The ghosts were quiet at first. But they were always there. Hanging like dust in the rafters of Amalie Arena. In every bounce of the ball. In every sideline glare from Geno Auriemma. They watched as Paige Bueckers laced up one last time. They hovered over Azzi Fudd’s release. They stood witness as the most storied program in women’s college basketball reclaimed what it once owned so regularly it had almost become muscle memory: a national championship.
UConn 82, South Carolina 59.
Not just a win. A restoration. A reassertion of power. And maybe — just maybe — a reminder to those who started to wonder if the era had passed them by.
Because on Sunday night, in front of a sold-out crowd and a broadcast audience that stretched from New England to the Palmetto State, UConn played with something more than structure. More than discipline. More than brilliance.
They played with purpose sharpened by drought.
The Performance: A Masterclass in Control
The game itself never felt like a coronation. It felt like an examination. South Carolina came in as defending champions. As unbeaten giants once again. As the team that, since 2021, had rewritten how the modern game could be played: long, deep, punishing.
And UConn? They didn’t flinch. They didn’t speed up. They simply outpaced them mentally.
Azzi Fudd led all scorers with 24 points. Her footwork, her release, her movement without the ball — it was all cathedral-grade precision. She floated into shots. Cut without waste. Fudd wasn’t just making jumpers — she was undoing a defense one jab-step at a time.
Freshman Sarah Strong was her complement — not in contrast, but in echo. Strong poured in 24 points and 15 rebounds, a double-double of such conviction that it silenced any question of youth or experience. Her presence was generational. Her ceiling? Still invisible.
And then there was Paige.
The Farewell We Were Promised
Paige Bueckers’ final game in a UConn uniform wasn’t the explosion some expected — it was something higher. It was the culmination of intent. 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and something intangible that never left the floor while she was on it: belief.
There are players who demand the ball. Paige invites it. Who controls tempo by virtue of command, not noise. Every time South Carolina looked poised to charge, she answered. Not always with a shot, but with a decision — the right decision.
If Azzi was the blade, and Strong the shield, Paige was the compass.
And when the buzzer sounded, there she was. Arms up. Not in triumph. In completion.
Geno’s 12th and the Silence of Doubt
For Geno Auriemma, this was more than a trophy. It was vindication.
For nine years, the Huskies watched others lift the nets. They came close. They suffered injuries. They endured heartbreak. But in this tournament, they built something harder than hype: trust.
They beat the best. And in the final, they didn’t just beat South Carolina — they dismantled them.
The Gamecocks shot 36%. They turned it over 17 times. They had no answer for Strong inside. No space to breathe on the perimeter. And once the third quarter began — and UConn ripped off a 26–16 stretch — it was done. Not by knockout, but by checkmate.
The Dynasty is Alive
Twelve titles. Dozens of All-Americans. A coach whose shadow extends across generations.
But this one felt different. Because it came after waiting. After doubt. After the nation had looked elsewhere. At South Carolina. At LSU. At Iowa. At rising stars and newer programs.
UConn let them look. Then took the trophy back.
And now, as Bueckers prepares for the WNBA, as Strong prepares to inherit the program, and as Geno prepares for whatever next season holds — the rest of the country must once again reckon with the hardest truth in the sport:
The empire never left. It just waited.
And now?
It’s home.
Joseph Angel | Chief NCAA Tournament Analyst for TheNSR Network
