The 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game was the final game of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament. It determined the national champion for the 2021–22 season, and was contested by the

UConn Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's foo ...

and the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

. The game was played on April 3, 2022, at the

Target Center Target Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Minneapolis that opened in 1990. It hosts major family shows, concerts, sporting events, graduations and private events. Target Corporation, founded and headquartered in Minneapolis since 1902, ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. In the game, the Gamecocks jumped out to an 18-point lead early in the second quarter and held off UConn scoring runs to win the national championship, 64–49. South Carolina's

Aliyah Boston Aliyah Boston (born December 11, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She plays the power forward and center positions. Born in Saint Thomas, United States Virgin ...

was voted the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP).

Participants

South Carolina

The Gamecocks, who represent University of South Carolina and play their home games at

Colonial Life Arena The Colonial Life Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbia, South Carolina, primarily home to the University of South Carolina men's and women's basketball teams. Opened as a replacement for the Carolina Coliseum with the name Carolina Center ...

in Columbia, came to the championship game after being ranked No. 1 in every poll from the preseason through this matchup, the final game of the year. Led by

coach of the year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball Hall of Fame player and coach, who is currently the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head co ...

and

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

, South Carolina defeated a healthy UConn team in November's Battle 4 Atlantis tournament final, 73–57. South Carolina lost only two games during the season: one in overtime against unranked

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in December, and one in the SEC Tournament, where the unranked

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

surprised the Gamecocks in the finals. In the NCAA Tournament, South Carolina drew a No. 1 seed in the Greensboro Regional, where they won handily against

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

on their home court, then defeated a scrappy No. 5 seed

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

team. They then dominated

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

No. 10 seed Creighton in Greensboro to advance to the Final Four. The Gamecocks defeated

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, who never led after the second quarter, to advance to their second consecutive

March Madness The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

finals. The Gamecocks entered this game with no injuries which would affect their line up.

UConn

The Huskies, who represent the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

, and split their home games between

Gampel Pavilion Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut (UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. ...

and

XL Center The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Developme ...

, came to the finals after a 30–5 season, an uncharacteristic year in which eight different players suffered injuries which kept them out of two or more games. UConn started the season ranked No. 2 behind the Gamecocks. Coached by Hall of Famers

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and, since 1985, the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. , he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference sea ...

and

Chris Dailey Christine A. Dailey (born September 7, 1959) is an American women's basketball coach, who has been the associate head coach for the Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team since 1988. Dailey was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of F ...

and led by last year's player of the year

Paige Bueckers Paige Madison Bueckers ( ; born October 20, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies of the Big East Conference. At Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Bueckers was ranked as th ...

, UConn utilized eleven different starting lineups; eight different players led the Huskies in scoring in games during the season. In December, Bueckers suffered a broken bone in her knee, which kept her out of play for nineteen games, but she rejoined the team in late February with limited minutes until the NCAA Tournament. Bueckers's injury gave Auriemma and Dailey unexpected opportunities to develop blue-chip freshmen as scorers, while three seniors and several experienced sophomores anchored the team. UConn lost regular season games against unranked

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and Villanova, while losing to No. 6

in December. A healthy UConn dominated the Big East Tournament, defeating Villanova in the finals. In the NCAA Tournament, the No. 2 seed Huskies beat

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...

and struggled on their home court against a physical UCF team. At the Bridgeport regional, UConn defeated

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, then emerged victorious in a game that announcers called an "instant classic", a two-overtime 91–87 contest against No. 1 seed

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. In a Final Four contest against

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, UConn out-rebounded the taller Cardinal squad and the Huskies' stifling defense held the defending national champions to a 34.8% shooting percentage to advance to this final with a 63–58 win. Senior forward Dorka Juhász suffered a wrist injury during the NC State contest, and was the only starter injured for this contest.

Starting lineups

Game summary

South Carolina jumped out to a 5–0 lead, and held a nine-point lead by the first timeout in the game, three and a half minutes into the contest. The Gamecocks already had seven second-chance points and eight rebounds.

made a jump shot with 19 seconds to go in the first quarter, giving the Gamecocks a 22–8 lead. South Carolina had seven offensive rebounds in the quarter and held a 12–3 edge in rebounds. One minute passed in the second quarter before

Destanni Henderson Destanni Mone Henderson (born February 2, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Henderson played college basketball for the South Carolina Gamecocks, help ...

scored its first points on a

three-pointer A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

, as in the first quarter. UConn followed with two jump shots and the Gamecocks made a

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump sh ...

before Henderson scored another three-pointer with 7:38 to play, extending the Gamecocks' lead to 18 points. A pair of shots by

narrowed the deficit to 16 with seven minutes left, and the Huskies further made up ground after Bueckers made one of her two free throws with just over five minutes left. A minute-long scoring drought by both teams was broken with 4:01 by Caroline Ducharme, though another scoring drought of nearly two minutes followed. This was again broken by a Ducharme layup, which narrowed the South Carolina lead to single digits for the first time since the score was 13–4 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Evina Westbrook Evina Westbrook (born September 28, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn and Tennessee. She was selected in th ...

and Henderson traded layups and Bueckers made a jump shot, which narrowed the deficit to seven points, and a free throw by Saniya Rivers with 23 seconds left bumped the lead to eight. This would be the final scoring play of the first half, and the Gamecocks took a 35–27 lead to the locker room. UConn began the second half with the ball, but two missed shots resulted in no points from their first possession. Boston opened the second half scoring with a layup 54 seconds into the half, and South Carolina's lead was pushed to eleven points with a free throw from Zia Cooke just under two minutes later. Boston made one of two free throws with 6:19 to play and Henderson made both of hers six seconds later, and Cooke scored a layup with 5:18 on the clock, extending the Gamecocks' lead to sixteen points as a result of their 8–0 run. This run was broken seconds later by Bueckers, who scored a jump shot with an assist from Nika Mühl. Over two minutes passed with no scoring before Edwards scored a layup with 2:41. UConn continued their scoring run with three-point shots from Ducharme and Westbrook, and their 10–0 streak cut the Gamecocks' lead to six points. Henderson made a free throw and a jump shot in the quarter's final minute, giving South Carolina a nine point lead at the conclusion of the third quarter. Edwards began the scoring in the fourth quarter for UConn, which was countered by a pair of layups by Henderson. Victaria Saxton made two free throws with just under seven minutes to play, and Ducharme made a layup to bring the lead down to eleven. A free throw from Boston and a jumper and layup from Henderson pushed the lead to sixteen points.

Azzi Fudd Azzi Fudd (born November 11, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies women's basketball, UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. Fudd attended St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C. and became the first ...

and Bueckers made three-pointers for UConn with 4:09 and 3:23 to play, respectively, which brought the lead to within ten points for the final time. UConn began fouling around this time, as the game's next five points were scored on free throws by Henderson, Saxton, and Hall. UConn's final points of the contest would come with 1:51 to play, as Williams made a layup to make it 62–49. From there, Boston would score two free throws with 1:15 remaining before the Gamecocks would be able to run the clock out and claim their second national championship, 64–49. Boston finished with 11 points and a team-high 16 rebounds for her Division I-high 30th

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

of the season. She was named the tournament's MOP. South Carolina outrebounded UConn by 25, one of the largest margins in the championship game's history. Bueckers had 14 points and six rebounds for UConn.

Media coverage

The championship game was televised in the United States by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

References

External links

2022 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four
{{2022 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball navbox

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Games UConn Huskies women's basketball South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Game Basketball in Minnesota College sports in Minnesota Sports competitions in Minneapolis