Daybreak Staley and South Carolina buttoned up on protection and received their second nationwide championship, stifling UConn for a 64-49 victory on Sunday night time that ended the Huskies’ undefeated streak in title video games.
Destanni Henderson scored a career-high 26 factors, Aliyah Boston added 11 factors and 16 rebounds, and the Gamecocks handed Geno Auriemma’s Huskies their first loss in 12 NCAA title video games.
With Staley calling the photographs, South Carolina took UConn to high school on the boards and capped a wire-to-wire run because the No 1 group within the nation in The Related Press ballot. The Gamecocks additionally received the championship in 2017 with A’ja Wilson main the way in which.
This time it was Boston, the AP Participant of the Yr, and her fellow South Carolina submit gamers who dominated on the sport’s largest stage. The Gamecocks outrebounded UConn by 25, together with a 21-6 benefit on offensive boards. Additionally they clamped down on star Paige Bueckers and the Huskies on protection, identical to they did all season lengthy.
It was South Carolina’s night time from the beginning. The Gamecocks (35-2) jumped out to an 11-2 lead, grabbing practically each rebound on each ends of the courtroom. They led 22-8 after one quarter a lot to the delight of their trustworthy followers, who made the journey to Minneapolis to be a part of the sellout crowd.
UConn (30-6) trailed by 16 within the second quarter earlier than Bueckers, a Minnesota native, received going. After having only one shot within the first quarter, she scored 9 factors within the second to get the Huskies inside 35-27 on the half. She completed with 14.
An 8-2 run to start out the third quarter put South Carolina up 43-29 earlier than the Huskies lastly began connecting from behind the arc. UConn missed their first eight three-point makes an attempt till Caroline Ducharme made one from the wing and Evina Westbrook adopted with one other to get the Huskies inside 43-37.
That’s as shut as they might get due to Henderson.
The senior guard had a three-point play to shut the third quarter after which had the group’s first 4 factors within the fourth to revive the double-digit lead, and the Huskies couldn’t get well.
This was UConn’s first journey to the championship recreation since 2016, when the Huskies received the final of 4 straight titles. Since then, the group have suffered heartbreaking defeats within the nationwide semifinals, shedding twice in extra time, earlier than holding off Stanford on Friday night time. The Huskies had been making an attempt to win their twelfth title in the identical metropolis they received their first one in 1995.
Auriemma mentioned on Saturday that when his group had received every of their 11 titles, the Huskies entered the sport as the higher group. They definitely weren’t on Sunday.
It had been one of the crucial difficult seasons of Auriemma’s Corridor of Fame profession. UConn overcame shedding eight gamers for at the least two video games with harm or sickness, together with Bueckers, who missed practically three months with a knee harm. She got here again in late February however wasn’t on the similar stage that earned her AP Participant of the Yr as a freshman final season.
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