The greatest senior class in the history of the game, and its architect, Geno Auriemma, did something no one had ever done before. She was just named the AP Player of the Year last week.
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CT stands atop the women’s college basketball world – again.
Senior Breanna Stewart, projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, won her fourth consecutive Final Four Most Outstanding Player award after her 24-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist, 2-block effort against the Orange in the championship.
Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman watches during the first half of the championship game against CT, at the women’s Final Four in the NCAA college basketball tournament Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Indianapolis.
“What those 11 national championships mean to me is how many great players I’ve had the opportunity to coach, how many great people have come through our program”, Auriemma said.
“It was the ideal ending”, Stewart said. “In each of our national championship runs we were confident”. While the men’s basketball program in Storrs may be pretty special, it still does not compare to the school’s dominance on the court at the women’s level. “To play with these guys is unbelievable”. You’ll miss watching Auriemma, one of the best coaches of any sport, period, win an 11th national championship title – something no one in college basketball history, men’s or women’s, has done.
Oh, incidentally, this was the Huskies’ 75th consecutive win, a team streak second only to the record 90 straight games they won from 2008 to 2011.
This title is nearly ironic for Stewart, who has a soft spot for Syracuse.
Morgan Tuck added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Huskies. When she was a freshman, she said that she would win four championships with UConn.
Napheesa Collier ended the confounding 16-0 run with two quick baskets that sent the Huskies into the fourth quarter ahead 64-43.
While the Huskies are no stranger to the title game, Syracuse is a newcomer.
Fondren came off the bench for Syracuse to score a team-best six first-half points. Jefferson leads the team with 199 while Stewart has 141, Tuck 109 and Kia Nurse 103. They won 25 of their 38 games by at least 40 points.
“When you have players like these three and they are the kind of individuals they are and have the kind of character they have and the way they conduct themselves every day”, said, “I’ve never been around a better group of great players who really really love the game (and) appreciate their teammates”.
The outcome became all but a formality when CT opened the second quarter with a 10-2 flurry. There is a fourth senior, walk-on Briana Pulido, who got into the game tonight and scored the final two points.
NOTES: Sophomore G Gabby Williams started for UConn in place of freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, who broke her left foot in the first half against Oregon State. The Huskies roared to a 9-0 lead in the first 3:27 using a pair of 3-pointers from Stewart and Jefferson to help build the lead.
With Lubbock Christian and Thomas More finishing off their undefeated seasons Monday night in the Division II and III title games, this marks the third year that all three champions didn’t have a loss.
The Orange’s historic run included upsetting top-seeded SC in the Sweet Sixteen and romping past powerhouse Tennessee to reach the Final Four, where they dispatched of Washington.
“Not shocked about good they are”.
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“We didn’t score. So when you don’t make shots, you can’t get your pressure going”, HIllsman said. I thought our kids left it all out on the floor”.
