April 6, 2016

Connecticut’s Morgan Tuck (3), Kia Nurse (11), and Breanna Stewart (30) celebrate Connecticut’s victory over Syracuse in the championship game at the women’s Final Four on April 5, 2016.
Credit: © Michael Conroy, AP Photo

Last night, April 5, the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies women’s basketball team defeated the Syracuse University Orange 82-51 to win an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. It was the 11^th NCAA title for UConn and their coach Geno Auriemma, who now has more titles than legendary UCLA men’s coach John Wooden. The women’s tournament has been played every year since 1982, and UConn first won it in 1995. Last night’s game was played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

UConn’s 31-point margin of victory looks large enough, but the game really wasn’t that close. During an apparent breather in the third quarter, UConn let Syracuse rattle off 16 points in a row. UConn was even playing short-handed. Their top 3-point shooter, freshman Katie Lou Samuleson, watched the game from the bench with an injured foot. UConn has done more than dominate women’s college basketball. They own it. Last night’s win was the 75^th in a row for the Huskies. This year, 25 of their 38 wins (with no losses, obviously) were by 40 points or more.

UConn senior center Breanna Stewart scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists on her way to winning the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. She won it last year, too, and the year before, and the year before that.