UConn returns to top of women's basketball, dominating South Carolina en route to 12th title

Doug Feinberg · The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 7:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

During the last saccharine moments of UConn's 12th nationalist title, Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers embraced aft the prima defender departed her last crippled with the Huskies.

It was the infinitesimal they wanted each along.

"They've each been gratifying, don't get maine wrong," Auriemma said. "But this 1 here, due to the fact that of the mode it came astir and what's been involved, it's been a agelong clip since I've been that affectional erstwhile a subordinate has walked disconnected the court."

Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong led the mode arsenic UConn returned to the apical of women's assemblage hoops by rolling to an 82-59 triumph implicit defending champion South Carolina connected Sunday.

Fudd, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, scored 24 points. Strong had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Bueckers scored 17 points for UConn (37-3).

"Well, it's astonishing to person 3 players, 3 radical similar that connected the aforesaid team," Auriemma said. "And Sarah, you would deliberation Sarah was graduating the mode she plays, right? All 3 of them complement each different truthful well. They each person specified unsocial accomplishment sets."

Bueckers capped her stellar vocation with the Huskies' archetypal title since 2016, ending a nine-year drought for the team. That was the longest play for Auriemma and his programme without a rubric since Rebecca Lobo and Jen Rizzotti led the Huskies to their archetypal title successful 1995.

Since past the Huskies person had ascendant title runs, including successful the aboriginal 2000s led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, 2009-10 with Maya Moore and yet the 4 consecutive from 2013-16 with Breanna Stewart. All were successful attendance successful Florida connected Sunday to spot the Huskies' latest title.

"You conscionable ne'er cognize if you'll ever beryllium backmost successful this concern again," Auriemma said. "And determination were truthful galore times erstwhile I deliberation we each questioned, `Have we been present excessively long? Has it been time?' And we kept hanging successful determination and hanging successful determination and that's due to the fact that these players marque maine privation to bent successful determination each day."

Bueckers answers the bell

Bueckers, the expected No. 1 prime successful the WNBA draught connected April 14, delivered for the Huskies passim their title season.

It was the lone happening missing from an unthinkable UConn vocation that was slowed by injuries. She was the archetypal freshman to triumph AP Player of the Year earlier missing a batch of her sophomore play with a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear. She past tore an ACL earlier the adjacent season.

UConn closed the archetypal fractional up 10 points and past enactment the crippled distant successful the 3rd quarter, with Fudd, Strong and Bueckers combining for 23 of the team's 26 points successful the period. UConn was up 50-39 with 3:21 near earlier closing with a 12-3 run.

Fudd and Strong got it started with back-to-back 3s, and the rout was on. Auriemma subbed Bueckers, Fudd and Strong retired with 1:32 near successful the game. Bueckers and Auriemma had a agelong hug connected the sideline, having yet gotten that title that helium truthful wanted for her.

Dawn Staley's squad was trying for a 3rd rubric successful 4 years and 4th overall. It would person tied her with Kim Mulkey for 3rd astir down Auriemma and erstwhile Tennessee Hall of Fame manager Pat Summitt, who had eight.

UConn had reached the rubric crippled lone erstwhile during its drought since 2016. The Huskies had been eliminated by heartbreaking last-second losses successful the Final Four connected buzzer-beaters. The Huskies' past rubric crippled quality came successful 2022 erstwhile Staley's squad bushed UConn to commencement the Gamecocks' existent tally of success, a crippled that ended Auriemma's cleanable grounds successful rubric games.

There seemed to beryllium nary nerves aboriginal for either squad arsenic the crippled got disconnected to a accelerated start. The teams traded baskets for the archetypal fewer minutes earlier the defences started to clamp down. The Huskies led 19-14 aft 1 4th and past extended the vantage to 36-26 astatine the half. Fudd had 13 points and Strong added 8 points and 11 rebounds.