Prominence on display as UConn faces South Carolina for national title
It is fitting, then, that as the 2024-25 season concludes Sunday at Tampa, Fla., the Huskies (36-3) are pursuing their 12th all-time title in the Women's NCAA Tournament, while the Gamecocks (35-3) look to become the sport's first repeat champions since 2016.
UConn, the No. 2 seed in Spokane Region 4, was the most recent program to win consecutive championships in a dominating run when the Huskies won four straight from 2013-16. The 2016 title was also the program's most recent, with the nine-year wait between championships marking UConn's longest since first winning the Women's NCAA Tournament in 1995 -- all under the leadership of Auriemma.
Sunday is the Huskies' first national championship game appearance since 2022, when South Carolina claimed the second of its three crowns under coach Dawn Staley. A victory Sunday would give the Gamecocks three titles in four seasons.
"Past performances, what happened last year, isn't going to be a factor on what happens Sunday," Auriemma said. "Our 11 national championships aren't going to help us win."
Those past performances include a matchup of these same teams less than two months ago, which UConn won handily 87-58 at South Carolina on Feb. 16.
That dominating victory was similar to the Huskies' 85-51 semifinal win over UCLA on Friday.
Against South Carolina, Azzi Fudd went 6 of 10 from 3-point range with 28 points, while Sarah Strong recording a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double amid a quiet offensive performance from star guard Paige Bueckers (12 points).
On Friday, Bueckers was 7-of-17 shooting from the floor for 16 points after three consecutive games of at least 31 points. Fudd scored 19 points, all in the first half, to jump-start the Huskies, while Strong added 22 points and eight rebounds. The Huskies' defense forced 19 turnovers.
UConn carries a 15-game winning streak into the championship game. It arrived there as the No. 1 seed in the Birmingham 2 Region.
South Carolina is on a 12-game winning streak following its 74-57 semifinal rout of Texas on Friday.
Te-Hina Paopao's 14 points and two steals, along with Joyce Edwards' 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists off the bench, powered South Carolina.
Staley's teams are undefeated in NCAA Tournament championship games, going 3-0 since 2017.
"Saying that we're undefeated in national championship games, I wish it helped," Staley said. "... I wish it would spot us 10 points because we're undefeated."
Instead, South Carolina will aim to leverage a defense that has been even more overwhelming through five NCAA Tournament games than its season-long 57.4-point per game yield.
With the win on Friday, when South Carolina held Texas to 9-of-30 (30 percent) shooting in the second half, the Gamecocks have held their tournament opponents to an average of 55 points per game.
Paopao described South Carolina's team defense as self-sustaining.
"Energy starts from defense," she said. "When you have (Bree Hall) playing defense like that, you want to play defense for her and the team ... and get the train going."
UConn's offense is putting up 87.8 points per game in the tournament, and its defense has held four of its five opponents to fewer than 60 points and given up an average of 53 points per game.
--Field Level Media
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