Uconn coach Geno Auriemma called his huskies and their national championship opponents, South Carolina, “the two most prominent programs right now in women’s college basketball.”
It is then suitable that when the season 2024-25 ends on Sunday at Tampa, Florida, Huskies (36-3) is to become its 12th title all the time in women’s NCAA tournament, while Gamecocks (35-3) looks to be the first repeated master of the sport since 2016.
Uconn, No. 2 seed in Spokane Region 4, was the latest program that won in a row in a dominant run when Huskies won four directly from 2013-16. The 2016 title was also the program’s latest, with the nine-year wait between championships that marked Uconn’s longest since first won the Women’s NCAA tournament 1995-all under the direction of Auriemma.
Sunday is Huskie’s first national championship game since 2022, when South Carolina claimed the other of her three crowns under Coach Dawn Staley. A victory on Sunday would give Gamecock’s three titles for four seasons.
“Previous performances, what happened last year, will not be a factor on what is happening on Sunday,” Auriemma said. “Our 11 national championships won’t help us win.”
These previous performances include a matchup of the same team less than two months ago, which Uconn won the 87-58 in South Carolina on February 16.
The dominant victory resembled Huskies ’85 -51 semi-final victory over UCLA on Friday.
Against South Carolina, Azzi Fudd 6 out of 10 from 3-point intervals with 28 points, while Sarah Strong recorded a 16-point, 13-Rebound double-double in the middle of a silent offensive performance from star guard Paige Bueckers (12 points).
On Friday, Buecker’s 7-AV-17 shot from the floor in 16 points after three consecutive matches of at least 31 points. Fudder scored 19 points, all in the first half, to start Huskies, while Strong added 22 points and eight returns. Huskie’s defense forced 19 turnover.
Uconn wears a 15-match winning row in the championship. It arrived there as no. 1 seed in Birmingham 2 region.
South Carolina is on a 12-match winning line after her 74-57 semi-final route in Texas on Friday.
TE-Hina Paopo’s 14 points and two steals, along with Joyce Edwards 13 points, 11 returns and six assists from the bench, South Carolina is run.
Staley’s team is unbeaten in the NCAA Tournament Championship Games and goes 3-0 since 2017.
“To say that we are undefeated in national championship games, I wish it helped,” Staley said. “… I wish it would discover us 10 points because we are undefeated.”
Instead, South Carolina will strive to exploit a defense that has been even more overwhelming through five NCAA tournament games than its season-long 57.4 points per game return.
With the victory on Friday, when South Carolina held Texas to 9 out of 30 (30 percent) shooting during the second half, Gamecocks has held its tournament opponents to an average of 55 points per match.
Paopao described South Carolina team defense as self -sustaining.
“Energy starts from defense,” she said. “When you (Bree Hall) play defense, you want to play defense for her and the team … and get the train going.”
Uconn’s crime sets up 87.8 points per match in the tournament, and its defense has held four of its five opponents to fewer than 60 points and has given up an average of 53 points per match.
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