The Weekly Fast Break: Huskies take the crown

Teams spent the early weeks of the season finding their way with home games and tough challenges in sunny destination tournaments. No longer do we need to wait for the calendar to turn to the new year to start conference play – December is when the grind began in earnest for many. The weekly awards start to accumulate for players in every league while coaches and support staff become weary. We watched programs make their mark in new conferences and accumulate airline miles at an extraordinary rate. By March 2025, regular season conference champions were crowned, and teams turned their focus to their conference tournaments with the goal of claiming that coveted at-large bid. The only way to guarantee your name is part of bracket reveal is to capture a tournament title – and the ring that goes with it.

Selection Sunday was not without controversary, but in the end, the four regionals painted the picture of parity we saw all season in women’s basketball. Could all four No. 1 seeds advance to the Final Four? Would there be a Cinderella to spoil someone’s travel plans to Tampa Bay? Who would be the name we would be talking about after the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Those questions and more were answered as we watched the action unfold with buzzer-beaters, decisive wins, heartbreaking losses, and magnificent individual performances. 

Texas and UCLA, each playing their first year in a new conference, entered the Big Dance as No. 1 seeds after stellar regular seasons. The Longhorns were co-champions of the SEC and returned their storied program to the Final Four for the first time since 2003. The bright lights of LA were shining on the Bruins all season and as the overall No. 1 seed in the field, they found themselves in the Final Four for the first time program history. While these two teams did not advance to the national championship, they elevated the women’s game to new heights this year. Hats off to you, ladies – thank you for giving us a fantastic season.

The national championship game on Sunday, April 6 was full storylines that set it up for history in the making: a rematch of a blow-out in February, a back-to-back titles on the line, an elite player chasing the one trophy missing from her case and her program looking to get back on the podium as the top dogs for the first time in nine years. This title game was a culmination of the season we watched – nothing is given, everything is earned, and in the end, the better team captured the crown.

National Championship – South Carolina vs. UConn

While it is not always easy for players to read the defense, it was not difficult to read between the lines that the 87-58 dismantling of the Gamecocks by UConn on Feb. 16 would be a motivator for Dawn Staley’s team. That day, the Huskies went into Columbia, SC, and exposed the Gamecocks on every level. Coming into the title game, UConn was firing on all cylinders, but South Carolina was confident that they could find a way this time to contain the high-powered Huskie assault.

A strong start on a big stage was the recipe that head Huskie Geno Auriemma was looking for from his team. They traded buckets in the first quarter with South Carolina, but a surge led by senior Azzi Fudd (13 points in the first half) and freshman sensation Sarah Strong (11 boards in the first 20 minutes) along with big defensive stops put UConn up 36-26 at halftime. Those two stars, along with All-American Paige Bueckers scored 23 of the team’s 26 points in the third quarter and never looked back. When the buzzer sounded and the confetti began to fall, the Huskies had yet again dismantled the Gamecocks, 82-59.

South Carolina’s speed, depth and balance had been an asset all through the NCAA Tournament but unlike Gamecock teams of the past, this one lacked that true “go to” play maker. Too many empty possessions by Staley’s squad were matched by the aggressive onslaught of UConn’s talented scorers. Sophomores Tessa Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley did their best to spark South Carolina off the bench as did freshman post Joyce Edwards but the lack of production on the offensive end was too much to overcome. The Gamecocks shot just 34% from the field on the day and only two players reached double figures – Edwards and Tessa Johnson. The Huskies, however, put their foot on the gas and never let up, shooting 48% on the day and went 18-for-21 from the charity stripe as a team. The trio of Bueckers, Fudd and Strong combined for 65 of the Huskies’ 82 points to claim the program’s 12th national title.

While South Carolina played this season with a target on their back as the defending champions, UConn’s return to the top is a story of resilience, teamwork and belief. This was not a Cinderella story by any means – this team was the No. 2 seed in their regional and lost only three games all season. Both Bueckers and Fudd have battled injuries in their time in Storrs but never lost sight of the ultimate goal – to add a national championship to their long list of accomplishments. Fudd finished the title game with 24 points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four while Bueckers finished the day with 17 points. Strong, the 6’2 freshman forward, delivered for the Huskies with 25 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the finals, showing why she was the No. 1 recruit in the nation a year ago. Key plays by the likes of Princeton grad transfer Kaitlyn Chen and sophomore Ashlynn Shade were what the Huskies needed to make them the top dogs of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. It was a true team effort for UConn, led by All-American talent and the all-time winningest coach in college basketball. 

It is hard to fathom that while this program was in the Final Four a year ago, it has been eight since the Huskies cut down the nets. To say that UConn has set the standard in women’s basketball would be an understatement – they raised the bar over and over, forcing institutions and programs to commit to women’s basketball just as they had if they wanted to compete for championships. In this ever-changing landscape of college athletics, Auriemma has instilled a culture of commitment at UConn and one that expects excellence. Congratulations to the 2025 National Champions – you earned it the right way.

