UConn wins its 12th national championship, beating South Carolina 82-59, causing South Carolina not to defend its title. UCONN defeated 3 number 1 seeds (USC, UCLA, and SCAR), winning all of them by 10 points, and 2 were won by 20 points. UConn is led by one of the nation’s best women’s basketball players, Paige Bueckers. Bueckers was a first-team All-American and Big East player of the year. Paige averaged 19.9 points per game, and Forward Sarah Strong added 16.4 points and 8.9 boards per game. UCONN won the Big East and went perfect in conference play, going 18-0 and 37-3 overall, only losing to Tennessee, Notre Dame, and USC.
The final four included UConn, South Carolina, UCLA, and Texas. All were powerhouses in Women’s college basketball. All teams had 30+ wins and a minimum of 4 losses. These teams ran women’s college basketball last year. College women’s basketball took a big step back in viewership this year due to basketball phenomenon Caitlin Clark, who was the first pick in the WNBA draft and has the most points in women’s and college basketball history. However, it still had good viewership.
Juju Watkins was a USC First Team All-American and Player of the Year. USC was looking to win the entire tournament, but in the round of 32, Watkins suffered a torn ACL, which ended her season, and she had to get surgery. TCU also had a good run, led by Hailey Van Lith.TCU won the Big 12 Conference Tournament, went to the Elite 8, and lost to Texas. Hailey Van Lith averaged 17.9 points per game and was a major reason why they were a good team.
