It was the lopsided victory that no one expected. Three one seeds advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, but the team that hoisted the trophy was the lone two seed, University of Connecticut. It was the 12th national title for the Huskies, who even with frequent trips to the Final Four, had not made it to the finish line since 2016.
Despite having a rough season and slipping in the national rankings, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and freshman sensation Sarah Strong brought their A-plus game to Tampa, Florida, where the Final Four was staged, prevailing over the tournament’s overall top seed UCLA 85–51 and trouncing the reigning champion University of South Carolina 82–59 in the final. Fudd, who will return to UConn for another season, was named Most Outstanding Player. Strong broke all the freshman records and Bueckers showed that like other Huskies before her, she lives up to the hype.
Although she has received All-American and Player of the Year accolades, the collegiate game has not been an easy road for Bueckers. Her freshman season (2020-21) was played with the pandemic literally hanging in the air. The NCAA Tournament took place in a bubble — with a training room that consisted of only a few yoga mats and some free weights. After sophomore year and a return trip to the Final Four, she tore her ACL, missing the next season. Upon her return last season, UConn coach Geno Auriemma declared her better than ever, which she proved in spectacular fashion throughout this year’s NCAA tournament.
“I have an overall sense of gratitude for everything that’s happened, through the ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Bueckers. “To be able to be shaped to be the person that I am today and the team that we are today. Obviously, you feel like on the other side of a hard time is a really big blessing, and we stuck to it, we kept the faith. To be rewarded with something like this, you can’t really even put into words.”
Auriemma spoke about the team shifting during the season from enjoying playing together to having an unbreakable bond. Added Bueckers, “Through all the hard work we put in as individuals and as a team and how much we stuck together through the good times and the bad … we felt like we were so connected and nothing could break us.”