Postseason Central
NCAA Notes
UConn Notes
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson each scored 15 points to lead top seeded UConn to a 63-53 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. It was UConn's third straight title and head coach Geno Auriemma joined John Wooden and Phil Jackson as only coaches in major college or professional sports to win 10 titles with the win. The Huskies have won all 10 of their trips to the national championship game.
Breanna Stewart added 15 rebounds and eight points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the championship. She has earned MOP Final Four honors for the third time, making her the first woman ever to achieve that feat. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the only men's player to do it when he played for Wooden's Bruins.
Jewell Loyd had 12 points for Notre Dame (36-3) and Brianna Turner led the team with 14 to go along with 10 rebounds. UConn (38-1) led 25-21 with four minutes left in the first half before Jefferson stole an inbounds pass and hit a fast break layup. The Huskies scored six of the final eight points of the stanza to open up a 31-23 lead at the half.
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After the Irish cut the lead to five to start the second half, UConn scored seven straight to open up a double-digit advantage.
The UConn-Notre Dame matchup was just the second time in the history of the tournament that the same teams played in the final in consecutive years. UConn beat Tennessee in 2003 and 2004.
It was also the 55th meeting between the top two teams in the AP poll with the No. 1 team holding a 34-21 lead. UConn, which finished the season as No. 1, has been involved in the last five of them.