The Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen rivalry delivered in the NFL playoffs once again. Meeting for the fourth time in five years, Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs defeated Allen’s Buffalo Bills 32-29 to advance to their third straight Super Bowl. The three-point victory pushes Kansas City one step closer to achieving something unprecedented in the sport.
If the Chiefs win, they will only be the second professional sports team to capture three straight titles in the 2000s. Include college athletics, and they would be just the fifth team to achieve that feat.
Only one program, both in college and professional sports, has pulled off a three-peat multiple times in the 21st century, however. That honor belongs to the UConn women’s basketball team. Head coach Geno Auriemma’s squad won three straight from 2002 to 2004 and four in a row between 2013 and 2016.
The best way to compare and contrast both three-peats is by focusing on different categories. With a chance at history around the corner in the NFL, let us reflect on both (technically all three) three-peats.
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Greatest team during three-peat
In 2017, hockey fans voted the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings as the greatest in National Hockey League history. Women’s basketball fans could say the same about that year’s Huskies, who went 39-0 with just one single-digit win. All five starters—National Player of the Year Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Diana Taurasi, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams—averaged double figures. Four earned AP All-American honors, but not one of them scored at least 15 points a night.
Barely anyone could slow Connecticut’s multifaceted attack; they led the nation in scoring, assists, total rebounds and total blocks. The Huskies won three games by less than 15 points; Sherri Coale’s Oklahoma Sooners were responsible for two of them. The latter of the two gave UConn their third national title in program history and solidified that team’s legacy. All four seniors went on to be top 10 picks in that year’s WNBA draft.
Like the 2002 Huskies, the 2013-14 squad had five starters who averaged 10+ points per game. Out of those five, four of them also recorded 3+ assists a night. With three different players averaging either 15+ points or 4+ assists, Connecticut again led the nation in both of those team categories.
But beyond it, the Huskies capped off their well-balanced unit with a lethal frontcourt. Breanna Stewart, Stefanie Dolson, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (a three-point specialist) and Morgan Tuck all snagged at least five rebounds per game. Only one Division I team, the Brittney Griner-less Baylor Bears, snagged more total boards (23, exactly) than UConn did. Nevertheless, the Huskies went 40-0, secured 35 victories by 20+ points and captured their ninth national championship.
Most resilient team during three-peat
Losing four starters from a title-winning roster can cripple a team’s chances of repeating as national champions. UConn more than bounced back when they went 37-1 and won their fourth national title in 2003, however. Yet the Huskies did not face their toughest test until the following season.
Connecticut entered that year’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed with a 25-4 record, their most losses since going 29-5 in 1999. The Huskies, who played their first two games in Bridgeport and their next two in Hartford, still made it back to the Final Four.
Along the way, UConn had to outlast the 11th-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos by six points. Once they made it to New Orleans, however, the Huskies completed their first three-peat. All five starters crossed double figures at least once as Connecticut defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
Fast forward a decade, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish emerged as the Huskies’ newest rival. Between the 2011 Final Four and the 2013 Big East Championship Game, Muffet McGraw’s Fighting Irish went 7-1 against UConn. That thrilling Big East title bout at the XL Center was not the last time both schools met that season, though.
Notre Dame had won all three previous Final Four meetings against the Huskies going into New Orleans, Louisiana; Auriemma’s squad altered the narrative. Stewart scored 29 points as Connecticut took down the Fighting Irish and returned to the national title game.
The Huskies subsequently pummeled the fifth-seeded Louisville Cardinals by 33 points. The victory helped UConn match Tennessee for the most championships in women’s college basketball history at eight. It was also the last time until the 2018-19 campaign that the Huskies lost multiple games in a season.
Star Player
When reflecting on the three-peat that occurred in the 2000s, no player highlights that initial dynasty better than Taurasi. Over her last 111 collegiate contests across three championship-winning years, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer averaged 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds. Three players in Connecticut’s history have won multiple National Player of the Year awards; Taurasi was the first.
The 2004 first overall pick became the face of the franchise after being the lone returning starter from the 2002 team. But beyond her scoring prowess—she crossed double figures all but eight times over her junior and senior campaigns—Taurasi also possessed an all-around style. She remains the only player in program history with 2,000+ points, 600+ rebounds and 600+ assists.
Stewart, meanwhile, had an uber-talented supporting cast across all four of her years. From Mosqueda-Lewis to Moriah Jefferson to Kiah Stokes, the Huskies had the weapons to dominate throughout the 2010s. The Syracuse native still stood out, though; she crossed double figures in 133 of her 152 career games and had 65 20-pieces. If that was not enough, Stewart won three straight National Player of the Year awards and four Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors.
UConn’s all-time blocks leader, who also averaged 7.8 career boards per game, was extremely efficient. Stewart shot 53% from the floor and 35.5% from downtown. Those incredible numbers also helped Stewart finish second in Huskies history in points behind two-time national champion Maya Moore.
It is extremely difficult for me to rank one three-peat higher than the other. Both had at least one perfect season, an unselfish point guard and at least one first overall WNBA draft pick. Instead of choosing between the two, it might be smarter to recognize how incredible both championship runs were.
Like what football fans should do if the Chiefs win it all on February 9, people should genuinely appreciate UConn’s three-peats. Capturing three straight championships in any sport is extremely difficult; a 68-team field amplifies the challenge of pulling the feat off.
Especially with the parity in women’s college basketball right now, who knows when something remarkable like this will occur again?
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