WITH their 82-51 win over Syracuse, the Huskies won their fourth consecutive U.S. national college basketball (NCAA) title Tuesday.

    Until now, only the UCLA men’s team had won four in a row in Division I, rolling to seven consecutive championships under John Wooden from 1967-73. Head coach Geno Auriemma capped his 31st year in Storrs. with his 11th national title, passing Wooden for the most won by any college basketball coach, men’s or women’s.

    “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.”

    Breanna Stewart said when she came to campus four years ago that she wanted to win four titles. She delivered on that promise by scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in her final college game.

    “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.”

    The Huskies lost four games her freshman year and only one since. The win over Syracuse was the 75th straight for UConn —all by double figures. Stewart and her fellow seniors went 24-0 in NCAA tourney games, too.

    Stewart earned the most outstanding player of the Final Four all four years of her career. No other women’s player has won it more than twice and only UCLA’s Lew Alcindor did it three times on the men’s side.

    The three-time AP Player of the Year has said it is up to others to decide her place in women’s college basketball lore.

    (SD-Agencies)