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USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Women's March Madness winners, losers: UConn, Paige Bueckers earn storybook ending
Women's March Madness winners, losers: UConn, Paige Bueckers earn storybook ending Show Caption Hide Caption Women's March Madness: UConn wins twelvth title, defeats South Carolina UConn defeats South Carolina, Huskies bring home another title TAMPA, Fla. ― The UConn Huskies are national champions ... again. Head coach Geno Auriemma earned his 12th NCAA women's basketball championship on Sunday, after an 82-58 rout over No. 1 seed South Carolina, a tremendous feat for his legendary career – the most of any men's or women's program in NCAA history. 'I thank all of my former players that are here," Auriemma said, with all-time greats like like Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird in the building. "You know when you cut down the nets, and everybody gets a little piece of it? I wish we had enough nets that all of them got a piece of it because that's how much they mean to us." Auriemma's former players watched his current players continue the UConn tradition of excellence and winning, spearheaded by generational talent Paige Bueckers, freshman superstar Sarah Strong and the ever-resilient Azzi Fudd. Now, the women's March Madness tournament is complete. Let's review who was victorious and who will need a few months to recover from the sting of losing: Winner: UConn legend Paige Bueckers UConn guard Paige Bueckers received her storybook ending on Sunday, earning her first championship before heading to the WNBA. Fittingly, she didn't need to be anything other than herself to do it. (Bueckers didn't need the championship to solidify her legacy, but going home with extra hardware isn't terrible either.) All season, Bueckers' leadership helped lift the UConn Huskies into the history books. It was a fitting ending to her storied college career. Her legacy is undeniable and oozes from the Huskies onto the court. On Sunday, Bueckers was one of three Huskies in double figures as UConn steamrolled South Carolina in Tampa. Her final college stat line was 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. Bueckers will catch her breath (after some much-deserved partying) and turn to the 2025 WNBA draft, where she's expected to be the No. 1 overall pick. She'll get the chance to leave an impact on the WNBA like so many other stars have done. Her new legacy starts now, and it begins with quite the introduction. Loser: South Carolina's dominance Head coach Dawn Staley and South Carolina went undefeated last season and only lost four games in the previous two years, an incredible streak that shouldn't be forgotten. What Staley achieved with such a young squad was remarkable, especially given the field of competitors. However, during the national championship, their dominance ran out. South Carolina's all-powerful engine ran out of steam, something that has been building throughout the NCAA tournament. (The Gamecocks had a slew of bad starts, turnovers and jaw-clenching endings.) With Bree Hall, Sania Feagin and possibly Raven Johnson all exiting after the season, it's plausible to ask: Will South Carolina return to a national championship stage soon? The team's core, which has been to four Final Fours, is likely gone, leaving a very young team to pick up the pieces. Staley, though more than capable of getting the Gamecocks back to the Final Four, will have an uphill battle. Winner: UConn guard Azzi Fudd and her electric performance A healthy Azzi Fudd is a dangerous Azzi Fudd. If fans were waiting for Fudd at her finest, she has arrived. Truthfully, the Huskies guard has been excellent this season, but her March Madness tournament run has been one for ages. Fudd's been in double digits in nearly every game, save one, and she was the x-factor on Sunday. South Carolina had no answer for her, as she had 21 points by the third quarter and finished with 24. It's almost a shame that fans must wait to see Fudd play in the WNBA because she's returning to UConn. However, a whole season of Azzi Fudd doing magical things on a college basketball court with the Huskies seems fitting. She'll get the send-off tour she deserves. Fudd also received Most Oustanding Player and made the Final Four tournament, something she should treasure for years to come. Loser: South Carolina adjusting to UConn's blistering pace On Sunday, the fast style of play that UConn unleashed against UCLA in Friday's semifinal appeared again in the national championship game. South Carolina kept up for parts of the first quarter, but UConn cruised and left the Gamecocks out of sorts. Turnovers and a mountain of missed shots (South Carolina might cringe when it looks at the film, especially in the paint.) doomed the Gamecocks. UConn also struggled with its own established pace, but as the game went on and the lead grew to 20 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Huskies settled right in, never looking back. They outhustled South Carolina in seemingly every area, a rare sight for a Dawn Staley coached team. It didn't matter what the Gamecocks came up with Sunday, the Huskies were already three steps ahead. Winner: UConn freshman phenom Sarah Strong It's hard to describe just how talented freshman forward Sarah Strong is. Her patience on the court and calm demeanor say savvy vet, but Strong's playful smile shows she's still a young girl having fun while playing basketball, casually destroying opponents along the way. By halftime during the championship game, Strong