The Huskies established an early advantage by achieving a field goal percentage of 52.9% in the first quarter, while limiting the Gamecocks to 40%.

“Our kids gave it all they had,” Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley said. “When you can understand why you lost and when you have been on the other side of that three times you can understand it. We lost to very good basketball team.”

Fudd and Strong each concluded the game with 24 points, while Bueckers contributed 17 points to the team’s efforts. As a result of her outstanding performance, Fudd was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. On the other hand, freshman Joyce Edwards and sophomore Tessa Johnson each scored 10 points for South Carolina as the Gamecocks narrowly missed the opportunity to defend their title, finishing the season with a record of 35-4. Notably, the 10 points scored by the leading scorers from South Carolina represent the lowest total recorded by any team’s top scorer in a women’s NCAA final.

Strong established a new record for points scored by a freshman in a single NCAA tournament, achieving a total of 114 points, surpassing Tennessee’s Tamika Catchings, who recorded 111 points in 1998. Notably, that same year, Strong’s mother, Allison Feaster, led Harvard as a No. 16 seed to a victory over No. 1 Stanford in the NCAA tournament. Feaster subsequently enjoyed a successful 10-season career in the WNBA, where her daughter is expected to follow in a few years.

“I am more proud of my teammates, we did a really good job of executing everything and staying together,” Strong said.

Strong is the first player, regardless of position, to achieve at least 100 points, 25 assists, and 10 blocks in a single NCAA tournament since the official recording of blocks began in 1988.

The University of Connecticut has achieved a total of 12 victories in the Final Four by a margin of 20 points or more. In contrast, all other teams in Division I women’s basketball history have collectively recorded 11 such wins. Additionally, the Huskies’ 23-point margin of victory in the championship game ranks as the third largest in history, following two previous UConn teams that won by 33 points against Louisville in 2013 and 31 points against Syracuse in 2016.

“My teammates and people I surround myself with encourage me and support me, their resilience feeds off into me, ” Fudd said.

UConn experienced some challenges this season, similar to those faced by six of the university’s previous championship teams. However, following an 80-76 loss to Tennessee on February 6, the Huskies maintained an impressive winning streak. They secured both the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, and excelled in the NCAA tournament, achieving victories over top-seeded teams USC, UCLA, and South Carolina, ultimately concluding the season with an impressive record of 37-3.

“You never know when you will be back in this situation again,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. “There were so many times we all questioned have we been here to long. We kept hanging in there and it is because these players made me want to hang in there every day.”

The Huskies maintained their dominance throughout the second half. UConn has an impressive record of 91-2 when holding a double-digit lead at halftime in the NCAA tournament. The two losses occurred in the 2001 national semifinal, where they were ahead by 12 points at halftime against the eventual champion Notre Dame, and in the first round of 1989, where they led by 10 points against La Salle.

In 1989, Auriemma began his coaching career in the NCAA tournament during his fourth season at UConn. Since then, the Huskies have participated in 36 NCAA tournaments and advanced to 24 Final Fours. Auriemma, who celebrated his 71st birthday in March, is recognized as the first coach to secure a championship at the age of 70 or older in Division I women’s or men’s basketball.

The UConn women’s basketball team is the first Division I program to achieve 12 titles, all under the leadership of Head Coach Auriemma.

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