The No. 4 South Carolina women’s basketball team (23-3, 11-1) lost 87-58 to the No. 7 UConn Huskies (24-3, 14-0) at Colonial Life Arena on Feb. 16.
The loss snaps a 71-game home winning streak for the Gamecocks. The last loss at home before this was a 54-46 loss against NC State on Dec. 3, 2020.
It also marks the biggest loss by the Gamecocks since losing 78-44 also against the UConn Huskies on Dec. 8, 2008.
South Carolina struggled early on against the Huskies and found itself down 7-4 around 4 minutes into the first quarter. Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao scored a 3-pointer to tie the game back up at 7-7.
The two teams would stay close until near the end of the first quarter when UConn went on a 10-3 run to put the Huskies up 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started with a 10-0 Huskies run as offensive struggles continued for the Gamecocks. Freshman forward Joyce Edwards scored a layup that gave the Gamecocks some offensive momentum as it cut the UConn lead down to 10 halfway through the quarter.
However, this offensive run was short lived, as UConn regained control of the game. Huskies freshman forward Sarah Strong scored a 3-pointer to jump start a 11-2 run to end the quarter with a UConn 45-23 lead.
In the first half, the Gamecocks shot 37% from the field and 22% from the 3-point line. South Carolina was out rebounded 22-13 and turned the ball over nine times by the end of the first half.
Before the third quarter, the Huskies had a balanced attack with redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers leading the team with 7 points and five other Huskies with at least 5 points. In the third quarter alone, graduate guard Azzi Fudd scored 18 points on 7-9 (77%) from the field to widen the lead against the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks had its highest scoring quarter with 21 points in the third quarter but it was not enough as the team allowed UConn to score 25 points to end the third quarter down 70-44. Edwards led the Gamecocks in scoring during the third quarter with 6 points along with a rebound and a block.
The final quarter of the game was much of the same for the Gamecocks. The Huskies outscored South Carolina 17-14 and the Gamecocks ended making one of its seven field goals to end the game.
Struggling to rebound
Coming into the game, the Gamecocks were third in the SEC and 10th in the nation in rebounds per game. South Carolina averages 42.9 rebounds per game but was held to just 29 against UConn.
Head coach Dawn Staley gave the team an "F" for its performance this afternoon.
"This season is a long season and you play a team like UConn ... you lose and it definitely will wake you up," Staley said.
The team also had a rebounding margin of +8.3 through 25 games this season. The Huskies finished with 19 more rebounds than the Gamecocks this afternoon.
First half leaves Gamecocks with huge gap
The Gamecocks were down 7 points at the end of the first quarter that saw several lead changes and ended with a 10-3 run by UConn. By the end of the second quarter, the Huskies had more than tripled the amount it led by and left the Gamecocks down 22 points going into the half.
South Carolina scored 9 points to UConn’s 24 in the second quarter. Along with only scoring 9 points, the Gamecocks committed six turnovers that allowed the Huskies to get out in transition and score quickly in the fast break.
Paopao said the offensive struggles came from a lack of ball movement and hopes the team learns from this game.
“It was a lot of ball screens and not much movement … so I think we have to do a better job at recognizing that early and getting everyone involved," Paopao said.
Edwards continues to improve as a freshman
In South Carolina's previous game against the Florida Gators, Edwards scored a season high of 28 points to lead the Gamecocks in a 101-68 win on Feb. 13. She became the first Gamecock freshman to score at least 28 points in one game since Kelsey Bone, who scored 32 against Clemson in 2009.
The freshman has led the team in scoring through 25 games and this game against the Huskies was no different. Edwards played a key role in the offense this afternoon and snapped the team out of a scoring drought in the second quarter, finishing with 17 points on 70% from the field on 7-10 shots
What's next?
The Gamecocks (23-3, 11-1) will return to action on Feb. 20 against the Arkansas Razorbacks (9-18, 2-10) at Colonial Life Arena with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.