had 11 rebounds and eventually worked her way up to another double-double, her fourth of the NCAA tournament. (Again, she's incredible ― strong even. Don't throw tomatoes for that pun.) With the help of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, the trio had 53 combined points to South Carolina's 42 into the fourth quarter. Strong was part of the difference on Sunday, reinforcing why she was the country's best freshman all year. She finished her day with an outstanding 24 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. Loser: USA TODAY's Meghan L. Hall and her love for college basketball USA TODAY journalist Meghan Hall watched a ridiculous amount of basketball before attending the Final Four in Tampa, Florida. There were many late nights – 10 p.m. start times should be permanently banned – and lots of rewinding to ensure she didn't miss anything. Through it all, she only fell deeper in love with the amazing stars in college basketball, and it's a shame it all ended on Sunday. (Still, her eardrums are very thankful after listening to a sold-out crowd of 19,777 fans scream for hours.) That's it. There are no more games to play. No more stats to analyze. Please respect her privacy as she grieves that the 2024025 season is over and the 2025-2026 season is more than seven months away. Thankfully, Hall will be around for more basketball, and this won't be the last time she writes about Paige Bueckers or any other top potential WNBA draft picks in the coming months. Through it all, she's grateful she witnessed women's basketball's incredible impact on the sports world. Women's basketball isn't just a moment. It's a movement. Don't miss the wave. It's not stopping anytime soon.
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Paige Bueckers is a real one. And UConn teammates had her back in NCAA championship win
Paige Bueckers is a real one. And UConn teammates had her back in NCAA championship win Show Caption Hide Caption Women's March Madness: UConn wins twelvth title, defeats South Carolina UConn defeats South Carolina, Huskies bring home another title TAMPA, Florida — Paige Bueckers has always been a reluctant superstar. She relishes the spotlight her transcendent talent brings only for what it allows her to do: Celebrate her teammates. Lift up the women who've come before her, particularly the Black women who've paved the way for the opportunities she has. That makes how she finally got a national title so fitting. The 82-59 rout of defending champion South Carolina wasn't a Paige Bueckers showcase game, like when she dropped 40 points on Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. She finished with 17 points, seven of which came at the free throw line, and went more than 20 minutes without making a field goal. No, this was a collective effort by UConn, her teammates able to stand tall in part because Bueckers has spent so many years lifting them up. Opinion: UConn rules women's basketball once again. Don't question legend of Geno Auriemma | Opinion Azzi Fudd, who barely played in the title game three years ago because she had food poisoning, had 13 of her 24 points in the first half to set the tone. Freshman Sarah Strong let the entire country know that UConn, and the women's game overall, is going to be just fine in the post Caitlin Clark and Bueckers era. The freshman had another double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, as well as a team-high five assists, three blocks and two steals. "All of our mindset was just to be aggressive, stay locked in, stay disciplined, stay together. And that's exactly what we did," Fudd said. "To be able to do this for our seniors, I really don't have words to describe what this feels like, what it means to me. But I'm super grateful and I'm super proud of this entire team." Kaitlyn Chen had four points. KK Arnold took three shots and made each one of them, finishing with nine points. Ashlynn Shade's only field goal was from a 3-pointer in the corner after Bueckers beat coverage by kicking the ball out to her. On down the line it went. In her final game with UConn on her front, every one of Bueckers' teammates had her back. "We talked about it as a team, that leading up to this weekend we hadn't played our best team basketball yet," Bueckers said. "But we thought we were saving our best performances for last. And it's been just a great summary of what we have been this entire season, of being a team, staying connected, on any given night it can be anybody's night. "So it's extremely fitting. It's destiny. Obviously I have a great faith, so I believeGod planned it perfectly in the way that it went out." Bueckers hasn't just been one of the best individual players in UConn's storied history, she is one of its most beloved. Talented as she is, she could be a prima donna and get away with it. But she wouldn't know how to do that if she tried. In this, her final season at UConn, she spent a month waking before dawn to make breakfast for teammate Jana El Alfy, who was fasting during Ramadan. When she was given the mic during the post-game celebration Sunday, the first thing she did was thank the team managers and practice players who'd come to Tampa for the game. Her teammates have also seen her struggles, missing most of her sophomore year with a knee injury and all of her junior year with a torn ACL, only to come back stronger. Bueckers is, as they say, a real one, and the affection her teammates have for her is obvious. When she scored on a layup with 7:45 to play, getting knocked to the ground in the process and drawing a foul, her teammates