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30 years after their first and nine years after their 11th, the UConn Huskies have reclaimed the national championship, winning the program’s 12th title with a domination of the South Carolina Gamecocks, 87-59, on Sunday afternoon.
Paige Bueckers closes out her college career with a championship. Sarah Strong begins hers with one. And head coach Geno Auriemma’s Huskies are, once again, women’s college basketball’s standard bearers.
Strong was sensational in her debut on the biggest stage, finishing with 24 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. Azzi Fudd matched her with 24 points, while Bueckers scored 17 points, grabbed six boards and dished three assists.
Fudd, now a certified Gamecock killer including her 28-point performance in Columbia in February, earned the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player honor. She also provided the play the kickstarted the rout. After a four-point South Carolina flurry spurred by MiLaysia Fulwiley that cut UConn’s advantage to 11 points, 50-39, with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Fudd, following a UConn timeout, cashed a corner 3. On the Huskies next possession, Strong netted a 3-pointer, and by the end of the quarter, UConn was running away with it, up by 20 points, 62-42, with 10 minutes to go.
In the final frame, South Carolina was unable to muster much of a fight, with UConn stretching the lead to as many as 32 points.
The trio of Bueckers, Fudd and Strong cemented themselves as Husky legends, becoming the second group of Huskies to all score at least 100 points in a tournament run, joining Maya Moore, Tina Charles and Rene Montgomery from 2009. Bueckers also finished the tournament with 477 total points, the third most all-time.
But more important than any stats, records and such is the trophy, which completes Bueckers’ illustrious career and vaults the Huskies back to the mountain top.
