TAMPA, Fla. — The outcome had long been decided when UConn coach Geno Auriemma called a timeout with 1:32 left, taking his stars out of a game that would end up being a dominant 82-59 win over defending champion South Carolina for an unprecedented 12th national title for the Huskies.
As senior Paige Bueckers came off the court, ending her college career with an elusive first title of her own, she and Auriemma shared a long, emotional hug, a celebration of what they came together to do.
"So many emotions," said Bueckers, wearing one of the nets cut down from Sunday's game around her neck. "Gratitude was the main one, the journey of the ups and downs of everything it took to get to that point. Just overwhelming joy, and just so happy for every single person who is a part of this journey."
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For decades, the best players in women's basketball have come to UConn to win national titles, and this was Bueckers' last chance. At the same time, Auriemma, 71, hadn't won since 2016, and nine years without a title at UConn is an eternity.
"My journey became hers, in so many words," he said.
Auriemma said that with each passing year, the people closest to him wondered if he should have retired in 2016 after UConn had won a fourth straight championship. For all the dynastic success the Huskies had, he didn't know if there would be another title, and he wasn't alone.
"There were a lot of people that didn't think it would ever happen, a lot of people that hoped it would never happen," Auriemma said. "I'm glad that we were able to get to that spot that Connecticut has occupied. In the last 30 years, I don't know that any program has meant more to their sport than UConn has meant to women's basketball."
And just like that, the Huskies are champions again, though there was so much more than just Auriemma and Bueckers that got them back on top. The tournament's Most Outstanding Player was guard Azzi Fudd, who had 24 points, 11 in a third quarter that saw the Huskies put South Carolina away, building a lead that grew to as big as 32 points. Freshman forward Sarah Strong was just as solid, finishing with 24 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to finish a phenomenal debut season.
The Huskies did something they've never done in 11 previous championships, beating three No. 1 seeds along the way. They were their regional's second seed, beating USC to advance to the Final Four, then taking out the No. 1 overall seed in UCLA on Friday before beating the Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, whose team was seeking to be the sport's first repeat champs since UConn in 2016, had never lost in three previous championship games and said she hopes the sting of the defeat lingers with her returning players.
"I hope they're crying," Staley said. "I hope they're boo-hooing because from crying they have emotion about losing, [it] makes you work hard in the offseason. Makes you look at it and really analyze what the separation is from their program and our program and how we close the gap with that.
Staley has high hopes for her program in the near future, but understands the commitment and buy-in needed from her players to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a title.
"They're very talented, and I think they got a great experience of playing at this level that I hope they have a desire to get back here and do all the things it takes to play in the national championship game and to deliver the blows that's needed to win," Staley said.
Both teams are expected to have talented lineups back next season. South Carolina's leading scorers on Sunday were freshmen forward Joyce Edwards and sophomore guard Tessa Johnson. For UConn, Fudd announced this week that she's returning for another year with the Huskies, despite knowing she'd likely be a high first-round pick in the WNBA Draft, and Strong shows every sign of being the program's next elite star, breaking the NCAA record for points by a freshman in the tournament.
But Sunday was about a coach getting back to the pinnacle and how grateful he was for Bueckers, who helped get him there.
"He told me he loved me. I told him I hated him, but we both love each other some days," Bueckers joked when asked what was said as they hugged by the UConn bench.
Auriemma said that Bueckers is both "infuriating" and "mesmerizing," a player who for five years was like an orchestra conductor, unselfishly controlling every practice and game whether she had the ball or not. Nearly 50 years apart in age, they've had countless serious conversations and plenty of light ones, but that moment, savoring the final seconds of a championship victory, stood out above all.
"Today was the first one, I think, in five years that all the emotions that have been building inside of me, they came out, and they came out in her," Auriemma said of Bueckers. "In five years, I've never seen her cry. She might deny it, but she's going to miss me."
Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.
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