No. 1 UConn wins its 24th Big East Tournament title, routing Villanova 90-51
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd appreciates what UConn has done so far this season by going undefeated and winning another Big East title. There’s still work to be done for the top-ranked Huskies.
Fudd scored 19 points and Sarah Strong added 18 as UConn rolled to its 24th Big East Tournament championship, beating Villanova 90-51 on Monday night.
“I think it’s a great accomplishment what we’ve been able to achieve so far this year,” Fudd said. “We’ll have a couple days off. and our work isn’t done yet. … Being Big East champion won’t really matter in a couple of weeks.”
It was the 50th consecutive win for the defending national champion Huskies (34-0), who enter the women’s NCAA Tournament undefeated for the 11th time in their storied history. The Huskies own four of the five longest winning streaks in Division I, including a record 111-game run.
The Huskies are six wins away from a record 13th national title. They’ll be a No. 1 seed when the March Madness bracket is released Sunday. UConn has won all six Big East Tournament titles since the Huskies rejoined the conference in 2021.
The two teams met a few weeks ago and Villanova actually led UConn at halftime of that game. The Huskies didn’t let that happen again. They took a quick lead behind Strong — who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player — and were up 23-11 after the opening quarter.
Strong said the Huskies learned a lot from the last meeting.
“We can’t let them get going, just try to play our defense,” she said. “Speed them up and get them out of their rhythm.”
Fudd and Blanca Quinonez helped extend the margin to 49-23 at the break. Strong had 15 points in the opening half. Fudd added 11.
The lead ballooned in the second half and coach Geno Auriemma rested his starters in the fourth quarter.
Villanova (25-7) now will wait to see where it’s placed in the NCAA field. Jasmine Bascoe led the Wildcats with 14 points.
“We did what we needed to do to build that resume,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said. “Look at our record, 25-7, three of those losses coming to the No. 1 team in the nation. … Excited for next Sunday to see where we’re getting sent.”
A 3-pointer by Kelsey Joens with just a few seconds left helped Villanova avoid matching the worst loss in Big East final history. UConn beat Boston College by 42 points in 2002.
The tournament was played at Mohegan Sun Arena, and the conference announced during the game it will continue to play there through 2029.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball