Paige Bueckers finally captures national title as UConn routs South Carolina

UConn’s women’s basketball program is right where it belongs – on the mountaintop.

The Huskies earned their 12th national championship, all of which have come since 1995, with a blowout of reigning champion South Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

In her final game before heading to the WNBA, Paige Bueckers put up 17 points in UConn’s 82-59 win over the Gamecocks.

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Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts during the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks of the national championship of the women’s 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena.  (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

The Huskies led by 10 at the half, as South Carolina struggled from the floor – they had just 26 points in the first 20 minutes.

But Azzi Fudd began to put the nail in the coffin in the third quarter, dropping 11 of her 24 points in the frame. Despite it being South Carolina’s highest-scoring quarter up to that point, it was also easily UConn’s, who outscored the Gamecocks, 26-16, to take a commanding 20-point lead heading into the fourth.

The Huskies kept their foot on the pedal, though, getting out on a 18-6 run to open up the quarter, effectively icing the ball game. After that, South Carolina took their starters out, albeit to a great hand.

Bueckers and Fudd, along with the starters, came out with 1:32 to go, and an emotional Bueckers shared a long embrace with head coach Geno Auriemma. Bueckers made each Final Four of her career but never reached the top until Sunday.

Connecticut Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks to shoot the ball against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half during the national championship of the women’s 2025 NCAA tournament at Amalie Arena. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

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It was a shooting performance South Carolina would like to forget – before knocking two of their final three, they hit just 2-for-13 from three. UConn, however, shot 48.4% from the floor.

Bueckers is likely to be the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft next week. She even missed a season with a torn ACL she suffered back in 2022, but she will still go down as one of UConn’s greatest, which is already immortal company to begin with.

Bueckers’ 19.9 points per game is the largest in UConn history, and she also had the third-most points in women’s March Madness history throughout a career.

UConn center Jana El Alfy (8) and UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) react during the first half of a national semifinal Final Four game against UCLA during the women’s NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

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It’s actually been nine years since UConn’s last title, which is their longest drought since winning their back 30 years ago. They previously had never gone more than five years without winning it all (from 2004 to 2009).

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