UConn Unleashes a Storm on South Carolina to Win 12th National Championship

Heading into the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, South Carolina was ranked number one in the Southeastern Conference, while the UConn Huskies held the top spot in the Big East. Both teams came out strong and ready to play. However, South Carolina’s offensive and defensive momentum began to shift, while the Huskies maintained consistent energy on both sides of the court up to halftime. South Carolina managed to keep up. South Carolina had been moving the ball well, but there were turnovers as they tried to limit UConn’s three-point average. Sarah Strong has been unstoppable, blocking shots with her arms up and making clean, contact-free stops. Team leader Joyce Edwards had been aggressive under the glass, finding different ways to get shots up. Despite their efforts, South Carolina’s shooting had been off going into the second quarter.

Although they made a push, it wasn’t enough to stop UConn. South Carolina had six dead-ball turnovers. Paige Bueckers was one of UConn’s leading scorers. South Carolina attacked the basket multiple times, possibly as an alternative strategy to keep points coming. However, this opened opportunities for UConn to get into fast-break mode, adjusting their offense quickly to take advantage. Since these two teams faced off earlier in the season, South Carolina should have identified the key player to trap in the lane, Paige Bueckers. She’s an unstoppable, fast, and talented player who continues to take shot after shot, with her teammates feeding her the ball every time. Every one of UConn’s players is a threat. South Carolina kept trying to dominate the paint, but their strategy wasn’t working.

Raven Johnson had a massive impact on South Carolina, doing her best to rally the team, stealing the ball at every opportunity and working it as the point guard. South Carolina is a strong and physical basketball team, but UConn had them figured out by the end of the second quarter. Azzi Fudd put on a show with back-to-back shots, maneuvering around South Carolina’s defense. UConn’s “Big Three” is a dynamic force when those three women are on the court, they’re nearly unstoppable. This was a game you couldn’t afford to miss. It was a physical matchup between the Gamecocks and the Huskies. Both teams gave it everything they had, especially UConn. This was a big win for the Huskies, who defeated South Carolina with a final score of 82-59. The Gamecocks will need to recover and work on the mistakes going into next season that were exposed in this game. Both teams left their blood, sweat, and tears on the court.