It was Dec. 23 and USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb had just received a text message from UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

Two days prior, USC defeated UConn by two points, knocking off the Huskies in Hartford – no easy feat.

"We were on our Christmas break, and I was at a Christmas party or something, and I got a text from Geno two days after we had just beaten them and he said, 'Hey, I was just thinking about what a great win that was for you and your program, and I love your team and, you know, hope we meet up in Tampa,'" Gottlieb recalled Monday night.

"And I just think about the people who just are secure enough to be able to see it from the other side and take a moment two days later to say that was a big win for our program at their place or for me because I'm from there," Gottlieb continued. "And so to them I would also say as much as this hurts for our kids, how do you not have respect and root for a team that had to figure some things out too along the way and has battled injuries."

The paths of the Huskies and Trojans would, of course, cross just prior to Tampa - the site of this year's Final Four. It was in Spokane, Wash. that the No. 1 seed USC and No. 2 seed UConn would face off once again. The Huskies knocked off USC last year in the Elite Eight before the Trojans exacted some revenge back in December.

Monday, it was UConn besting USC 78-64, albeit a very different USC team - one lacking JuJu Watkins, the sophomore star who tore her ACL a week prior. UConn was led by Paige Bueckers, who dropped 31 points and freshman Sarah Strong who scored 22 and grabbed 17 rebounds.

As Gottlieb put it, it would have been easy to upset about the outcome, disappointed and frustrated that they had a real shot at a championship run, only to abruptly lose their top player. And while USC was the No. 1 seed, it's not like it was a big-time upset. These are the Huskies, after all, making their 24th trip to the Final Four and 16th appearance there in the last 17 seasons.

"I think, you know, UConn made it hard on us," Gottlieb said. "It wasn't like they weren't ready or didn't show up. Like, UConn did a really good job defensively and obviously we were still getting used to not having someone on the floor that can just draw three people all of a sudden."

Gottlieb went on to further praise the Huskies, especially Strong.

Likewise, Auriemma talked after the game about his respect for USC and the difficult circumstances the team faced without its star.

"It's not easy, I've been there, and I thought some of their kids stepped up and were terrific," Auriemma said. "Unfortunately, some of that stuff catches up to you, because at this point in the year somebody like JuJu would have been needed to carry them over the hump. Like, we got Paige. So I have a lot of respect for their coaching staff and their team and they could have easily just rolled over when we got up 19, and instead they fought back and I think cut it to six. That says a lot about them. And then we had to show some grit."

UConn now goes on to face UCLA Friday night in Tampa. The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Gottlieb, who knows both teams well, wasn't quite ready to make a bold prediction on the outcome, however.

"I think it will be a really intriguing matchup," she said. "If I had to guess, there'll be more points scored in that game than the Texas-South Carolina game. Two completely styles, right? But two really great teams and different styles."