Basketball-UConn crush South Carolina for record-extending 12th title

(Reuters) -UConn thrashed South Carolina 82-59 to claim a record-extending 12th national championship in NCAA women's basketball on Sunday, the first title for the team since 2016.

A dream showdown between two of the sport's marquee teams quickly turned sour for defending champions South Carolina against a suffocating UConn defense, as the Huskies ended their longest title drought since their first title in 1995.

The Gamecocks were unable to slow down freshman Sarah Strong, who put up a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds, and guard Azzi Fudd, who added another 24 points and was later named the most outstanding player of the Final Four.

"You just never know if you'll be back in this situation again," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, the winningest coach in collegiate basketball who became emotional in his post-game remarks. "We kept hanging in there and hanging in there."

The Huskies had a 10-point lead through two quarters after a clutch three-point jumper from guard Ashlynn Shade to close out the first half, in which UConn sharpshooter Fudd led the way with 13 points.

They heaped on more pressure in the second half and South Carolina's hope of a third title in four years evaporated as the Huskies were up by 32 points with four minutes left in the game.

The win gave famed guard Paige Bueckers, the presumed first pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, the accolade she craved most in her final collegiate game and she wept as she stepped off the court and embraced Auriemma.

"Unreal. Just so much gratitude for everything this program has meant to me," said Bueckers, who put up 17 points on Sunday after overcoming injuries to become one of the collegiate game's biggest names.

"I can't even put into words what's happening right now."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond)