This past Sunday afternoon, No.1 seed South Carolina, the reigning champs, faced off against No.2 seed UConn in an epic battle for the national title. These two programs are arguably the biggest and best programs in women’s college basketball right now. UConn has made a name for themselves over the past 40 years under head coach Geno Auriemma as the self proclaimed “Basketball Capital of the World”. On the other hand, South Carolina under head coach Dawn Staley have acquired three national championships, all in the past eight years. This game was not only a rematch from earlier in the season where UConn beat South Carolina and ended their 71 game home winning streak, it was also a rematch of the 2022 National Championship where South Carolina defeated UConn. This time around, UConn defeated South Carolina with a 82-59 win.
Even though UConn is known for being a winning team, and Coach Auriemma is the winningest college basketball coach ever, the Huskies have not brought home a championship since 2016. The Huskies have participated in every March Madness tournament since that win in 2016 and have made it to at least the Sweet 16, if not the Final Four or the National Championship, every year since, but they could never pull off the victory.
The Huskies have faced the issue of never having a deep bench, as they have had many players impacted by injuries in the past few years. Specifically, last year they only had 8 players eligible for the tournament, with the rest injured. One of their big stars, senior guard Azzi Fudd, was among the injured players. Their other biggest star, senior guard Paige Bueckers, who is projected to be the top pick for this year’s WNBA draft, was out with a knee injury. This year,both Bueckers and Fudd were healthy and finally able to achieve their dream of winning a championship together.
Bueckers and Fudd make up 2/3 of UConns “Big 3”, the other player being the No.1 recruit out of high school freshman forward Sarah Strong. Throughout the season these three players were vital to the team: Bueckers averaged 20 points per game, Strong averaged 16.2 points per game and Fudd averaged 13.3 points per game. In the championship game Fudd and Strong both scored a solid 24 points while Bueckers scored 17, making them the top three highest scorers of the game. Due to Fudd’s outstanding performance of 24 points, five rebounds and three steals, she won Most Outstanding Player.
Fudd also announced earlier last month she would be using her additional year of eligibility to return for next season. UConn finally has a deep bench they can rely on, with only 2 players out with injuries. Players like sophomore guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade, who were starters last year due to the high injury list, now can come in off the bench and help change the game, providing breaks for the starters. In Sunday’s game Shade had 20 minutes of playing time and Arnold had 15 minutes. The Huskies also also have redshirt sophomore forward Ice Brady who can come in and take the place of redshirt freshman forward Jana El Alfy, which is helpful in situations like the championship game when El Alfy got in foul trouble early on.
The game started with both teams coming out playing very fast paced and shooting with efficiency with UConn leading 19-14. During the second quarter the Huskies offense kicked into full swing with Fudd already at 11 points;she broke 1,000 career points with several assists from Buekers. The Gamecocks were struggling to find their rhythm and the Huskies had a nice 36-26 lead at halftime.
The third quarter is what sealed the deal for UConn. Fudd was up to her 24 points with 3 steals and some intense defense. Strong also had reached 17 points. El Alfy had gotten her fourth foul and had to be taken out by Brady, forcing them into a smaller line up, but that didn’t slow the Huskies down. The fourth quarter was the start of history being made. Strong became the first UConn freshman with four double doubles, accumulating double digits in two of the five main statistical categories (points, rebounds assists, steals, blocked shots), in a single NCAA tournament and Bueckers passed legendary UConn alum Maya Moore, who was in the crowd, for most career NCAA tournament points by a UConn player with 477 points. South Carolina still didn’t have a player with double digits. With under 2 minutes left in the game, Auriemma took out his starters and put in bench players. During this substitution Bueckers and Auriemma shared an emotional embrace, and told one another how much they love each other. The game concluded and an emotional trophy presentation ceremony followed by net cutting commenced before the team departed to go celebrate with family and friends.
All in all this season was a historic one for the Huskies. After all the adversity the program has faced, they finally got the one thing they wanted: a National Championship.
