Phoenix – South Carolina put an end to UConn’s undefeated season Friday to outrun them, 62-48, and earn a spot in the National championship game for the fourth time in the last five years.
Ta’Niya Latson paved the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Agot Makeer added 14 points.
With just a 46-44 advantage early in the third quarter, the Gamecocks scored seven points, but were answered by Sarah Strong’s three-pointer at the 4:39 mark. But the Huskies didn’t score again until Strong’s free throw with 30 seconds to go, after their opponents had scored 11 straight.
South Carolina kept up the pace in the fourth period, and snapped UConn’s 54-game winning streak, handed them their first loss of the year, and limited their shooting to a season-worst 31 percent.
Strong lead just two Huskies in double figures with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Gamecock coach Dawn Staley said her team’s goal was to force their opponents into shooting as ineffectively as possible, and players “really locked into that.”
“I thought it was a performance that makes you super proud,” Staley said. “When they’re able to execute, you can see it as a coach. Sometimes the players don’t see it. What they did was just they filled in all the gaps that were created out there. Just super proud of ’em.”
It was a full-circle moment for Staley and her squad, who lost to the Huskies in last year’s final.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said that for his team, it was a matter of execution, and allowing their opponents to dictate the pace of the matchup.
“I think what happened at the beginning of the third quarter, I think there was maybe three or four straight times where we came out with empty possessions. They turned it over and that led to some easy buckets for them,” Auriemma said.
“A lot of times I thought we had opportunities in our transition, and we didn’t execute it. I think there were times when we were playing so fast that we couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we did get. The game wasn’t played the way we want to play it. It was played the way South Carolina wanted to play it. I think they did a great job of doing that.”
The end of the game was punctuated by an on-court shouting match between Staley and Auriemma, after the latter confronted her with .8 seconds to go. Both coaches declined to discuss what they said.
The Gamecocks face UCLA for the national title Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.