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INDIANAPOLIS -- There would be no spoiling the Connecticut women's basketball team's perfect season. And, it wasn't even close Tuesday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Connecticut wasn't quite perfect in its execution, but the Huskies were good enough to cap a perfect 38-0 season and capture a fourth consecutive NCAA championship.
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National Player of the Year Breanna Stewart had 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in UConn's 82-51 victory over Syracuse.
Morgan Tuck added 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Huskies.
The Huskies improved to 11-0 in national championship games and 109-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition. Coach Geno Auriemma pulled his starters with 1:46 remaining and UConn leading 80-51.
In this season's six-game blitz to the national title, the Huskies' average margin of victory was 38.2 points.
"People know I love history, and last night was really special at the hotel when we had like 18 kids with us representing all of our national championships," Auriemma said. "It was at that moment that I realized why this run has been so special. This team has been so special."
Stewart was very special when her team needed her Tuesday, hitting big shots and going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.
"It was a great night for a great team, a team that doesn't get as much credit as they all deserve," said Stewart, who was selected the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player. "We all came here to win four of these, and we got it done. It's great.
"I guess the reason why I play so well in March is because this is when it is the most exciting. It was perfect when we all walked off the floor together. We all wanted to come out, have great games and finish this off the way we started."
In addition to Stewart, Tuck and Moriah Jefferson were selected to the All-Tournament team, as were Syracuse's Brittney Sykes and Washington's Talia Walton.
Cornelia Fondren came off the bench to lead Syracuse (30-8) with 16 points. Sykes scored 12 points, and Alexis Peterson had 11.
The Huskies scored the third quarter's first eight points to extend their lead to 58-23, but Syracuse countered with a 20-2 run to pull within 60-43. UConn freshman Napheesa Collier scored the period's final four points for a 64-43 cushion.
A Stewart 3-pointer with 5:59 remaining pushed the Huskies' advantage to 71-47.
The Huskies shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from the floor while limiting the Orange to 35.5 percent shooting (22-for-62).
"They really know how to score the basketball," Sykes said. "Geno has built a great program."
Orange coach Quentin Hillsman credited North Syracuse, N.Y., native Stewart for providing all the momentum UConn needed. The Huskies began the game on a 9-0 run and began the third quarter with an 8-0 burst before Syracuse threw its only counterpunch in an otherwise lopsided game during which the outcome never was in doubt.
"Stewart is a great player, obviously, and the next time there is one like that in Syracuse, we're going to get her," Hillsman said. "We weren't going to come into this game and be a victim. We never quit. That is just a great team."
Connecticut cruised to a 50-23 halftime lead.
Stewart scored 14 first-half points, and Tuck and Jefferson had 11 apiece.
A layup by Kia Nurse gave UConn a 38-15 lead with 5:49 remaining in the opening half, prompting a Syracuse timeout. At that point, the Orange were 5-for-20 from the field, and the Huskies enjoyed a 21-7 rebounding advantage.
Fondren came off the bench for Syracuse to score a team-best six first-half points. The Orange made only nine of 30 opening-half shots (30 percent) and were guilty of eight turnovers, leading to 14 UConn points.
Connecticut shot 51.6 percent in the first half (16-for-31) and was 13-for-16 from the free throw line.
UConn led 28-13 through one quarter, getting 10 from Stewart and seven from Jefferson, adding an almost unheard of 18 first-quarter rebounds, 13 more than Syracuse, which shot only 25 percent (4-for-16) in the opening period.
With consecutive 3-pointers from Stewart and Jefferson, the Huskies raced to a 13-4 lead.
NOTES: Sophomore G Gabby Williams started for UConn in place of freshman Katie Lou Samuelson, who broke her left foot in the first half against Oregon State. Williams scored nine points.... Syracuse was in its first Final Four after winning the Sioux Falls, S.D., region as a No. 4 seed. ... The Orange won their first five NCAA Tournament games by an average of 17 points ... Syracuse G Alexis Peterson scored at least 20 points in four of her team's six NCAA Tournament games ... The Orange entered the final with 16 wins in their past 17 games.