dogpiled on top of her. When she left the game for good with 1:32 to play, she shared a long hug with coach Geno Auriemma, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed in his arms. She then made her way down the bench, embracing the assistant coaches and her teammates. Watch: Paige Bueckers cries in Geno Auriemma's arms as she exits final UConn game "Just gratitude for all that Coach has meant to me and how much he's shaped me to the human I am, to the basketball player I am throughout this entire five years. And just putting it all together in one hugwhat our journey has been together," Bueckers said. "Every single person that I went down the line and hugged just meant so much to me and meant so much to the team. "Just like I've been saying, a state of gratitude." This is UConn's record 12th national title, but its first since 2016. That's an unheard of drought at UConn, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Bueckers took the Huskies to the Final Four every year she played, and reached the title game in 2022. In her hometown of Minneapolis, of all places. But no one player can win a title on her own, even Bueckers. The Huskies didn't have enough experience her freshman year, and were done in by injuries and Fudd's illness in 2022. Last year, it's a wonder UConn even made it to the Final Four, held together by bubble gum and sticky tape. This year, however, UConn truly had a team. They had Bueckers. And Fudd. And Strong. And Chen. And El Alfy. And, and, and, and. "It always seemed like, if we ever got a chance to get healthy, this could be pretty good," Auriemma said. Everywhere you looked Sunday, someone was making a play for UConn. South Carolina might have limited Bueckers' offensively, but they couldn't stop a multi-headed monster that was playing not just to win a title, but to win it for Bueckers. "They're good. They work well together. Super unselfish," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. That, that right there. That's going to be Bueckers' legacy at UConn. Yes, she won a title, the only "hole" left in her illustrious resume that includes being the first freshman ever to win national Player of the Year honors and three unanimous selections as a first-team All-American. But that title came because Bueckers is as good a teammate as she is an individual player. She made everyone around her better and, in turn, her teammates made her a champion. There's no more fitting sendoff. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why UConn's Azzi Fudd was left 'speechless' after NCAA championship win vs. South Carolina
Why UConn's Azzi Fudd was left 'speechless' after NCAA championship win vs. South Carolina Show Caption Hide Caption Women's March Madness: UConn wins twelvth title, defeats South Carolina UConn defeats South Carolina, Huskies bring home another title TAMPA, Florida — Azzi Fudd has been through the ringer. A torn ACL and MCL in high school. A foot injury as a UConn freshman. A knee injury as a sophomore. A season-ending ACL tear as a junior. The former No. 1 recruit in the class of 2021 has had to overcome a lot. But on Sunday, she relished a long overdue moment of pure jubilation. The buzzer sounded on UConn's thorough victory over South Carolina in the national championship game, and Fudd ran straight toward her teammates, jumping in celebration with them. Shop UConn championship gear Fudd's game-high 24 points earned her Most Outstanding Player honors, the culmination of a journey that has thrown some brutal setbacks her way. 'I still don't have words to describe just what this is,' Fudd said. 'This is such an incredible feeling, but with this team, it means even more. And I'm just so proud because we've been through so much together ... Just to know all of this has happened for a reason, and just to have this positive outcome, I'm speechless.' Fudd was fully healthy against the Gamecocks on Sunday, unlike in 2022 when she came down with a stomach illness the night before the national championship game and was limited to 16 minutes in the loss. This time around, in this rematch on the biggest stage in college basketball, Fudd was cooking all game. She hit pull-up after pull-up off the dribble and had a particularly filthy crossover to punctuate her 11-point third quarter. She was disruptive defensively, turning two first half steals into easy layups on the other end. Her performance capped off an excellent Final Four run that also saw her put up 19 points in the Huskies' blowout of UCLA. After the title game, head coach Geno Auriemma said he felt like Fudd was 'the key to the tournament." This moment has been in the making for Fudd's entire life. Her father used to Saran wrap her right arm to her body, forcing her to practice dribbling with her left. She's even named after former UConn star Jennifer Azzi. It almost feels like destiny. Fudd has already elected to return to UConn for the 2025-26 season, where she'll aim to help UConn repeat as champions. But for now, the focus will be celebrating the Huskies' first championship nearly a decade, one that she had to conquer a lot to reach. 'Azzi has done a remarkable job of overcoming trials in her life,' teammate and close friend Paige Bueckers said. 'And however that looks like, injury, illness, whatever it is — we know nothing beats Azzi.' UConn players tell us who is on their Mount Rushmore of Huskies legends From Dianna Taurasi to Maya Moore, current UConn players tell us who is on their Mount Rushmore of Huskies greats. Sports Seriously Bo Underwood is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate program.
