All good things must come to an end, especially in the clash of two heavyweight programs.
No. 7 UConn came into Columbia as road underdogs and shocked No. 4 South Carolina in blowout fashion, 87-58, in a must-see, rare non-conference women’s basketball game on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, the Huskies halted the Gamecocks’ 71-game winning streak at Colonial Life Arena.
UConn was red hot and could not miss from the perimeter, shooting 46% from distance. Azzi Fudd led the onslaught, going 6-of-10, while Ashlynn Shade shot 3-for-6 from deep. That contributed to the Huskies ending the first half with a commanding 45-23 advantage.
The Gamecocks were manhandled 24-9 in the second quarter, leading to the largest deficit South Carolina has faced at home since trailing the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal by 18 points on December 21, 2021, according to ESPN.
The break did not energize South Carolina, as the Huskies continued to pour it on with their sharp-shooting and built a 57-29 margin by the 5:28 mark of the third. After 30 minutes, the Gamecocks trailed 70-44. Fans began to file out of the arena with just over four and a half minutes remaining in the game and the home team facing an insurmountable 24-point, 78-54 deficit.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma praised his team’s rebounding effort, demolishing the Gamecocks 48-29 on the glass.
“There’s a team mentality that you have to have, and the rebounding stats are always about effort,” Auriemma said. “That, more than anything else, was evident today, that we played to win.”
Embed from Getty ImagesSouth Carolina’s last loss in Columbia was a 54-46 defeat to the NC State Wolfpack on December 3, 2020. The Gamecocks previously lost by double digits at home to the Baylor Bears, falling 94-69 in 2018. And the last time they lost by as many as 29 points in Columbia was in 2008 when they also fell by 29 to UConn.
Fudd scored a game-high 28 points for UConn, which improved to 24-3 on the season (8-2 away from home). Sarah Strong followed that up with a double-double, 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Paige Bueckers added 12 points, 10 assists and seven boards.
South Carolina was led by Joyce Edwards’ 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks. MiLaysia Fulwiley added 11 points and Te-Hina Paopao scored 10.
“We just got punked today. It’s very much embarrassing,” Paopao said afterwards. “That’s not who we are. We’ve got to do a better job giving effort and being mentally tough.”
“You just get back to your habits. We’re not going to change — wholesale change — what we’re doing,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told reporters after the game.
“I mean, a loss like this is about toughness. A loss like this isn’t about anything besides getting our players to just keep the main thing the main thing,” she continued. “Obviously, when you lose like this, there’s something else going on that isn’t just about basketball. So, we gotta figure that out and get back on it.”
The Gamecocks fell to 23-3 overall, losing more than two games for the first time in four seasons. Including last Sunday’s defeat to the No. 3 Texas Longhorns, Staley’s team has lost two of its past three games.
Prior to the game, South Carolina was the No. 2 overall seed in the early bracket reveal from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee. UConn was seeded No. 7. Those rankings may change when the next top 16 is announced next Wednesday on February 26.
The Gamecocks return to SEC play on Thursday, hosting the Arkansas Razorbacks (9-18, 2-10) at 7 p.m. ET.
UConn travels to Seton Hall (17-7, 9-4) for a Big East matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
