South Carolina put the score from last year’s national title game loss on screens in their gym all summer. UConn 82, South Carolina 59. They looked at it every day.
Friday night in Phoenix, the Gamecocks answered it. South Carolina defeated the previously undefeated UConn Huskies 62-48 in the national semifinal, snapping a 54-game winning streak that was tied for the fourth-longest in NCAA Division I history. The win sends South Carolina to its third consecutive national championship game, where they will face No. 1 seed UCLA on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN.
How South Carolina took UConn apart defensively
The game plan was specific and it worked. South Carolina’s entire defensive approach was built around disrupting UConn’s rhythm, limiting catch-and-shoot opportunities, and forcing the Huskies to put the ball on the floor rather than operate freely from the perimeter. UConn shot 31% from the field. Stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd combined for 7-of-31 shooting, the worst combined field goal % the two had posted together all season.
It was the third time in 171 NCAA tournament games that UConn had been held under 50 points. The only other instance was South Carolina holding them to 49 in the 2022 championship game.
South Carolina outrebounded UConn 47-32 and outscored them 16-9 in fast-break points. The Gamecocks held UConn to four points in the final 6:37 of the game after the Huskies had pulled within two early in the fourth quarter.
Freshman Agot Makeer was the standout off the bench with 14 points, her fourth double-figure game of the tournament after recording just three all season. Senior Ta’Niya Latson led the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Joyce Edwards added 11 and Raven Johnson contributed 10.
The halftime adjustment that changed the game
South Carolina led through most of the first half before UConn closed the second quarter with a run and took a 26-24 lead into the break. Staley used halftime to reset her team’s mentality.
The Gamecocks came out of the locker room with a 16-4 run that gave them the lead for good. UConn pulled within one late in the third quarter and within two early in the fourth, but South Carolina’s defense locked in again and the Huskies could not find a response.
The postgame confrontation between Staley and Auriemma
The final seconds brought a moment that had little to do with basketball. Auriemma and Staley got into a heated exchange near center court just before the buzzer, requiring assistants and officials to step between them. Auriemma walked off the floor without shaking hands with Staley or the South Carolina staff. His assistants remained behind to smooth things over.
Neither coach provided a clear explanation for what triggered the exchange. Staley said she had shaken hands with Auriemma’s staff before the game and was uncertain what prompted his reaction after it. Auriemma said little in response to questions about it.
What this win means for South Carolina and Staley
The Gamecocks, who won national championships in 2017, 2022, and 2024, are one win away from their fourth title. That would place Staley alongside UConn’s Geno Auriemma, Tennessee’s Pat Summitt, and Baylor and LSU’s Kim Mulkey as the only coaches to win four or more women’s national championships. Auriemma has 12, Summitt had 8, and Mulkey has 4.
Friday marked the third time Auriemma had taken an undefeated team to the Final Four and fallen short of a national title. The Huskies are the fifth team in history to enter the Final Four unbeaten and lose in the semifinal.
South Carolina faces UCLA on Sunday with one more piece of unfinished business to settle.
