.6 assists per game, which puts her first in the NCAA in that category. She also ranks first in 3-pointers per game (3.38) and triple-doubles (four this season) and third in points per game (26.8). The Iowa guard is the only player in the country to average more than 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game.

Boston likely is Clark’s greatest competition across the Player of the Year races. The South Carolina center is ranked in the top five in the country in both offensive and defensive player rating. Even in what would be considered a down year by her high standards, Boston is averaging 13.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.

Out of Villanova, Siegrist has not scored less than 21 points in any game this season. In seven games, she has scored 35 points or more, and she scored a career-high 50 in a February game against Seton Hall.

For Virginia Tech, Kitley won the ACC Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. The 6-6 center is averaging 18.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game for the Hokies, and she also became the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Villanova women’s basketball snapped UConn’s 145-game regular-season conference winning streak, downing the Huskies 72-69 on Wednesday.

UConn’s conference record dates back to 2013 and was the longest in NCAA women’s basketball history.

The Wildcats outshot the Huskies 51.8 percent to 48.2 percent, outrebounding the squad as well, pulling down 37 boards to UConn’s 21.

Four Villanova players scored in the double digits, led by Lior Garzon, who notched 19 points on five-for-ten shooting from the three-point line. Maddy Siegrist and Brianna Herlihy each recorded double-doubles for the Wildcats, with Siegrist netting 17 points and 12 rebounds and  Herlihy adding 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Azzi Fudd’s 29 points for UConn wasn’t enough to overcome Villanova down the stretch, with Christyn Williams posting an impressive 24 points, joining Fudd in playing the entire game as the Huskies were down to just six players.

“You’ve got to lose at some point, otherwise you’re not in a good conference,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma after the game. “Losing to a good team like Villanova, they deserved to win. I thought today, they were way more physical than us. They just worked harder at it. This was just not a good day. Losing is part of basketball, and you have to figure out how it happened and then move on and get ready for the next one.”

Villanova improved to 16-6 on the season and 10-3 in conference play, while UConn fell to 15-5 and 9-1 in the Big East after Wednesday’s matchup.

“We’re just excited. We talked about shrinking the scoring gap against UConn,” said Villanova coach Denise Dillon. “I’m so proud of this group.”