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Connecticut

Geno Auriemma, Paige Bueckers cut down the nets after UConn wins 2025 NCAA Tournament

by:Alex Byington•04/06/25•

_AlexByington

NCAA Womens Basketball: Final Four National Championship
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma looks on during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks of the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For the first time in nearly a decade, Geno Auriemma ended a season cutting down the nets after his UConn Huskies dominated defending champion South Carolina with a 82-59 win Sunday to claim the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament championship.

It’s Auriemma’s NCAA-record 12th career national championship but first since 2016, haulting a nine-year draught that followed an unprecedented run of success for the Huskies (37-3), which won 10 NCAA titles between 2000-2016, the last four straight.

South Carolina (35-4), on the other hand, came up short in its second-straight NCAA championship game appearance, shooting just 34.4-percent from the field compared to UConn’s 48.4-percent effort Sunday.

It was an interesting dynamic entering Sunday’s national title game with the top-seeded Gamecocks having won two of the prior three championships before Sunday and three NCAA titles since UConn’s last championship victory.

But it was never close Sunday, as UConn was unrelenting in the second half, building a 30-point lead with 5:30 remaining in regulation thanks to double-digit advantages in the third and fourth quarters.

UConn blows out South Carolina en route to Paige Bueckers’ first national title

UConn senior guards Paige Bueckers (17 points) and Azzi Fudd (24 points) combined for 41 points on 14-of-29 shooting, while freshman forward Sarah Strong added a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds — 14 coming defensively. It was the first career NCAA championship for both Bueckers and Fudd after coming up short in their prior three Final Four appearances.

Meanwhile, South Carolina struggled to create any offensive consistency with senior foward Sania Feagin managing just 8 points on 4-of-6 shooting while junior forward Choe Kitts added 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

UConn squeezed 11 turnovers out of the Gamecocks while only committing nine itself. In turn, the Huskies scored 14 points off South Carolina’s turnovers.

Although the Huskies ultimately ran away with a comfortable victory, the outcome wasn’t always so obvious. It was a back-and-forth affair early between the two teams, with UConn squeaking out a 19-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Alas, UConn stepped on the gas in the second quarter, finishing the frame on an 11-3 run. UConn kept its foot on the gas in the third period, outscoring South Carolina by 10 points to take a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter.

After going on an 8-0 run early in the final frame, there was nothing left for UConn to do but put the nails in the coffin to emerge with an 82-59 victory. 

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.