04/03/26 10:13:00
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04/03 22:11 CDT South Carolina smothers UConn 62-48 to advance to NCAA title
game, snaps Huskies' 54-game win streak
South Carolina smothers UConn 62-48 to advance to NCAA title game, snaps
Huskies' 54-game win streak
By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer
PHOENIX (AP) --- Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in the NCAA Tournament
title game after knocking off unbeaten UConn and Geno Auriemma in a physical
contest that ended with a heated exchange between the game's most recognizable
coaches.
Ta'Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina
played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the
Huskies' 54-game winning streak.
The Gamecocks have now reached the NCAA championship game in four of the last
five seasons, including the past three. They will be looking to win a fourth
national title Sunday when they face the winner of the semifinal Texas and UCLA
semifinal, capping off another March Madness.
"I thought our players just locked in once we built a little lead. We got
suggestions from coaches as to should we change our defense, start switching
everything. I'm like, No, this is what is working," Staley said. "Let's
continue to do what's working."
As the final seconds ticked down, Auriemma walked down the sideline to shake
hands with Staley and had an animated conversation with her while pointing to
the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated
the two.
When the clock finally ran out, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and
didn't shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.
"I have no idea," Staley said when asked what happened between the coaches.
"But I'm gonna let you know this, I'm of integrity. I'm of integrity. So if I
did something wrong, to Geno, I had no idea what I did.
"I guess he thought I didn't shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I
didn't know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff's hand.
"I don't know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get
heated. We move on."
Auriemma didn't want to disclose what he said to Staley specifically, but made
it a point of saying he was annoyed about the lack of a pregame handshake.
"I've been coaching and been to 25 Final Fours," Auriemma said. "Protocol is we
meet at halfcourt, two coaches meet at halfcourt and shake hands. They announce
it on the loudspeaker, waited there for three minutes."
Auriemma was also upset that in the third quarter star Sarah Strong's jersey
was ripped, in his opinion because of South Carolina's physical defense.
Strong said: "It was an accident, I missed my shot."
UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school
history, and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also
lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn
had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to
the Gamecocks in 2022.
"Coach was pretty mad going into the half," Latson said of Staley. "She was
yelling ?Meet the moment! Meet the moment!' We couldn't be scared to play on
this stage, especially against UConn. I mean, they were undefeated."
The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away
with an 82-59 rout for the school's 12th national championship. UConn also beat
South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.
Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five
straight points, capped by Agot Makeer's 3-pointer to extend the advantage to
seven.
Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The
Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds
left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.
"I think our defense is pretty elite. We were super prepared by all of our
coaches," Makeer said. "I think we all wanted this really bad. We were just
ready."
South Carolina clamped down on UConn's two stars. Strong, who was honored as
the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went
4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies,
making only 3 of 15 shots.
UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%)
from the field.
Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds
of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season
long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.
Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.
The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams
combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn
led 26-24 at the half.
There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd
including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting
next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women's sports.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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