TAMPA, Fla. — For most of the season, South Carolina women’s basketball felt like the second best team in the country.
On National Championship Sunday, it was clearly the second best team on the floor.
South Carolina’s quest to go back-to-back ended up one game short, as the Gamecocks fell 82-59 to UConn in the National Championship Game at Amalie Arena, the program’s first loss at the final hurdle after three prior successful attempts.
This one did not have the same seismic shock as the 29-point game in February, the stunning nature of a totally unexpected beatdown. But it did have the same type of feel, that one team was just a little bit better, a little quicker and a much more poised in the biggest spot of all.
Just like in the first game, a run late in the first quarter created some separation after a frantic, back-and-forth beginning. South Carolina (35-4) actually started much quicker than it has for most of the NCAA Tournament, looking crisp offensively and leading 11-8. But the inevitable UConn (37-3) run arrived, and did so with ferocity. The Huskies went on a 15-3 run through the end of the first quarter and early part of the second frame, ballooning the lead out to nine points and never giving up the advantage for the rest of the game.
Azzi Fudd, the uber-talented but often injured UConn superstar who waited her whole career to finally have a healthy season, exploded in the biggest game of her career. She ripped off 13 points in the first half and 24 in the game, a mix of efficient outside shooting, aggressive mid-range looks and confident drives. Freshman Sarah Strong, who visited Columbia last year during South Carolina’s win over UConn before eventually committing to the Huskies, had a 24-point, 15-rebound double-double. Paige Bueckers was her usual self with 17 points.
South Carolina briefly cut the deficit to three points midway through the second quarter, but UConn scored on its next two possessions to go back up seven and took a 10-point advantage into the break on a big Ashlynn Shade 3-pointer with just seconds remaining before the buzzer.
At the other end, South Carolina’s tournament long offensive struggles re-appeared. One better night against Texas did not prove to be the antidote to the issues, rather just a flash in the pan against a good match-up. The Gameoccks missed eight out of 10 first half layups, nobody went into the locker room with more than five points and the team shot just 4-of-16 from 3-point range with 11 turnovers.
In theory the game was still in doubt at halftime, but it never felt like it. UConn grew into it more and more, while a desperate South Carolina team just had no answers. No juice offensively, no way to get the faucet turned off at the other end. MiLaysia Fulwiley tried to add one last gasp with a score, steal and assist in quick succession to cut the deficit to 11 late in the third quarter, but Geno Auriemma called a timeout to regroup, and his team went on a 9-1 run to completely end proceedings.
This was the first time since 2018-19 that for most of the season, South Carolina was not the best team in the country. The best team has not always won the title, a lesson the Gamecocks learned the hard way in 2021 and 2023.
This year, though? The best team won.
And that was one more bitter pill for these Gamecocks to swallow.
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