It was a special season for the UConn women’s basketball team.
The Huskies continued their dominance Tuesday, beating Notre Dame 63-53 to earn their third straight NCAA Tournament championship. For coach Geno Auriemma, it was title No. 10, tying UCLA’s John Wooden for the most in college basketball.
Despite the lopsided result, the Fighting Irish did their best to keep it close. Notre Dame nearly matched UConn score-for-score in the first half, but the Huskies improved their shooting and pulled away in the final minutes to take a 31-23 lead into the locker rooms.
Notre Dame tried to creep up on the best team in women’s college basketball in the second half, too, bringing itself within five points of UConn. But Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis hit an important 3-pointer to make it 59-50 with five minutes to go, and the rest was history.
And speaking of history, junior forward Breanna Stewart — who finished the game with eight points and a ridiculous 15 boards — became the first person to be named Most Outstanding Player three years in a row. However, the humble Stewart told reporters after the game that she thought the honor should have gone to teammate Moriah Jefferson.
Thumbnail photo via Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
