TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — UConn is back on top of women’s basketball, winning its 12th national championship by routing defending champion South Carolina 82-59 on Sunday behind Azzi Fudd’s 24 points.
Sarah Strong added 24 points and 15 rebounds while Paige Bueckers had 17 points in her final game at UConn (37-3).
Bueckers capped her stellar career with the Huskies’ first championship since 2016, ending a nine-year title drought for the team.
That was longest for coach Geno Auriemma and his Huskies since the team won its first championship in 1995 led by Rebecca Lobo.
Since then the Huskies have had dominant championship runs, including in the early 2000s led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, 2009-10 with Maya Moore and finally the four straight from 2013-16 with Breanna Stewart.
All were in attendance in Florida on Sunday to see the Huskies’ latest title.
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team was trying for a third title in four years and fourth overall.
It would have tied her with Kim Mulkey for third most behind Auriemma and former Tennessee Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, who had eight.
Enjoy HuffPost Entertainment — Ad Free
We’re bringing you the exclusives, scoops and hot takes on the news all your friends are talking about. Join our loyalty program to support our work and go ad-free.
You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We won’t back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can’t do it without you.
For the first time, we’re offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you’ll join us.
You’ve supported HuffPost before, and we’ll be honest — we could use your help again. We won’t back down from our mission of providing free, fair news during this critical moment. But we can’t do it without you.
For the first time, we’re offering an ad-free experience to qualifying contributors who support our fearless journalism. We hope you’ll join us.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
