PHOENIX — Redemption has a scoreboard. It reads 62-48.
One year after UConn handed Dawn Staley her first national championship game loss in Tampa, the South Carolina Gamecocks walked into Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday night and systematically dismantled the Huskies’ perfect season, ending UConn’s 38-game winning streak and punching their ticket to a third consecutive national championship game with a dominant 62-48 victory.
The final record: South Carolina 36-3. UConn 38-1. The undefeated dream is over.
How It Unfolded, Quarter by Quarter
First Quarter: 15-15 — The Huskies Hold Their Ground
Neither program blinked early. UConn matched South Carolina possession for possession through the opening ten minutes, and the score was knotted at 15 heading into the second quarter. The Huskies looked composed, their offense operating within the structure that had carried them through 38 unbeaten games. South Carolina was physical and engaged, but had not yet separated.
What the score did not reveal was that South Carolina was establishing the terms of engagement — playing through the post, pressuring the perimeter, setting the physical tone that would define the rest of the game.
Second Quarter: South Carolina 24, UConn 26 (SC trailed by 2 at half)
UConn outscored South Carolina 11-9 in the second quarter to take a slim two-point lead into halftime, 26-24. The Huskies appeared to be executing their game plan — controlling pace, limiting second chances, keeping Sarah Strong involved. The margin was razor-thin, but UConn had momentum.
In the South Carolina locker room at halftime, Staley had a decision to make. Her team had competed, but had not yet imposed itself.
Third Quarter: SC 20, UConn 13 — The Game Turns
This is where South Carolina broke the game open and broke UConn’s spirit simultaneously.
The Gamecocks outscored the Huskies 20-13 in the third quarter — a ten-minute stretch of basketball that answered every question about whether this team could handle the moment. The defense tightened, the offense found rhythm, and the lead that had been two points at halftime became nine heading into the fourth. UConn, for the first time all season, looked like a team that did not know how to respond to adversity.
The third quarter was the difference between a close game and a statement.
Fourth Quarter: SC 18, UConn 9 — Closing the Door
With a lead and a demoralized opponent, South Carolina did what championship programs do — they finished. The Gamecocks outscored UConn 18-9 in the fourth quarter, turning a competitive game into a decisive victory. The final margin of 14 points was not a fluke. It was the product of a team that was simply better prepared, better motivated, and better equipped for this specific game than the team they were playing.
The South Carolina Box Score
Ta’Niya Latson — 16 points | 30 minutes | 3-10 FG | 0-1 3PT
The leading scorer on the night, Latson delivered when it mattered most. The transfer who gave up the nation’s scoring title to come to South Carolina found her moments against UConn’s defense, converting at a rate that kept the Huskies honest and created space for everyone around her.
Joyce Edwards — 11 points | 38 minutes | 5-14 FG | 0-0 3PT
Edwards played the full 38 minutes and shouldered the primary defensive assignment against UConn’s frontcourt all night. The 11 points do not fully reflect her impact — she was the anchor Dawn Staley has described all season, the player whose presence and communication set the tone for everything South Carolina does.
Tessa Johnson — 10 points | 38 minutes | 4-10 FG | 0-3 3PT
Tessa Johnson played every meaningful minute and contributed double figures in what was one of the biggest games of her career. Her 0-3 from three is a footnote — her 38 minutes of competitive, engaged basketball is the headline.
Madina Okot — 6 points | 20 minutes | 2-5 FG | 0-0 3PT
Okot’s impact went beyond six points. Her presence in the paint changed the geometry of UConn’s offense and gave South Carolina the interior size that Staley lacked when the Huskies beat her in Tampa last year. Twenty minutes of physical, disruptive basketball from a center who may not be playing college ball next season.
Raven Johnson — 2 points | 26 minutes | 1-6 FG | 0-0 3PT
The numbers were quiet, but Raven Johnson’s fingerprints were everywhere. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year was not on the floor to score — she was there to control, to disrupt, and to be the extension of Staley’s coaching that she has always been. Two points and a win in the Final Four. She will take it.
What This Means
South Carolina has done what virtually no one outside their locker room believed was possible against an undefeated UConn team favored by 6.5 points. They did it by playing their best basketball in the second half — outscoring UConn 38-22 after halftime — and by trusting the preparation and process that Dawn Staley has been building for seventeen years in Columbia.
UConn’s perfect season ends at 38-1. South Carolina moves to 36-3 and advances to Sunday’s national championship game, where they will face either UCLA or Texas for the title.
For Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, and every player who spent a year carrying the memory of last year’s 82-59 loss, Friday night in Phoenix was everything they came for.
The nets will wait until Sunday. First, one more game.
