UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 1 seed UConn (32-0) shot 50 percent from the field on the way to winning its fifth consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title with a 70-54 victory over No. seed 2 USF (26-7). It marked the fourth straight year these teams met in the conference championship game.


 
The Huskies will head to the NCAA Tournament for the 30th straight year, as they captured their 46th conference title. UConn has advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the past 10 seasons, as this year’s will take place in Columbus Ohio from March 30-April 1.
 
UConn’s Crystal Dangerfield, Katie Lou Samuelson and Gabby Williams were placed on The American’s All-Championship team, while Azurá Stevens was selected as the Most Outstanding Performer. USF’s Maria Jespersen and Kitija Laksa also made the conference All-Championship team.
 
The Huskies put four players in double-figure scoring with Williams pacing the offense, shooting 9-of-11 from the field for a team-best 19 points. She added five steals and seven rebounds to the win. Stevens had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Napheesa Collier and Samuelson chipped in with 12 points each.
 
Laksa led all scorers with a game-high 26 points, scoring five baskets from behind the arc with 21 of her points coming in the second half.
 
Both teams shot 57 percent from the field in the opening quarter, as Kia Nurse drained a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 21-17 lead at the first intermission. The Huskies held USF to six points in the second quarter, while tacking on another 16 after Katie Lou Samuelson scored a trey in the final five seconds to stretch her team’s lead out to 37-23 at halftime. UConn had seven first half steals, as Williams accounted for four of them and led the Huskies with 11 points at the break.
 
Laksa and Laura Ferreira scored fast-break layups for USF to open the second half, briefly closing the gap to 10 points before the Huskies used a 7-0 run fueled by two field goals from Williams to lengthen its lead to 44-27 at the 6:09 mark. UConn shot 63.6 percent in the third quarter and outscored the Bulls 11-5 in the final six minutes to expand out to a 23-point lead. Stevens swatted away a shot from Tamara Henshaw in the final three seconds of the third to keep it a 55-22 game at the end of the quarter.
 
USF outscored UConn 22-15 in the fourth quarter and got within 14 points after Laksa scored 16 final frame points, but the Bulls would get no closer, as UConn continued to shoot well and pulled away to secure its fifth straight American Athletic Conference title with the 24-point win.
 
All-Championship Team
Crystal Dangerfield, UConn
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
Gabby Williams, UConn
Maria Jespersen, USF
Kitija Laksa, USF
 
Most Outstanding Performer
Azurá Stevens, UConn