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End of season tip-ins

Eliminating Self-Inflicted Turnovers: It never fails that during a film session, coaches will consistently bring up how their team needs to eliminate the self-inflicted turnovers. This could be mental mistakes, such as a five-second count on an inbounds play or forgetting to switch on a high-ball screen to force a shooter off the three-point line. Addressing those mistakes can be the difference between an early exit from the NCAA Tournament or staying for one more song at the Big Dance. 

In 2024, the NCAA suffered from a handful of their own self-inflicted turnovers when it came to the women’s tournament. The mistakes of the 2021 post-pandemic tournament were still fresh, so last year’s blunders left many shaking their heads. There was the instance with an official having to be removed during a first-round game due to a background conflict, the horrible instances of racial harassment directed at the Utah women’s team and then “Line Gate” at the Portland regional site where the three-point arcs on the court were not even. Give credit to the NCAA leadership for owning the mistakes but these kinds of things would never have happened at the men’s tournament – on this big of a stage these kinds of mistakes cannot happen.

As we reflect on the 2025 NCAA Tournament, it seems as though the NCAA and its staff have dialed in on the scouting report and, for the most part, eliminated the blunders. We know that no large-scale event like this will happen without a mishap or two, but the overall image of the women’s tournament to those who are paying attention is on much better footing than a year ago – and the NCAA is playing better as a team to eliminate those self-inflicted turnovers.

What is my share? In October 2024, a federal judge granted preliminary approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement that would change the landscape of college athletics as we know it – yet again. It essentially lays out the plan that for NCAA institutions that opt into the settlement, they will be able to compensate student-athletes directly starting in the 2025-26 school year. According to estimates, the permissive cap imposed by the settlement could be around $20-22 million per school and there will be significant changes in how Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities will be governed and overseen. This settlement also includes backpay for NIL-related activities to past athletes. The settlement was not approved by Judge Claudia Wilken at the much-anticipated hearing on April 7, sending it back to the two parties to address two concepts: provide a phase-in period for implementation of the new roster limits or “grandfather in” current athletes on rosters; and adjusting language related to binding future athletes to the 10-year settlement.

If you are wondering why there is so much conversation surrounding “rev share”, this is what everyone is talking about. How much of the $20M annually that will be given to athletes at institutions that opt in will be allotted to women’s basketball? This question is influencing coaching changes, the transfer portal and retaining players on current rosters. By the time this edition of The Weekly Fast Break reaches our readers, there will be close to 1,200 student-athletes in the women’s basketball transfer portal. Where will they all go, you ask? If only we could tell you and most really do not know themselves. And no longer are these discussions occurring with just coaches and players – there are handlers and agents now involved on an hourly basis. We know that there are many that are making the change for legitimate reasons – to be closer to home, coaching changes, finding a better fit, etc. Others will make the decision to transfer due to academics so they can pursue a graduate degree at a new institution while playing. There are a few hundred players that want to see that if after successful season(s) in a mid-major program, can they make it at the Power Five level?

For many, they are only searching to see if the grass is greener, and by that we mean how much money is waiting on the other side. Visions of grandeur are blurring the lines of a constantly moving target.  Agents and greedy parents are telling players to pit their current school against “an offer” from someone else to see if they can get more money to stay. The reality to come in the weeks and months ahead in women’s college basketball is that “rev share” is not an open-ended bank account. Most of the $20M at a power conference institution will go to football and men’s basketball. No matter what, some women’s programs will always have the means to get whomever they want on their roster – how they do it is the question.

The portal will make your head spin, and the only thing we can say for certain is that it is here to stay. For those who want to craft their version of a ‘Way Too Early’ rankings for next season, we wish you luck. These rosters are going to change every week for the next few months. We go by a simple rule here at The Weekly Fast Break – when they are on campus in the fall, then we can talk.

Full court press

With the 2024-25 college basketball season ending, The Weekly Fast Break is headed into an overtime media timeout. It is such a pleasure to share the stories of our game with you each week. All of us at The Next are grateful for our readers who support our work and allow us to bring you the stories, analysis and tidbits that help elevate women’s basketball across the country and the globe. Here at The Weekly Fast Break, we take great pride in highlighting those teams who do not always get network broadcast slots or players who make the Top 10 on Sportscenter. We are indebted to the countless women’s basketball communications contacts across the country who have helped us with statistics, stories, and photos throughout the season. Some of the hardest working and best SIDs in the nation work in women’s basketball – please know how much we appreciate you.

So, while this media timeout drags into the next few months, have no fear – there really is no off-season anymore in college athletics. We all deserve a little time off, but it cannot be for too long because everyone else is in the gym working on their game. The motivation to be crowned next year’s national champion is real – who is coming for the 2026 hardware? We cannot wait to find out. 

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