By Okon Ekpenyong, with On The Move with SportzKelzMedia

The University of Connecticut Huskies clinched its 12th NCAA Championship against the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks. The game held just a few hours ago, highlighted the impressive performance of freshman standout Sarah Strong, who significantly impacted both offense and defense.

Strong had an exceptional game, scoring 24 points and securing 15 rebounds. In a remarkable first half, she notched 11 rebounds—making her the only player to reach that mark within the first two-quarters of a championship match. Graduate student Azzi Fudd also excelled, adding 24 points, while Paige Bueckers concluded her college career with 17 points, earning the title of UConn’s all-time leading scorer in NCAA Tournament history. Fudd was awarded the Most Outstanding Player for the victory today.

UConn’s path to the championship underscores their dominance, as they outclassed all their opponents in the tournament with an astounding average victory margin of 32.8 points. They kicked off the first round with a staggering 69-point win over Arkansas State, followed by a 34-point triumph in the second round over South Dakota State. They triumphed with a 23-point victory in the Sweet 16 over Oklahoma. In the elite eight, they defeated USC with a 14-point win. In the Final Four, the team put on a show, dominating UCLA with a 34-point victory, and finished their tournament journey with a solid 23-point win in today’s championship match.

Despite South Carolina’s strong rebounding performance in the first half, UConn starters Sarah Strong, who scored 24 points, Azzi Fudd, who also contributed 24 points, and Paige Bueckers, who added 17, entered the game with a chip on their shoulder and went on to secure their 12th championship. South Carolina had difficulty countering Strong’s remarkable contributions on both ends, and UConn maintained a lead of as much as 19 points.

The NCAA Women’s Final Four games garnered significant viewership, attracting over 4.6 million fans this weekend. This makes it the third most-watched women’s final match since 1995. 

This win was an exciting new chapter in their championship history because it did not come easy, as injuries stood in the way for stars like Bueckers and Fudd over four years. Today’s victory shows what the team can do when everyone is healthy. Coach Geno Auriemma and players Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong, and Azzi Fudd share their thoughts, experiences, the season, and what this victory meant for the program and themselves after the game.

A Journey of Strength and Gratitude:

Paige Bueckers viewed her five-year experience at UConn as life-changing, essential, and a failure and said. “It’s been a story of resilience, of gratitude, of adversity, of overcoming adversity, just responding to life’s challenges and trying to fuel them to make me a better person, a better player, and continue to grow in my leadership abilities and being a great teammate and just staying who I am, standing firm in who I am and believing in what we do here as individuals, what we do here as a team.”

She also thanked the supporters, fans, coaching staff, and family for sticking with the team and her even when things were not going the team’s way and said, “We’ve been through a lot on our own, as a team. So we feel like nothing that life or basketball can throw at us would ever break us and make us separate.”

Similarly, Azzi Fudd shared her thoughts on the evolving landscape of women’s basketball and their team’s significant impact on inspiring young fans, “I felt like last year, being out, I really got a chance to sit back and look around and just see the attention that we had and just the impact that all of us, my teammates, had on little girls. It was just incredible.”

Recognizing Effort and Commitment:

The players conveyed that their diligence and dedication had finally been recognized, with Paige expressing her gratitude for finishing her career with a national title. Both Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong shared thoughts on their distinct journeys. Azzi discusses her recovery from injury and Sarah’s emotions about her path to where she is now. 

Strong says that the team goes through practices every day, working hard for this moment, and she is just really proud of the team and how things are going.” Fudd added that her faith is what keeps her going, and the encouragement from Paige and others on the team “has been inspirational in that respect.” And she concluded that being able to let go, give it to God, definitely takes that pressure that I put on myself away.”

Coach Geno’s Touching Moment:

After the game, Coach Geno Auriemma and Paige shared a heartfelt exchange. Paige shares what Coach Geno has meant to her and how much he’s shaped her into the human she is today, not just on the basketball court but throughout her five years at UConn. And just putting it together in one hug is what our journey has been like. 

Heritage and Motivation:

Paige stated that throughout her time at UConn, many people have laid the foundation every single day, like past UConn players, the women’s basketball players who came before us who allowed us to be at this stage, let the WNBA be something we aspire to be, and fulfill those shoes. It all started with the groundwork, and we’re just trying to achieve what they’ve done.”

Looking Ahead:

When asked what it feels like to be the oldest Coach, Men or Woman, to win a National Championship, Coach Geno says, “I know many my friends that are my age that haven’t done what I’ve done with who I’ve done it with, and they look way older, act way older because they’ve lost the ability to be a kid because they’re not around kids. So, yeah, I may be 71 number-wise, but I think otherwise. I’m more able to do stuff with those young people because I’m around them daily, and they rub off on me.”

Coach Geno expresses his immense gratitude for the opportunity to continue coaching and influencing young athletes. And he is the winningest coach, Men or Women Head Coach in Division 1, with 1217 victories, and of course, the one with the most championships, 12. 

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