The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team ruined perfection for Head Coach Geno Auriemma’s women’s Huskies team. The Huskies won 54 straight games, beating teams by an average of 36.1 points. The matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s game was close at the half, with the Huskies leading by 2 points.
Coach Staley and her South Carolina team reasserted themselves in the second quarter by playing aggressive defense after UConn was extremely physical with them to start the game. The Gamecocks’ aggressive defense held UConn to a 54-game scoring low of 48 points in this game. The Gamecocks defensively out-rebounded the Huskies 34-24 and went to the free throw line 22 times, making 18 of 22. The Huskies didn’t have much success driving into the paint, relying more on shooting three pointers, hoping to get the Gamecocks to stop packing the paint.
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The Gamecocks’ Raven Johnson, who found herself in early foul trouble, had to go to the bench. Ta’Niya Latson and Agot Makeer came into the game and kept the team focused, along with defensive intensity and aggression. Latson grabbed 11 rebounds, scored 16 points, went 10 for 10 at the free throw line, and Makeer scored 14 points in the game. Joyce Edwards scored 11 points, and Tessa Johnson scored 10. Raven Johnson didn’t have a great night shooting the ball, but her defense was stellar, and the GameCocks fed off her intensity.
The Huskies players didn’t have the scoring night they expected, making 6 of 21 three-pointers, and when they went to the free-throw line, they made 4 of 6 for the game. Sarah Strong was the leading scorer for the Huskies, scoring 12 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Ashlynn Shade scored 10 points. The Huskies’ Azzi Fudd scored 8 points, shooting 3 of 15 from the floor and 2 of 9 from behind the three-point line. South Carolina, which defeated UConn 62-48 will move on to play for the NCAA Women’s National Championship, looking to add their fourth National Championship to their trophy case.