South Carolina Gamecocks, led by head coach Dawn Staley and their solid defensive pressure, won their second national championship, stifling UConn for a 64-49 victory Sunday night that ended the Huskies’ undefeated streak in title games.
South Carolina guard Destanni Henderson and forward Aliyah Boston were the stars of Sunday’s game. Henderson ended the game with 26 points and Boston with 11.
“I’ve been thinking about it since last season, everyone had a picture of me crying. But today we’re national champions and I’m in tears,” Boston said, referring to last year’s Final Four loss to Stanford.
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It was South Carolina’s night from the start. The Gamecocks (35-2) jumped out to an 11-2 lead, grabbing nearly every rebound on both ends of the court. They led to 22-8 after one quarter, much to the delight of their faithful fans, who made the trip to Minneapolis to be part of the sellout crowd.
This was UConn’s first trip to the championship game since 2016 when the Huskies won the last of four straight titles. Since then, the team has suffered heartbreaking defeats in the national semifinals, losing twice in overtime before holding off Stanford on Friday night.