After defeating the Texas Longhorns 74-57 on Friday night, the South Carolina women's basketball team will take on the UConn Huskies on Sunday afternoon at Amalie Arena in the NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship.
The Gamecocks' win Friday punched a ticket into the program's second consecutive championship game. South Carolina defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 in the 2024 national championship game. Sunday's headline matchup with the Huskies will be a rematch of the 2022 championship game where South Carolina won 64-49.
"We have to be a little bit more calculating," head coach Dawn Staley said. "We got to stick to our game plan, which hopefully decreases the amount of opportunities they get to score the basketball, because they score probably better than any team in the country."
The Huskies reached the National Championship after an 85-51 dismantling of the UCLA Bruins in the national semifinal on Friday night. UConn, the No. 2 seed coming out of Spokane Regional 2, beat No. 1 seed USC Trojans 78-64 in the Elite Eight. The Trojans were without sophomore guard and Naismith National Player of the Year Juju Watkins.
South Carolina and UConn matched up in the regular season on Feb. 16, a game that the Huskies dominated with an 87-58 rout of the Gamecocks on its home court at Colonial Life Arena. The South Carolina loss ended a 71-game home winning streak, the fourth-longest in NCAA women's basketball history. The Huskies own the two longest home winning streaks of all time at 99 and 98 games, respectively.
Senior guard Bree Hall remembered the feeling of getting beat on home court and how the Gamecocks have grown since that moment.
"I mean, we've learned a lot," Hall said. "Our defense has definitely improved since that game. To be truly honest, we didn't really care which team we played because they both beat us. So it's, like, 'We've got to get our give back on this.'"
Senior forward Sania Feagin scored only 4 points in the last matchup with the Huskies, one of her lower outputs this season. Despite the struggles, Feagin says that she doesn't feel like it's a "revenge thing" and that South Carolina is just focused on playing its game.
"It did leave a bad taste in our mouth," Feagin said. "We don't like to lose, especially, like, by so much, either. For me, I can't say it's like a revenge thing, but we do want to win."
UConn graduate guard Azzi Fudd had a career night against the Gamecocks in that Feb. 16 meeting, scoring 28 points on 11-22 (50%) shooting from the field while knocking down six threes. Against UCLA, Fudd was lights-out again, scoring 19 points while shooting 7-12 (58%) from the field.
"She can create for herself, she hits clutch baskets, she has a quick release," senior guard Raven Johnson said. "You can't let her get to her spots, I feel like she moves very well without the ball, and she can also set others up. You just got to understand her."
UConn redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers is playing in her final collegiate game on Sunday to round out a decorated career at UConn while still looking for her first National Championship victory. After winning AP Player of the Year as a freshman in the 2020-21 season, Bueckers continues to shine for the Huskies, averaging 20 points per game while shooting 42.4% on her three-point attempts. Bueckers is projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14. Staley acknowledged Bueckers' success, saying leaving UConn without a championship shouldn't affect her legacy.
"Paige is legit," Staley said. "She was legit from the moment she stepped on this stage, or prior to, in Minnesota. Her career is legendary. She will leave a legacy at UConn whether she wins one or not."
Staley also discussed UConn freshman forward Sarah Strong, who was named the 2025 Freshman of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The AP All-American is averaging 16.2 points per game while grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game.
"In the next three years, she might be the best player to come out of UConn," Staley said. "Such a great complement to an already skilled UConn team. I think she's the piece that puts it all together. She makes it all work."
The championship game will be the final collegiate game for the careers of Hall, Feagin and senior guard Te-Hina Paopao. Redshirt junior guard Raven Johnson was a member of the same recruiting class as Hall and Feagin, but has yet to make a decision on returning or going to the WNBA draft. Staley reflected on the careers of her upperclassmen and how their playing time was staggered in their early years.
"They're playing the biggest role for us in this championship run," Staley said. "I just can't be more proud because in this day and age to not play a whole lot means you're definitely going into the transfer portal, like it's a definite."
What's next?
The South Carolina women's basketball team will play in the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship on Sunday afternoon against the UConn Huskies at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC.