The UConn women's basketball team smashed former Big East rival Syracuse in Tuesday's NCAA title game to clinch a record four straight victories and tie for the most championships ever won by a college team.
The powerhouse from Connecticut has earned 11 titles since 1995, winning by double-digit margins in many of them, according to stats posted to NCAA.com. With a score of 82-51, the No. 1 seed Huskies routed No. 4 Syracuse in Tuesday night's championship matchup.
The victory in Indiannapolis pushed UConn into record terrority, making it the first women's team to win four Division I titles in a row and the second college team in history with 11 championships under its belt. Coach Geno Auriemma, who has led the team for 30 years, now also holds the most titles in the history of college basketball.
"What those 11 championships mean to me is how many great players I've had the opportunity to coach," Auriemma said. "How many great people have come through the program. It doesn't matter whose name is above, or whose name I'm under. As long as I have those players in my memory, I'm good."
The UCLA men's team, which UConn tied for the championship record, took many of its 11 titles in the 1960s and 1970s. The team's most recent win was in 1995. Legendary UCLA men's coach John Wooden, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach, won a total of 10 championships, outdone only by Auriemma.
Tuesday's victory also brings a sweet end to the college career of UConn superstar Breanna Stewart, a senior who sought as a freshman to win a championship every year.
"It's unbelievable," Stewart said. "That was our goal coming in here once we were freshman and to carry it out and win like this as seniors is unbelievable."
