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The UConn women’s basketball team’s quest to reach 40-0 ended Friday after one of its worst performances in recent memory.
Winning each of their first 38 games of the season, the Huskies were outscored by 16 points in the final 20 minutes to fall to fellow No. 1 South Carolina, 62-48, in the Final Four.
The fight 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 Maker and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel battle for the ball during the second half of the NCAA women’s 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 have returned to the national championship game, while the Huskies had won 54 games in a row dating back to last year.
Ta’Niya Latson scored 16 points and Agot Makeer added 14 with South Carolina playing suffocating defense. UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history, and for the third consecutive time was left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals.
This was the fewest points UConn had scored since scoring 49 points in a national championship loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.
South Carolina guards Tessa Johnson and Agot Makeer celebrate after defeating UConn in the semifinal of the NCAA women’s college basketball tournament at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 3, 2026. (Rick Scuteri/AP)
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Leading 46-44 just minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by a three-pointer by Agot Maker to extend the lead to seven.
UConn’s Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to bring the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left, but the Huskies didn’t score again until Strong made a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.
Strong, who was honored as AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds but was 4 of 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd scored just eight points for the Huskies, making just 3 of 15 shots.
UConn had its worst shooting night of the season, finishing 19 of 61 (31.1%) from the field.
The game was headlined by a heated post-game 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 the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 3, 2026. (Photos by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA via Getty Images)
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The Gamecocks will now face UCLA on Sunday for the national championship.
