INDIANAPOLIS — Connecticut wasn’t quite perfect, but the Huskies were good enough to cap a perfect 38-0 season and capture a fourth consecutive NCAA women’s basketball championship Tuesday night.
National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart had 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in UConn’s 82-51 victory over Syracuse.
Morgan Tuck added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Huskies.
The Huskies improved to 11-0 in national championship games and 109-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition. Coach Geno Auriemma pulled his starters with 1:46 remaining and UConn leading 80-51.
The Huskies scored the third quarter’s first eight points to extend their lead to 58-23, but Syracuse countered with a 20-2 run to pull within 60-43. UConn freshman Napheesa Collier scored the period’s final four points for a 64-43 cushion.
A Stewart 3-pointer with 5:59 remaining pushed the Huskies’ advantage to 71-47.
Cornelia Fondren came off the bench to lead Syracuse (30-8) with 16 points.
The Huskies shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from the floor while limiting the Orange to 35.5 percent shooting (22-for-62).
Connecticut cruised to a 50-23 halftime lead.
Stewart scored 14 first-half points, and Tuck and Moriah Jefferson had 11 apiece as the Huskies were well on their way to capping a perfect 38-0 season.
A layup by Kia Nurse gave UConn a 38-15 lead with 5:49 remaining in the opening half, prompting a Syracuse timeout. At that point, the Orange were 5-for-20 from the field, and the Huskies enjoyed a 21-7 rebounding advantage.
Fondren came off the bench for Syracuse to score a team-best six first-half points. The Orange made only nine of 30 opening-half shots (30 percent) and were guilty of eight turnovers, leading to 14 UConn points.
The Huskies were gunning for their 75th consecutive overall victory and their 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament triumph.
Connecticut shot 51.6 percent in the first half (16-for-31) and was 13-for-16 from the free throw line.
UConn led 28-13 through one quarter, getting 10 from Stewart and seven from Jefferson, adding an almost unheard of 18 first-quarter rebounds, 13 more than Syracuse, which shot only 25 percent (4-for-16) in the opening period.
With consecutive 3-pointers from Stewart and Jefferson, the Huskies raced to a 13-4 lead.
NOTES: UConn entered the national championship game having won its first five tournament games by an average of 39.6 points. … The Huskies advanced with a record-setting 80-51 semifinal victory against Oregon State. … Sophomore G Gabby Williams started for UConn in place of freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, who broke her left foot in the first half against Oregon State. … Syracuse advanced with an 80-59 semifinal victory against Washington. The Orange won the Sioux Falls, S.D., region as a No. 4 seed. … The Orange won their first five NCAA Tournament games by an average of 17 points … Syracuse G Alexis Peterson entered having scored at least 20 points in four of her team’s first five NCAA Tournament games … The Orange entered the final with 16 wins in their past 17 games … Syracuse was playing in its first Final Four.