NCAAW: Bueckers, UConn playing their best ball entering title game

The UConn Huskies are back to a place they’re quite familiar with: the NCAA Tournament national championship game.

No women’s basketball program has won more NCAA titles than UConn, and the Huskies will play for championship No. 12 this Sunday, April 6 after a dominant performance against UCLA in the Final Four. UConn shot 55 percent from the field and forced 19 UCLA turnovers, ultimately defeating the top-seeded Bruins 85-51 in the most lopsided game in Final Four history. Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma—a notoriously difficult person to please—quipped that he didn’t think his team made a single mistake on defense in the entire game.

Just one more team stands between UConn and college basketball history: the South Carolina Gamecocks, who will be looking to repeat as national champions. As two of the most recognizable women’s basketball programs in the country, there are always more than a few storylines waiting to be written whenever UConn and South Carolina meet, and Sunday’s championship game (3 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN) will be no different.

UConn has an opportunity to avenge its loss in 2022

South Carolina doesn’t typically lose when a championship is on the line. For a while, neither did UConn. For a long time, Auriemma was undefeated in the NCAA title game, boasting an 11-0 record on the nation’s biggest stage.

That run finally ended in 2022, when South Carolina defeated UConn to win what was, at the time, its second NCAA championship. The Huskies mustered just 49 points in the game, a far cry from the machine-like offense fans and detractors alike had grown accustomed to watching. The real discrepancy, though, was on the boards: South Carolina outrebounded UConn 49-24, nearly pulling down as many offensive rebounds (21) as the Huskies did total rebounds.

The 2022 championship game wasn’t the only time in recent history the Huskies came up short against their rival. From 2019 through 2024, UConn went 1-5 against South Carolina, with four of those five losses coming by double-digits.

The Huskies were able to flip the script, however, this past February, when they defeated South Carolina at home—something that has become nearly impossible to do. It wasn’t particularly close, either; UConn hit 13 3-pointers and held the Gamecocks to 37.7 percent shooting from the floor in the 87-58 rout.

Will the Huskies win by a similar margin on Sunday? Probably not. It should be noted, though, that UConn has only improved since February, with the Huskies’ showing in the Final Four the latest example of how good they can be when they’re playing their best basketball—and not relying too heavily on any one player.

Bueckers has plenty of help in her quest for a championship

The 2025 NCAA Tournament has been billed as the last go-around for UConn star Paige Bueckers, who has announced her intent to play in the WNBA this summer. Bueckers had long ago solidified her legacy as one of UConn’s all-time greats, with an unimpeachable resume that includes three First-Team All-American selections and a slew of National Player of the Year awards.

There’s just one thing missing from Bueckers’ collegiate trophy case: a national championship. It’s something she’s acutely aware of, though in typical Bueckers fashion, she’s downplayed the importance of the moment to herself.

“We don’t want to take it for granted,” Bueckers said of playing her final collegiate game in the NCAA championship game. “You don’t want to get caught up in the moment of being so anxious and trying to win the national championship in one possession that you’re just psyching yourself out … It’s pretty crazy it’s all coming to an end, but I’m glad we can do it on the last day.”

If there’s one thing the Huskies have shown during their tournament run, it’s that Bueckers will have plenty of support. Bueckers herself has put up incredible numbers, averaging 26.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field, but it’s the way the rest of UConn’s roster has played that should give the Huskies championship confidence.

Take their win over UCLA, for instance. Bueckers was pedestrian by her standards, shooting 7-for-17 from the floor, but thanks to Azzi Fudd (19 points on 7-for-12 shooting) and freshman phenom Sarah Strong (22 points on 9-for-13 shooting), UConn’s offense remained highly efficient. The Huskies weren’t relying on Bueckers to carry them, and the balance reminded Auriemma of past UConn teams—teams that went on to win championships.

“When we showed up, generally speaking, with the right pieces, we were able to, more times than not, win a championship. When we showed up here short-handed, we didn’t,” explained Auriemma. “Going into this weekend, we felt like we had the best opportunity that we could have in the last fix, six, seven years.”

Opportunity, of course, is one thing. Seizing it is another. South Carolina is coming off an impressive Final Four win of its own and has held its opponents below 60 points in four of its five tournament games, so UConn likely won’t have the type of smooth sailing it enjoyed against UCLA. The national audience will certainly be expecting a Bueckers masterclass—and they may very well get it. But it will take more than that for UConn to unseat the defending champions and reclaim its spot atop the women’s college basketball world.