UConn dominates South Carolina, wins 12th national title - ESPN

TAMPA, Fla. — It has been a nine-year wait for UConn to get its 12th national championship. But in a lot of ways, it came at exactly the right time.

The No. 2-seeded Huskies finished their run through three No. 1 seeds, culminating in an 82-59 victory over South Carolina in the NCAA final on Sunday to claim a title that perhaps means a little more because of the journey the program and senior star Paige Bueckers has been on to get it.

After winning four championships in a row from 2013 to 2016 behind superstar Breanna Stewart, the Huskies hit a series of roadblocks with tough losses and injury heartbreaks.

But Sunday, the Huskies moved to the top of the women's basketball world again, sending Bueckers — who is expected to be the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick on April 14 — out with her first national championship.

A tearful Bueckers buried her face in coach Geno Auriemma's shoulder as they hugged on the sideline when she exited the game with just over a minute left, mission at last accomplished.

With guards Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, healthy at the same time, and the top freshman in the nation in forward Sarah Strong, UConn looked like so many of its championship teams of old. Not just the best team, but the team that also played the best.

Fudd and Strong both finished with 24 points, and Bueckers had 17. Freshman Joyce Edwards and sophomore Tessa Johnson led South Carolina with 10 points each as the Gamecocks fell short of repeating as national champions and finished 35-4.

UConn now has 12 wins in the Final Four by 20 or more points. All other teams in Division I women's history have 11 combined.

Bueckers was asked before Sunday's game how she would like to be remembered at