April 3, 2026 / 9:43 PM EDT / AP
Ta’Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer had 14 as South Carolina’s defense smothered UConn in a 62-48 upset Friday night, snapping the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak and sending the Gamecocks to the women’s NCAA Tournament title game.
South Carolina (36-3) will meet the winner of Sunday’s Texas-UCLA semifinal for the national championship, aiming for a fourth title — all three of their previous championships came in the last decade. UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history but left without a title for the third straight time; the Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 semifinals. The 48 points were UConn’s fewest since scoring 49 in the 2022 championship loss to South Carolina.
The teams, among the nation’s highest-scoring units during the season, turned this matchup into a defensive struggle. After a 26-24 halftime lead for UConn, South Carolina responded in the third quarter with a 12-2 run to seize control and pushed the lead to 40-30 — the biggest deficit UConn had faced all year. UConn rallied briefly, hitting three straight 3-pointers to get within 40-39, but Tessa Johnson closed the quarter for the Gamecocks, making it 44-39.
A few minutes into the third, South Carolina widened its edge with a five-point spurt capped by Makeer’s 3, stretching the lead to seven. UConn got within 51-47 on a Sarah Strong 3 with 4:39 left, but the Huskies did not score again until Strong’s free throw with 30.8 seconds remaining after South Carolina poured in an 11-0 run to seal the game.
Strong, the AP Player of the Year, finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds but struggled from the floor, going 4-for-16. Azzi Fudd was held to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. UConn shot a season-worst 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.
The first half featured heavy missed shots and turnovers for both teams; they combined to shoot 22 for 62 (35.4%) and committed 14 turnovers. UConn, which had steamrolled most opponents all season and dominated the Big East, found no answer for South Carolina’s pressure.
The two teams had met in last season’s title game, when UConn routed South Carolina 82-59 for the Huskies’ 12th championship, and had another decisive meeting during the 2024-25 regular season. Emotions flared late in Phoenix: with under a second left, UConn coach Geno Auriemma crossed the court to speak with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, pointing toward the floor as the coaches exchanged words and assistants intervened. When the final buzzer sounded, Auriemma walked to the tunnel and did not shake Staley’s hand; the teams did exchange handshakes.
The Final Four crowd included many former Huskies and Gamecocks, among them Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston — who sat near celebrity fan Flavor Flav.