For the second time in four years, UConn and South Carolina battled for the national championship as the two teams met up at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay on Sunday. The Huskies emerged victorious, dominating the Gamococks as they have every opponent on their journey to winning the 2025 women’s national title.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma won his 12th title, while Paige Bueckers won her first in her last try. Senior Azzi Fudd also earned her first title, and she led the way with 24 points. Freshman Sarah Strong had a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double and broke the record for the most points scored by a freshman in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina had arguably taken the spot previously held by UConn as the sport’s dominant program with Dawn Staley coaching the Gamecocks to three national championships since 2017, including a victory over the Huskies in 2022. But, now UConn is back on the mountaintop.
Here were the highlights from Sunday’s game!
No. 2 seed UConn vs. No. 1 seed South Carolina
UConn closes out another dominant victory
The Huskies left no doubt again as they trounced South Carolina 82-59 to win the National Championship Game. Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong each had 24 points.
Paige Bueckers added 17 in her final college basketball game and shared an emotional hug with coach Geno Auriemma as she exited the game.
It’s all UConn through three quarters
Azzi Fudd scored 11 points in the third quarter to help UConn push its lead to a 20-point advantage. Fudd had a team-high 24 points through three quarters.
Azzi Fudd has taken over
Fudd drove for a left-handed finger roll and then, on the following possession, came around a screen to knock down a mid-range jump shot to give her 21 points. She connected with Sarah Strong on a pick-and-roll, Fudd’s offensive prowess drawing the attention of South Carolina defenders so she could drop the pass to Strong.
UConn with convincing first half
The Huskies led 36-26 at the halftime break. Azzi Fudd had a game-high 13 points for UConn, while Sarah Strong had a game-high 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. UConn shot 48.4% from the field in the first half, while South Carolina shot 31.3% from the field.
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Azzi feasting
South Carolina got to within three points in the second quarter, but UConn’s offense got back on track and led 29-22 with 3:50 remaining in the quarter. In what was the Huskies’ second bucket of the second quarter, Paige Bueckers got the ball inside to Fudd, who made a contested shot.
UConn out front
The Huskies led 19-14 at the end of the first quarter, with Bueckers’ running bank shot closing out the scoring. Fudd had a game-high seven points.
Back and forth in early going
UConn led 15-13 at the first TV timeout, assisted by a 7-0 run. The Huskies’ run stretched to 7-0 when Kaitlyn Chen found Jana El Alfy for the inside bucket.
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