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UConn rules women's basketball once again. Don't question legend of Geno Auriemma
UConn rules women's basketball once again. Don't question legend of Geno Auriemma | Opinion Show Caption Hide Caption Women's March Madness: UConn wins twelvth title, defeats South Carolina UConn defeats South Carolina, Huskies bring home another title The thing about legends? They just can't stop proving their greatness. See Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma. This UConn national championship belongs to more than just Paige Bueckers, though. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd stepped up. Geno Auriemma after 12th national championship: 'These players make me want to hang in there.' Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma didn't have to prove anything to anyone on Sunday. Their talents, and their splendor at UConn, were not up for debate. These two are legendary. The thing about these two legends, though? They just can't stop proving their greatness. Not even mighty South Carolina could interfere with the reality this NCAA title belonged to UConn, the last great dynasty before Dawn Staley's Gamecocks ascended. UConn rules women's basketball once again, after a dominant NCAA Tournament run throughout which the Huskies showed they possessed the game's brightest star, wisest coach, and most complete team. Bueckers will always be the one who brought UConn back to the summit, and she'll always say she received so much help getting the Huskies there. Both will be true. 'It takes a village to do what we do here,' Bueckers, in typical praise-deflecting fashion, told ABC after the buzzer sounded on the Huskies' 12th national championship, an 82-59 rout of South Carolina. Paige Bueckers' teammates rally behind UConn star in Final Four Bueckers thrived throughout the first four legs of this six-round tournament, reminding everyone why she's nicknamed Paige 'Buckets.' In the Final Four, her shots stopped falling at such a high rate. Seven of her 17 points in the championship game came from the free-throw line. Teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong shouldered the brunt of the scoring, and Bueckers beamed as brightly as ever throughout the entire fourth quarter. By then, it had become clear that the Huskies possessed too much firepower for South Carolina to contain, and Bueckers would culminate her career in triumph, as UConn celebrated its first national championship since 2016. With 92 seconds remaining, Bueckers exited the court for a final time in a Huskies uniform. Auriemma stood waiting in the sideline, arms open for an embrace that was in no hurry to end. Bueckers buried her face in her coach's shoulder, overcome with emotion. 'I love that man more than words can describe,' Bueckers said in her televised postgame interview. Consider the feeling mutual. 'They've all been gratifying, don't get me wrong,' Auriemma said during his interview with Holly Rowe, 'but this one here, because of the way it came about and what's been involved, it's been a long time since I've been that emotional when a player has walked off the court.' Geno Auriemma: 'Never been happier.' Make it 12 national titles Unlike some of Auriemma's past national championships, this result couldn't be considered a foregone conclusion. Two months before the confetti fell on these Huskies, they listened to 'Rocky Top' blare at the end of a loss on Feb. 6 at Tennessee. Bueckers struggled with her shot that night, and she lacked the necessary support to fend off the hungry Lady Vols. UConn exited Knoxville with its third loss – all to good teams, sure, but the type of opponents the Huskies would need to beat to win the national championship. And then the switched flipped. As Auriemma put it, his players decided after that loss to Tennessee that they didn't just like each other. They loved each other. Ten days after the Huskies lost to Tennessee, they smashed South Carolina, evidence that they could not only hang with the elite, they could beat them. 'I've just never been happier than I have been the past couple of months, coaching a team,' Auriemma told Rowe. Bueckers quickly regained her form after that Tennessee loss. Fudd got hot, too. Strong kept ascending, bearing little resemblance to a freshman and looking much more like a polished No. 1 WNBA draft pick she's destined to be, in time. 'All three of them complement each other so well,' Auriemma told Rowe. 