How a defensive ‘masterclass’ vs. UConn helped Gamecocks WBB reach title game
UConn entered the Final Four as one of the top offenses in the country.
Geno Auriemma’s Huskies were averaging 87.9 points per game (No. 2 in the country), shooting 52% from the field as a team (No. 1 in the country) and touted a 38.7% clip from beyond the arc (No. 2 in the country) this season.
Yet, UConn’s offense failed to do what it had done all season long on Friday night.
South Carolina ended UConn’s perfect season by beating the Huskies 62-48 in Phoenix’s Mortgage Matchup Center — keeping the Huskies 40 points off their season average. The win sends South Carolina to the 2026 NCAA Tournament national championship game on Sunday.
Dawn Staley’s squad couldn’t have picked a better time to put on a defensive masterclass. The Gamecocks’ defense willed the team to their third straight national title game appearance.
“I think our defense is pretty elite,” USC guard Agot Makeer said. “We were super prepared by all of our coaches. I think we all wanted this really bad. We were just ready.”
A low point for the UConn offense
South Carolina held UConn to its worst offensive performance of the year Friday night.
UConn scored just 48 points. That’s the lowest mark of the season for the Huskies, and the first time UConn has been held to fewer than 50 points since losing to USC in the 2022 national title game.
UConn shot just 31.1% from the field as a team. That’s the worst the Huskies have shot all season and the lowest since UConn shot 31% against Georgia Tech in 2021.
“I just thought that we made it real difficult for them to get clean looks,” Staley said. “We made them put the ball on the floor. That’s disruption to UConn, because they’re a passing team, they like to assist. … We just created a lot of disruption.”
The Huskies, who usually shoot the lights out of the ball from 3-point range, struggled to get anything going from beyond the arc.
South Carolina limited UConn to a 28.6% clip from three. UConn was just 6 for 21 from 3-point range. That was the seventh-worst mark of the season for UConn.
South Carolina forced 10 turnovers and beat UConn 47-32 in the rebounding battle. The Gamecocks tallied nine steals, led by three from Joyce Edwards.
South Carolina stops UConn’s stars
UConn is typically carried by the one-two punch of All-Americans Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, but the two stars were nowhere to be found Friday night.
Strong, who averages 18.6 points per game, was limited to just 12 points. That marks her second-lowest scoring performance of the year. She was 4 for 16 from the floor, including a 2-for-5 mark from 3-point range.
South Carolina threw everything it had at Strong, including SEC Defensive Player of the Year point guard Raven Johnson. The veteran guarded Strong on a few different occasions (mainly when USC went with a smaller lineup) and kept her out of a rhythm offensively.
“Raven can guard whoever she wants to if she puts her mind to it,” USC forward Joyce Edwards said.
The Gamecocks didn’t let Fudd find any breathing room on offense, either. Fudd, who averages 17.5 points per game, was nearly held scoreless in the first half and finished with just eight points.
“They were super aggressive on defense,” Fudd said. “I thought some of our shots were a little rushed, some of our offense was a little rushed, out of pace. But we got a lot of good looks, a lot of shots in our offense, shots that we are used to taking. We just didn’t hit very many or enough today.”
Fudd is typically a sharpshooter, but South Carolina kept her 3-point production limited Friday. The Big East’s leader in 3-point percentage shot just 2 for 9 from beyond the arc.
A trio of South Carolina guards — Johnson, Agot Makeer and Tessa Johnson — were largely responsible for shutting down Fudd.
“You gotta face guard her,” Raven Johnson said. “She’s a really good player. She’s got a quick release, so just pressure her and stay in her face.”
Some love for the scout
Several Gamecocks praised South Carolina assistant coach Mary Wooley for her role in putting together the defensive game plan.
“We praised Coach Mary for the scout,” USC guard Ta’Niya Latson said. “I mean, she told us what we had to do. I feel like we executed really, really well. Defensively it was a masterclass, Coach said. We’re just really proud of ourselves.”
Wooley — who has been a USC assistant since 2023 but served in other roles from 2017-2020 — was in charge of the scout, players said.
“We just played great team defense. I mean, we stuck to the scout report,” Latson said. “I mean, Coach Mary did a good job in telling us what we needed to do. I feel like we all watched film. We were really locked in during shootarounds. We knew their tendencies, what they liked. I think we executed it really, really well.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 7:45 AM with the headline "How a defensive ‘masterclass’ vs. UConn helped Gamecocks WBB reach title game."
