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The national championship is here, and it couldn’t feature two more impressive programs. The No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks, with three titles since 2017, will look to become the first team since 2016 to repeat as champions. No. 2 seed UConn, led by presumptive No. 1 WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers, has a record 11 national championships.
Who will come out on top this season? Stay with NBC News all night to find out.
The likely No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming WNBA draft, Connecticut star guard Paige Bueckers, has made three of her nine shot attempts for eight points at the half. When these teams met in a non-conference game in February that ended with a 29-point UConn victory, Bueckers had 12 points, allowing teammate Azzi Fudd to do much of the heavy lifting.
Today, Fudd is getting going early again, with a game-high 13 points. If that duo is allowed to remain this comfortable in the second half, it’s UConn’s title to lose.
The Huskies look like the much better team after one half, as the Gamecocks are having a difficult time keeping up offensively.
Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong have combined to score 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting for UConn. Conversely, the entire South Carolina team has 26 points on 10-of-32 shooting.
The Huskies are up big despite hitting only one shot from beyond the arc.
The Gamecocks will have to find answers on both ends of the floor to close the gap in the second half.
Connecticut has only five free throws and South Carolina six in the final minute of the first half as officials are letting these teams play in the low post. That kind of game probably benefits UConn most, because it is used to not needing free throws to win. The Huskies average only 11 per game, ranking 339th out of 353 Division I teams this season.
The Huskies have opened up a 29-22 lead with 3:50 left in the first half.
South Carolina’s offense is struggling to keep up. The Gamecocks are shooting only 36% from the field after a hot start.
Azzi Fudd continues to shine, she’s up to 11 points.
Joyce Edwards went to the bench with 7:17 left in the second quarter after picking up her second foul on a Paige Bueckers jumper.
ESPN rules analyst Violet Palmer disagreed with the call on the broadcast, saying the contact was minimal and came late.
The Huskies have looked more comfortable with the speed of the game thus far, something that was seen on South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s face as she directed guard MiLaysia Fulwiley to play faster late in the second quarter after Fulwiley had her dribble stolen. The Gamecocks typically jump on opponents early, but today they have a different challenge to overcome.
A fun first quarter that featured a lot of offense.
Azzi Fudd leads all scorers with 7 points.
Chloe Kitts leads the Gamecocks with 4.
The Huskies shot 52.9% in the opening period compared to 40% for South Carolina.
The Huskies are up 15-13 with 3:59 to go in the first quarter.
Every single UConn starter has scored. Azzi Fudd leads all players with 5 points.
Chloe Kitts leads the Gamecocks with 4 points.
Gamecocks post Chloe Kitts is in foul trouble early in the first quarter after an apparent officiating mistake that ended with a second foul being called on her when Kitts was nowhere near the action. This can be changed during a break in play, and I’m sure South Carolina coach Dawn Staley will lobby officials to correct it.
Great offense through the game’s first five minutes, as the teams have combined to shoot 11-of-18 from the field — a 61.1% clip.
Neither team has led by more than three. UConn is up 13-11 with 5:02 to go.
Will South Carolina win its second straight national championship?
Will UConn return to glory?
The rematch of the 2022 title game is underway!
The women’s national title game is about to tip off. The starting lineups are being read.
2024 – South Carolina (38-0)
2023- LSU (34-2)
2022- South Carolina (35-2)
2021- Stanford (31-2)
2020 – Canceled due to Covid-19
2019 – Baylor (37-1)
2018 – Notre Dame (34-3)
2017 – South Carolina (33-4)
2016 – Connecticut (38-0)
2015 – Connecticut (38-1)
2014 – Connecticut (40-0)
As a sicko who doesn’t make a bracket specifically to root for mass chaos, I am legitimately torn on this question. On one hand, the beauty of the knockout tournament is seeing an underdog catch fire and try to ride that wave all the way to the Final Four. On the other, it’s hard to be upset when most of the best talent in the sport is left to battle it out for a championship. So I will say that I err on the side of being pro-top seed. At the end of the day, when the stakes are at their highest, I want to see the sport’s best battling each other in high-pressure situations.
Bueckers’ trying to win a ring as the elder stateswoman on a relatively young Connecticut Huskies squad is as exciting as it gets.
Bueckers has had a roller-coaster collegiate career, essentially having two seasons (one partly, one entirely) ruined by injury. In her senior go-around with the Huskies, she has remained a talented and efficient scorer while also being the playmaker her team desperately needs.
Bueckers and UConn have been in the Final Four each of the last two years (and four out of the last five seasons), but the program hasn’t won a championship since 2016. Bueckers’ returning the Huskies to glory would be an incredibly satisfying story.
Greg Rosenstein is the sports editor for NBC News Digital.
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NCAA women's national championship live updates: UConn leads South Carolina by 10 points at halftime – NBC News
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