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The UConn women’s basketball team’s quest to 40-0 ended on Friday after one of their worst performances in recent memory.
Winning each of its first 38 games of the season, the Huskies were outscored by 16 points in the final 20 minutes to fall to fellow No. 1 seed South Carolina, 62-48, in the Final Four.
The bout was a rematch of last year’s national championship, which the Huskies won for a storybook ending to UConn alum Paige Bueckers’ career.
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South Carolina guard Agot Makeer and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel scramble for the ball during the second half of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament semifinal at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Ross D. Franklin/AP)
It’s the fourth time in the last five years that the Gamecocks are back in the national championship, while the Huskies had won 54 straight dating back to last year.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 16 points, and Agot Makeer added 14 with South Carolina playing stifling defense. UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history, and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals.
This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.
South Carolina guards Tessa Johnson and Agot Makeer celebrate after defeating UConn in the women’s NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
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Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.
UConn’s Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left, but the Huskies didn’t score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.
Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3-of-15 shots.
UConn had its worst shooting night of the season, finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.
The game was headlined by a heated postgame exchange between coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley.
Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks argues with Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the second half of an NCAA Women’s Final Four semifinal game at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 3, 2026. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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The Gamecocks will now face UCLA on Sunday for the national championship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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