UConn’s women’s basketball team are champions for a 12th time – and the first in nearly a decade – after emphatically defeating South Carolina 82-59 in the national championship on Sunday.
In what was only the storied program’s second title game appearance since 2016, the Huskies prevented Dawn Staley’s group from winning their third title in four years.
Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong both led the way with 24 points, while Paige Bueckers – expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s WNBA Draft, also had 17 points and six rebounds.
The trio checked out of the game with roughly 90 seconds remaining as the crowd in Tampa gave them a massive ovation and Bueckers shared a hug with her coach Geno Auriemma.
‘I love her, that’s all I can say,’ he said on ESPN when asked about the moment.
‘About two months ago, this team fell in love with each other… they fell in love with each other, the process,’ he continued.
Fudd, who added five rebounds and three steals in the game, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after the win.
Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma shared an emotional hug after she subbed out of the game
Senior Azzi Fudd, who who will return for a fifth season next year, led the Huskies in scoring
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina were seeking a third title in four years on Sunday
It had been nine years since UConn and their legendary coach Auriemma had won a title, though Sunday’s win further entrenched him as the best coach in the history of women’s college basketball.
His 12 titles are now four more than the next-closest competitor, the late, great Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, who won eight titles.
Staley, who has won three total titles with South Carolina, would have jumped to third on the all-time list with a win in Tampa Bay.
The Gamecocks were competitive in the first half, as they went into the break down 10, but the Huskies pulled away in the second half.
Ultimately, only one South Carolina player, Tessa Johnson, scored in double figures as the Gamecocks offense struggled badly in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Huskies´ last title game appearance before this year came in 2022, when Staley´s team beat UConn to start the Gamecocks´ current run of success, a game that ended Auriemma´s perfect record in title games.
Bueckers ended her college career on a high as the UConn women beat South Carolina
UConn coach Auriemma won his 12th women’s national championship on Sunday
The only UConn player who saw significant time in the title game three years ago against South Carolina was Bueckers, who played in her last college game this weekend.
The guard, who struggled with injuries earlier in her college career – including a torn ACL in 2022 – returned to form over the last two seasons before ultimately finishing her college career with a title.
Earlier this week, she was named an All-American for the third time, and looks set to join the Dallas Wings, who own the WNBA’s first overall pick.
More to follow
