Gamecocks knock off undefeated UConn, advance to 2026 WBB national championship
The Final Four is here.
Coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina women’s basketball team is playing UConn on Friday night in Phoenix for a spot in the national championship game.
The winner of South Carolina/UConn will play either UCLA or Texas in Sunday’s national title game at Mortgage Matchup Center.
The State’s Michael Sauls and Chapel Fowler are on site providing live updates as USC tries to hand UConn its first loss of the season. Along with this story, you can follow along via Sauls’ X account and the GoGamecocks X account.
Final score: South Carolina 62, UConn 48
It’s over. South Carolina has handed UConn its first loss of the season and advanced to Sunday’s national championship game vs. UCLA or Texas.
The Gamecocks will play for a fourth national title, all under Staley, after eliminating the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed.
South Carolina holding late lead
The Gamecocks are up eight points, 55-47, as the clock ticks toward two minutes. This one is getting away from UConn, which has been outscored by 10 points in the second half (31-21). USC’s Agot Makeer has 14 points off the bench.
End Q3: South Carolina 44, UConn 39
What a quarter for South Carolina. USC outscores UConn 20-13 in the third quarter, leads by as many as 10 points and takes a five-point lead into the fourth quarter of this Final Four game.
The Huskies hadn’t trailed by more than six points at any point this year but went down double digits for the first time in 39 games. UConn did respond with three straight 3-pointers to narrow its deficit, though.
Tessa Johnson and Joyce Edwards both have 10 points for USC.
Halftime: UConn 26, South Carolina 24
The Gamecocks trail by two points at halftime in Phoenix. USC led by as many as five points (21-16) but ended the half missing 10 of its last 11 shots. South Carolina also didn’t make a field goal in the last four minutes of the half.
Forward Sarah Strong leads UConn with eight points on 3-10 shooting. The Gamecocks have three players with six points and haven’t been able to play starting guard Raven Johnson as much as usual, as she has two fouls.
End Q1: South Carolina 15, UConn 15
USC and UConn are tied up after one quarter. The Huskies went up seven points (11-4) early in the period before the Gamecocks ended the period on an 11-4 scoring run, capped off by Agot Makeer’s game-tying three at the buzzer.
The Gamecocks have been a little sloppy with the ball and have five turnovers. South Carolina has an advantage on the boards is outrebounding UConn 11-6.
South Carolina vs. UConn starting lineups
South Carolina starters:
- G Raven Johnson
- G Ta’Niya Latson
- G Tessa Johnson
- F Joyce Edwards
- C Madina Okot
UConn starters:
- G KK Arnold
- G Ashlynn Shade
- G Azzi Fuud
- F Sarah Strong
- F Serah Williams
Final injury reports for Final Four
There are no surprises on either team’s final NCAA availability report.
South Carolina will be without forwards Chloe Kitts and Adhel Tac, both of whom are rehabbing long-term injuries. Kitts tore her ACL in the offseason and is redshirting this season. Tac hasn’t played since Feb. 5.
UConn will be down three players that haven’t played at any point in the NCAA Tournament: Morgan Cheli, Ice Brady and Gandy Malou-Mamel.
All of the Gamecocks’ and Huskies’ regular starters and rotation players are available for Friday’s game. Starting this year, the NCAA is requiring teams to post availabililty reports the night before games and two hours before tipoff.
Dawn vs. Geno ... again
Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma have met head-to-head 15 times.
Auriemma is 10-5 (.666) in those games and has won the last two meetings (2025 regular season and 2025 national championship game). South Carolina’s Staley has won five of the last eight matchups overall dating back to 2020, though.
UConn has a 2-1 edge against USC in NCAA Tournament games. The Gamecocks’ win came in the 2022 national championship game in Minneapolis. It remains Auriemma’s only career loss in a national title game (12-1).
How they got here
No. 1 South Carolina’s path to the 2026 Final Four:
- Round of 64: Beat No. 16 Southern 103-34 in Columbia
- Round of 32: Beat No. 9 Southern Cal 101-61 in Columbia
- Sweet 16: Beat No. 4 Oklahoma 94-68 in Sacramento
- Elite Eight: Beat No. 3 TCU 78-52 in Sacramento
And No. 1 overall seed UConn’s path to Arizona:
- Round of 64: Beat No. 16 UTSA 90-52 in Storrs, Conn.
- Round of 32: Beat No. 9 Syracuse 98-45 in Storrs, Conn.
- Sweet 16: Beat No. 4 North Carolina 63-42 in Fort Worth
- Elite Eight: Beat No. 6 Notre Dame 70-52 in Fort Worth
Final betting line
UConn is a consensus betting favorite for the game and favored by 6.5 points to 7.5 points against South Carolina in most sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel. It’s the first time USC’s been a betting underdog all season.
ESPN analytics give UConn a 64.9% chance of winning. South Carolina is at 35.1%.
South Carolina WBB vs. UConn in Final Four
- Who: No. 1 South Carolina (35-3) vs. No. 1 UConn (38-0)
- Where: Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix
- When: 7 p.m. ET Friday
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: 106.7 FM in Columbia area or the USC Gamecocks app
- Stream: Via watchespn.com or the ESPN app
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Gamecocks knock off undefeated UConn, advance to 2026 WBB national championship."
