UConn women flop to South Carolina in Final Four as sparks fly between coaches as game ends

PHOENIX — It took 421 days for the UConn women’s basketball team to falter, but in the Final Four on Friday, the Huskies showed they’re human after all.

Number one  UConn fell 62-48 to South Carolina in the national semifinal, snapping a historic 53-game winning streak and ending their hopes of bringing home back-to-back NCAA championships a year after they beat the Gamecocks to win the 2025 title. For the 12th time in 25 appearances, the Huskies’ season is over in the Final Four.

In the final second of the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma had a meltdown that built over apparent frustration with the officiating. South Carolina took 22 free throws to UConn’s six, and with 0.1 on the clock, it appeared Auriemma thought the game was over and approached the Gamecocks’ bench for the postgame handshake. Instead, he got into a verbal altercation with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley that resulted in an extended shouting match that had to be broken up by assistant coaches and the officials.

UConn’s performance on Friday was uncharacteristic in almost every way, and the concern Auriemma has voiced all season came to fruition: When their backs were against the wall, no one stepped up to assert control over the game.

On the biggest stage, first team All-Americans Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong had one their worst combined offensive performances of the season. Strong ended with 12 rebounds but scored just 12 points on 25% shooting from the field, and she didn’t hit a single shot in the third quarter. Fudd entered halftime with just two points and finished with 10 shooting 33% from the field and 2-for-9 on 3-pointers.

The Huskies, who rank second in the country in 3-point percentage and first on field goals, shot a dismal 6-for-21 from beyond the arc and 31.1% from the field, including 5-for-18 on layups. They were out-rebounded 47-32 and gave up 18 points at the free throw line while attempt just six in the entire game.

The game was a battle from the very beginning with three ties and three lead changes in the first half alone as the teams traded runs. Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, making her first-ever appearance in the Final Four, put up the first four points for UConn to establish its presence in the paint.

Strong quickly got into a rhythm, connecting on UConn’s lone 3-pointer of the half, and she got a fastbreak jumper off her own defensive rebound seconds later to propel the Huskies on a 7-0 run. But after UConn went up 13-8, the Gamecocks responded with an 11-4 run of their own fueled by an aggressive defensive effort.

South Carolina guard Raven Johnson was matched up on Strong and held the national player of the year scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. The Gamecocks also kept Fudd without points in the first.

Freshman Agot Makeer sent South Carolina into the second with momentum rolling, drilling a 3-pointer after she recovered an offensive rebound tipped over three Huskies. The Gamecocks stayed hot after the brief quarter intermission, breaking open a five-point lead and holding UConn without a field goal for more than four minutes.

The Huskies looked visibly frustrated by South Carolina’s defensive physicality, struggling to find the smooth ball movement that typically makes them so difficult to guard. They also got out-rebounded badly early in the second quarter, trailing the Gamecocks 19-9 at the media timeout.

“We’ve got to box out, every possession,” assistant coach Tonya Cardoza implored the team in the huddle.

The Huskies seemed to take the message to heart, closing the gap to 21-13 by halftime. Fudd finally put her first points on the board late in the second on a short jumper off a steal from USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel, and junior guard Ashlynn Shade kept the hot hand connecting on a jumper that put UConn on a 6-0 run. The Huskies kept South Carolina without a field goal for the final four minutes of the second quarter and led by two at the half.

But UConn, usually at its best after making halftime adjustments, immediately fell behind again in the third. The Gamecocks opened the second half on a 16-4 run, dominating the Huskies at both ends of the court to break open a 10 point lead.

Still, the Huskies didn’t go down easily. After the team started 1-for-12 from the perimeter, Heckel drilled a 3-pointer that gave UConn a desperately-needed spark. The sophomore point guard had made a single shot behind the arc in the entire NCAA Tournament previously.

Immediately after Heckel’s make, freshman Blanca Quinonez nailed a 3-pointer of her own, and Fudd finally got one of her signature deep shots to drop after starting 0-for-4. The 9-0 run got the Gamecocks’ lead down to a single point, though they opened it back up to five before the start of the fourth.

Strong had to change her jersey to No. 55 entering the fourth quarter after her No. 21 was ripped late in the third.

Fudd connected on her second 3-pointer early in the final frame, but it was too late to mount a real comeback with South Carolina still rolling. The Gamecocks opened their lead back up while holding the Huskies scoreless for nearly four minutes to seal the victory down the stretch. UConn seemed to buckle as the pressure mounted, shooting 2-for-14 in the fourth and getting outscored 18-9.