UConn Clobbers South Carolina for 12th National Title

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There was no other way for it to end. Wearing a UConn uniform for the final time, Paige Bueckers checked out of the National Championship game with 1:32 left on the clock and met her head coach Geno Auriemma with a long hug.

When they finally separated, they both had tears in their eyes.

“Just gratitude for all that coach has meant to me and how much he shaped me to the human I am, to the basketball player I am, throughout this entire five years,” Bueckers said of her emotions in that moment. “Just putting it all together in one hug what our journey has been together.”

It wasn’t the five years that Bueckers expected when she committed to UConn  — a global pandemic, injuries, and a spate of bad luck delayed the moment. Ninety-two seconds of game time later, it was finally here.

UConn 82, South Carolina 59.

The Huskies are national champions for the 12th time in school history, and this one was one of the sweetest.

“They’ve suffered a lot,” Auriemma said of his upperclassmen. “The things that could go wrong in a college career as an athlete…This was one of the more emotional Final Fours and emotional national championships that I've been a part of, since that very first one.”

In addition to overcoming adversity, and ending an eight-year championship “drought,” this decisive championship victory came against a rival: a South Carolina team that dealt UConn its only championship game loss – the same Gamecocks program that was making its fifth straight Final Four appearance and appeared to have taken the mantle as the biggest program in the country.

Those battles will continue into the future. South Carolina could easily go on a run and win it next year, but for now, the trophy heads back to Storrs.

“So many emotions,” Bueckers reflected. “Gratitude was the main one. Of the journey, of the ups and downs of everything that it took to get to that point, and just overwhelming joy. Just so happy for every single person who was a part of this journey.”

The game itself wasn’t in doubt for long. Even in the first quarter, before UConn had built much separation, the two teams were on different levels.

The Huskies weren’t blowing the Gamecocks out early because they were missing jumpers — something that just happens sometimes. But they were getting good looks. South Carolina was not. The Gamecocks, to their credit, fought for offensive rebounds in the first half, grabbing 11, leading to nine second-chance points.

But Sarah Strong nearly had a first-half double-double (eight points, 11 rebounds), and Final Four MOP Azzi Fudd had 13 at the break. 

UConn led by 10 at halftime despite going 1-7 from three because the Huskies made life even more miserable for South Carolina on the other end. MiLaysia Fulwiley didn’t score in the first half, no Gamecock had more than five, and Joyce Edwards played just eight minutes due to foul trouble.

It was a great start, but it was never going to be enough.

“We played a great first half,” Fudd said. “We wanted to continue that, and we didn't want to let them back in the game, so I think our mindset was just to be aggressive, stay locked in, stay disciplined, stay together, and that's exactly what we did.”

The Huskies had to get to work extending the lead in the third. Perhaps the most critical moment in the game came when the Gamecocks cut what had ballooned to a 15-point deficit down to 11 with 3:21 to go in the third. Auriemma called a timeout, and UConn immediately responded with back-to-back threes from Fudd and Strong, sandwiching one free throw from Edwards.

With the Huskies up 20 after three quarters, the end was in sight.

UConn immediately extended that lead to 29 just 2:15 into the fourth. At that point, the rest of the game was merely a countdown to double zeroes.

Fudd and Strong each finished with 24 points on a combined 19-32 from the field. Bueckers had 17 herself, with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. 

The big three that carried the Huskies to the title game won them a national championship on Sunday.

One of those big three will be the first pick in the WNBA Draft next week. 

“My journey became hers, in so many words,” Auriemma said of Bueckers. “It was almost like a crusade on our coaching staff's part to [be] like, ‘ let's do this, let's do this, let's do this.’”

The other two Husky stars will be back in Storrs next season. UConn proved it is still the class of the sport by winning No. 12.

Fudd, Strong and company will begin the work on No. 13 tomorrow.