The UConn Huskies clinched a record fourth consecutive women’s basketball national championship on Tuesday night, 82-51 over Syracuse. The Huskies are the first women’s basketball team to win four consecutive titles, and this title makes it 11 for the program under head coach Geno Auriemma, passing John Wooden for the most by any college basketball coach.
UConn vs. Syracuse 2016: Huskies win Women’s NCAA Tournament championship, 82-51
The Huskies have set a new standard for excellence in women’s basketball with their fourth consecutive national championship.
The Huskies got started strong, opening the game with a 9-0 run. Syracuse was ice cold shooting the ball, missing their first six shots before finally finding a bucket. They need a lot more baskets than they would get early, as UConn quickly built up a 28-13 lead to end the first quarter. The Huskies kept the pedal to the floor in the second quarter, building up a 50-23 halftime lead. Breanna Stewart had 14 points and five rebounds in the first half, and UConn outrebounded Syracuse 26-12 in the first half alone.
This shot of Syracuse’s mascot at halftime probably captured how most Orange fans were feeling.
To their credit, Syracuse didn’t just pack it in in the second half. In fact, the Orange went on a 16-0 run in the third quarter, but that only brought UConn’s lead down to 17 points. The Huskies went nearly six minutes without a basket before finally hitting one, as Syracuse’s defensive pressure created issues.
That would be as close as Syracuse would get, however, as UConn snapped out of it and held steady with a 20-plus point lead. Stewart finished here collegiate career with a near-triple double, going for 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Morgan Tuck had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Moriah Jefferson had 13 points and five assists.
Cornelia Fondren led Syracuse with 16 points. Brittney Sykes had 12 points, and Alexis Peterson finished with 11 points. The Orange shot a miserable 2-19 from three as a team, which obviously isn’t going to get the job done against a team like UConn.
The numbers for UConn are just staggering at this point. The Huskies now have 11 national championships, all of which have come since 1995. This is their fourth straight championship, and this is the first time in women's basketball history that one program has won four straight titles. The Huskies senior class leaves knowing nothing other than being champions, winning the title in each of their four years in Storrs and going 24-0 in the NCAA Tournament. 2016 was UConn's sixth undefeated season under Geno Auriemma, and second in three years. All told, the Huskies have lost only five games total over the past four seasons, and the win on Tuesday night was the program's 74th in a row.
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