The No. 1 seed, the Naismith coach of the year, the Naismith player of the year and now the last team standing.
South Carolina defeated UConn 64–49 in the NCAA women’s national championship game Sunday night to claim its second national title in the last six years.
The Huskies were bullied from tip-off and the Gamecocks were able to hold off some comeback attempts throughout, but it was dominance from beginning to end. South Carolina started the game on a 17–4 run and went into halftime with a 35–27 lead.
The Huskies didn’t score again until a Paige Bueckers jump-shot with five minutes to go in third quarter. They went into the fourth down 46–37 and never recovered.
South Carolina was led by guard Destanni Henderson with 26 points, as national player of the year Aliyah Boston chipped in with 11 points and 16 rebounds. UConn’s Paige Bueckers gave it everything she had, but her 14 points weren’t enough.
The Gamecocks were just too big and physical in the end. They dominated the Huskies on the boards, winning the rebound battle 49–24. It was a perfect ending to a near-perfect season for No. 1 South Carolina and national coach of the year coach Dawn Staley adds to her legendary trophy case with a second national title as a coach.
Staley also became the first Black coach in men’s or women’s Division I history to win multiple national championships. This was coach Geno Auriemma and UConn’s first loss in a national championship game. Coming into Sunday, the program was 11–0.