'They all have such unique skill sets.' They caught fire at different times of the tournament. Bueckers, from the second round through the Elite Eight, scored more than 30 points in three straight games. Strong dazzled all tournament but managed to save her best for the finish, with 24 points and 15 rebounds to tame the Gamecocks. Fudd got hot in the Final Four against UCLA. She stayed hot against South Carolina, tying Strong with 24 points. Best known for her 3-point shot, Fudd showed her midrange game, ability to finish at the rim, and sticky-handed defense against South Carolina. Staley and her team had zero answers for Strong and Fudd, and the Huskies guarded the Gamecocks as if the national championship depended on their defense. If the Gamecocks came into this with the mindset that they had to make someone other than Bueckers beat them, well, consider it done. A complete performance, this was, a performance that left no doubt as to who had become the nation's best team. 'These players make me want to hang in there every day,' Auriemma, 71, said. Auriemma hung around long enough to hug Bueckers, one of his favorite players ever, in the final seconds of a championship and to celebrate his program being back on top. Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@ and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Paige Buckers goes out an NCAA champion because of UConn team she helped build
Paige Buckers goes out an NCAA champion because of UConn team she helped build | Opinion Show Caption Hide Caption Women's March Madness: UConn wins twelvth title, defeats South Carolina UConn defeats South Carolina, Huskies bring home another title TAMPA, Florida — What a perfect way for Paige Bueckers to end her college career. As a national champion, yes, thanks to a 82-59 rout of defending champion South Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Even more so, though, because this was a title won on the dominance of UConn's entire team, rather than Bueckers' individual brilliance. After a career of carrying UConn, sometimes to her own detriment, it was the rest of the Huskies who had Bueckers' back in her final game with UConn on her front. Bueckers had one field goal over the second and third quarters, and seven of her 17 points were on free throws. But it didn't matter because Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong had themselves a day, with 24 points apiece. Fudd, who barely played in the 2022 title game because she was sick, set the tone with 13 of her 24 points in the first half. Strong let the entire country know that UConn, and the women's game overall, is going to be just fine in the post Caitlin Clark and Bueckers eras. The freshman had another double-double with 15 rebounds, and also had a team-high five assists, three blocks and two steals. Bueckers hasn't just been one of the best individual players in UConn's storied history, she is one of its most beloved. She can pop off at any moment (remember the 40 points she dropped on Oklahoma in the Sweet 16?) but is more apt to look for ways to help her teammates shine. She has used her platform to spotlight Black women who paved the way for her opportunities. And when freshman Jana El Alfy fasted during Ramadan, Bueckers woke up before dawn to make her breakfast. She is a real one, and the affection her teammates have for her is obvious. When Bueckers scored on a layup with 7:45 to play, getting knocked to the ground in the process and drawing a foul, her teammates dogpiled on top of her. When she left the game for good with 1:32 to play, she shared a long hug with coach Geno Auriemma and every one of her teammates. 'As a great teammate, a great leader,' Bueckers said Saturday when asked how she'd like to be remembered. "I think those are the two most important things to me. Just being somebody that people love to play with, make their teammates better.' This is UConn's record 12th national title, but its first since 2016. That's an unheard of drought at UConn, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Bueckers took the Huskies to the Final Four every year she played – she missed her junior year with a torn ACL – and to the title game in 2022, in her hometown. But no one player can win a title on her own, even Bueckers. The Huskies didn't have enough experience her freshman year, and were done in by injuries and Fudd's illness in 2022. Last year, it's a wonder UConn even made it to the Final Four, held together by bubble gum and sticky tape. This year, however, UConn truly had a team. They had Bueckers. And Fudd. And Strong. And Kaitlyn Chen. And El Alfy. And, and, and, and. Everywhere you looked Sunday, someone was making a play for UConn. South Carolina might have limited Bueckers' offensively, but they couldn't stop a multi-headed monster that was playing not just to win a title, but to win it for Bueckers. No need for the Huskies to buy Bueckers a going-away gift. This was the perfect sendoff. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
