UConn dominates South Carolina to win NCAA women’s basketball championship

UConn guard Azzi Fudd goes up for a shot.

The story coming into this game was set to be Paige Bueckers and her quest for a national title.

The story coming out of it very well may be Azzi Fudd.

The Huskies guard is leading all scorers with 21 points, shooting 8-12 from the field, and is just having her way with the South Carolina defense. She’s been the focal point for the Huskies since basically the opening tip.

Fudd announced last month that she was staying at UConn for another season, eschewing the WNBA draft for now.

Bueckers has been solid, with 10 points so far, but she’s easily the lowest-performing member of UConn’s Big 3. Sarah Strong has a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, chipping in two blocks and two steals as well.

Score: UConn 50, South Carolina 39

Points were few and far between in the opening minutes of the second half.

That development seemed to suit the Huskies just fine as time is running out on the Gamecocks’ comeback bid.

Both offenses started to pick up the pace after a few sloppy minutes, but South Carolina can’t seem to dent UConn’s lead

Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong continue to provide the offense for UConn as the Huskies are now in front by 13.

Score: UConn 48, South Carolina 35

UConn's Azzi Fudd is guarded by Maryam Dauda in the third quarter.

The first half of the NCAA women’s basketball championship game delivered all the excitement that fans would have expected between two of the sport’s most dominant programs.

But UConn fans have the be thrilled with their chances as the second half begins.

If history is any indication, with a 36-26 lead, UConn is almost certain with win their 12th national championship. The Huskies are 90-2 all-time in NCAA tournament games in when they’ve led by double digits.

But South Carolina, winners of two of the last three championships, will have something to say about that before all is said and done the dust settles.

Score: UConn 36, South Carolina 26

UConn's Paige Bueckers is guarded by Joyce Edwards in the first half.

If South Carolina ccan’t find a way to slow down UConn’s three-headed monster, the game just might get away from them.

Freshman Sarah Strong and seniors backcourt duo Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers are scoring points in bunches as the game reached halftime.

Fudd leads the way with 13 points, followed by Strong and Bueckers with eight points each.

The Huskies led by as many as 11 points, but the Gamecocks found an answer in the final minute of the half with a 4-0 mini-run.

A triple from the corner from UConn sophomore Ashlynn Shade in the final seconds gave the Huskies a 10-point cushion headed to the locker room.

Score: UConn 36, South Carolina 26

UConn's Azzi Fudd rises for a layup during the first half.

UConn is giving the 2024 champion Gamecocks their best shot, but South Carolina has a response each time it looks like the Huskies might pull way.

A jumper from Sania Feagin cut UConn’s advantage to just three points, but then the Huskies found another burst of energy.

Four straight points from Azzi Fudd grew UConn’s lead back to a more comfortable seven-point margin.

Score: UConn 29, South Carolina 22

Paige Bueckers started the second quarter the same way she finished the first - sinking a jumper to extend the UConn lead.

As South Carolina’s scoring drought reached five minutes, the game looked to be in danger of slipping away from the Gamecocks.

But Dawn Staley’s squad showed the grit and determination of a defending champion and knocked down a pair of baskets to cut into UConn’s lead.

It was Bueckers again who knocked down a pair of free throw to bring the lead to seven.

Score: UConn 25, South Carolina 18

UConn forward Sarah Strong is guarded closely by South Carolina's Chloe Kitts.

After a scintillating start to the game, the play turned a little sloppy in the closing minutes of the first quarter.

Whether hard-nosed defense or championship jitters were to blame, the scoring pace slowed as both teams struggled to make shots.

After a long scoreless stretch, UConn’s star senior Paige Bueckers hit a jumper in the final seconds of the quarter to send the Huskies to the first intermission with a 5-point lead.

Score: UConn 19, South Carolina 14

After UConn controlled the opening tip and missed their first few shot attempts, South Carolina opened the scoring with a 3-point basket from Te-Hina Paopao.

UConn bounced right back with a bucket from freshman phenom Sarah Strong to get on the scoreboard.

The two juggernaut programs then traded baskets in an exciting stretch of action that had all the hallmarks of a heavyweight boxing match.

South Carolina was in front early, but a flurry of UConn points in the paint from Strong and senior guard Azzi Fudd sparked a 7-0 run for the Huskies to capture the early lead

Score: UConn 17, South Carolina 14

UConn's Paige Bueckers dribbles past South Carolina's Chloe Kitts in the first quarter.

The No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 2 seed UConn Huskies have tipped off in the women’s NCAA basketball tournament championship game in Tampa, Florida.

This was the matchup that women’s hoops fans have been dreaming about all season - the sport’s two dominant programs going toe-to-toe for all the marbles.

Both teams boast star-studded rosters, headlined by UConn’s national player of the year finalist Paige Bueckers, who is riding a run of incredible play. The senior guard is averaging over 26 points a game during March Madness while shooting over 50% from 3-point range.

The Gamecocks, led by four-time Naismith Coach of the Year Dawn Staley, are seeking their third national championship in the past four seasons and their fourth in Staley’s 17-year tenure.

Defending champion South Carolina has made it to five straight Final Fours and has reached the Sweet 16 in every tournament since 2014.

While South Carolina might be the premier program of the past decade, the Huskies still reign supreme as the flagship of women’s college basketball.

UConn has reached the Sweet 16 in the past 31 consecutive NCAA tournaments, making the Final Four a record 24 times. The Huskies can bring their championship tally to an even dozen with a victory on Sunday.

The constant throughout UConn’s decades of dominance has been head coach Geno Auriemma, who is hoping to cap his 40th season at the helm of the Huskies with their first championship since 2016.

The Big East champs met the SEC champs one time during the regular season with the Huskies emerging with a dominant 87-58 win in February.

UConn freshman Sarah Strong takes a shot against UCLA on Friday.

One year ago last Wednesday, Sarah Strong and Joyce Edwards played on the same team. The duo dominated the McDonald’s All-American game and were named co-MVPs.

Now, on the back of a season in which they have been arguably the best two freshmen in the country, they will share the court again in the biggest game in college basketball, but this time on opposite sides.

Strong is the more high-profile name. Only Paige Bueckers has scored more points than her for UConn this season, with the No. 1 recruit of the class of 2024 averaging 16.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The 6-foot-2 forward has carried her good run into the postseason, putting up 22 points in each of her last two games.

“You can’t really say enough great things about Sarah Strong,” said Bueckers. “She just contributes to us winning in so many different ways. A lot of things sometimes don’t show up in the stat sheet, but everything she does also shows up in the stat sheet. So she just has an impact on the game.”

South Carolina's Joyce Edwards goes for a layup against Texas.

But do not write off Edwards. The South Carolina native leads the Gamecocks in points off the bench, and is averaging 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season.

Having endured a slow start to the postseason, the No. 3 recruit of the 2024 class bounced back on Friday against Texas, racking up 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.