Uconn dominates South Carolina for the 12th national female title – Orange County Register

Tampa, Florida – During the last gentle moments of the 12th UCONN national title, Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers kissed after the star guard left his last match with the Huskies.

It was the moment they wanted from the start.

“They were all gratifying, don’t get me wrong,” said Auriemma. “But this one here, because of the way it happened and what was involved, it’s been a long time since I was emotional when a player has left the field.”

Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong paved the way as Uconn returned to the top of female university basketball by launching a 82-59 victory against the title champion of the South Carolina on Sunday.

Fudd, who was named the most remarkable player in 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 incredible to have three players, three people like that in the same team,” said Auriemma, 71, who has become the oldest coach of the great university basketball to win a championship. “And Sarah, one might think that Sarah was graduated from the way she plays, right? All three complement each other so well. They all have such unique skills.”

Bueckers has crowned his stellar career with the first Huskies championship since 2016, ending a nine -year drought for the team. It was the longest period of Auriemma and its title unit since Rebecca Lobo and Jen Rizzotti led the Huskies to their first championship in 1995.

Since then, the Huskies have had dominant championship races, especially in the early 2000s, led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, 2009-10 with Maya Moore and finally the four consecutive matches of 2013-2016 with Breanna Stewart. All were present in Florida on Sunday to see the last title of the Huskies.

“You never know if you will be back in this situation,” said Auriemma. “And there have been so many times when I think we have all questioned ourselves:” Have we been here for too long? ” Did he have time? And we continued to hang on and cling to it and it is because these players make me want to hang on to it every day.

Bueckers, choice n ° 1 planned for the WNBA draft on April 14, delivered the Huskies throughout their championship season.

Winning a title was the only thing that lacked in an incredible UCONC career that was slowed down by injuries. She was the first first year to win the player in the year before missing a large part of her second season with a fracture of the Tibial plateau and a meniscian tear. She then torn an LCA before the following season.

“It was a story of resilience, the gratitude to overcome adversity and meet the challenges of life,” said Bueckers. “I would not exchange it for the world.”

UCONN closed the first half increasing by 10 points, then put the match in the third quarter, Fudd, Strong and Bueckers combining 26 points of the team during the period. Uconn was up 50-39 with 3:21 on the left before ending with a 12-3 race.

Fudd and Strong started with 3 against the back, and the rout was lit. Auriemma submitted Bueckers, Fudd and Strong with 1:32 to play in the game.

The first trio of Uconn finished the tournament with 368 points, including a first year record of the NCAA 114 for Strong. It was the highest total for three teammates in a single NCAA tournament, according to Stats Perform. Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings and Semeka Randell scored 363 points for Tennessee during the 1998 women’s tournament, and Glen Rice paved the way for a trio of Michigan men who had 366 points in 1989.

The UCONN trio turned out to be far too much for South Carolina.

The Dawn Staley team was trying a third title in four years and fourth in the general classification. This would have linked him with Kim Mulkey for the third most behind Auriemma and the former coach of the Tennessee renown, Pat Summitt, who had eight.

“Our children gave everything they had. When you can understand why you lost and when you have been on the other side of this three times, you understand it,” said Staley. “You can swallow it. We lost against a very good basketball team.”

Uconn had only reached the match for the title only once in his drought since 2016. The Huskies had been eliminated by last second heartbreaking defeats in the Final Four on Buzzer-Beaders. The last appearance of the match for the title of the Huskies occurred in 2022 when the Staley team broke Uconn to start the current success of the Gamecocks, a game which ended the perfect record of Auriemma in the title games.

There seemed to be no nerves early for one or the other team when the match started quickly. The teams exchanged baskets during the first minutes before the defenses started to tighten. The Huskies led 19-14 after a quarter, then extended the advantage at 36-26 at halftime. Fudd collected 13 points and Strong added eight points and 11 rebounds.

Originally published: April 6, 2025 at 2:38 p.m.