UConn's Geno Auriemma unlocks huge bonus after Elite Eight win
04/01/2025 10:17 AM
UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma earned a $100,000 bonus after leading the Huskies to another Final Four with a 78-64 win over USC in the Elite Eight on Monday.
The postseason incentive brings Auriemma's total bonus earnings this season to $312,500, per USA TODAY's Steve Berkowitz. His contract includes specific financial rewards for tournament success, including reaching the Final Four. The Huskies will face No. 1 overall seed UCLA in Friday's national semifinal in Tampa.
Led by senior guard Paige Bueckers, who scored 31 points on 9-of-11 shooting, UConn pulled away from a short-handed USC squad missing All-American JuJu Watkins. Freshman Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds, while the Huskies held the Trojans to just 32.8% shooting and limited top scorer Kiki Iriafen to 3-of-15 from the field.
Bueckers, the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming WNBA Draft, has now led UConn to the Final Four in each season she's been healthy. Her 105 points across the last three games are the most by any UConn player in a three-game stretch. The Huskies also got a late boost from senior Azzi Fudd, who scored eight fourth-quarter points after struggling earlier in the game.
“We were built for this,” Bueckers said, as reported by Alexa Philippou of ESPN. “Everything that we went through as a team, as individuals, we’ve weathered every storm that life has thrown our way. So why not weather another.”
Monday's win marked UConn's 24th Final Four appearance and 16th in the last 17 years. Auriemma, who earlier this season became the all-time wins leader in women's college basketball, said he hopes to guide Bueckers to her first national title.
“At this time, you know it’s coming to an end, and it’s going to end whether you want it to or not,” Auriemma said. “You just want to make it the best weekend of her career at UConn, and it’s my job to help her do that.”
The Huskies will now turn their focus to UCLA and the chance to advance to their first championship game since 2016. Auriemma stands to earn additional performance bonuses if UConn women’s basketball reaches the title game or wins the national championship.
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