'Fearless' South Carolina dissects UConn in Final Four, UCLA up next

Meghan L. Hall, USA TODAYSun, April 5, 2026 at 10:55 AM UTC

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PHOENIX ― Nearly a year after losing to UConn in the national championship, the South Carolina women's basketball team returned to the Final Four as something it wasn't the 362 days prior: fearless.

On April 6, 2025, UConn beat South Carolina 82-59 in the national championship game, but it wasn't that the Gamecocks lost; it was how they uncharacteristically folded when the lights were the brightest. UConn coach Geno Auriemma had coached circles around South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, who was 3-0 in national championship games before her 2025 postseason matchup with Auriemma.

Auriemma's game plan was a masterclass. The Huskies pounded the paint with their bigs, leaving the Gamecocks reeling with every made basket. After South Carolina was exhausted from trying to stay in stride with UConn's post players, the Huskies kicked the ball out, sinking punishing 3-pointers that South Carolina couldn't stop. To finish the mission, UConn's defense stifled South Carolina's usually prolific offense and cruised to a 23-point victory.

Staley watched in agony, play sheet mercilessly clinched in her hands, as her quest for back-to-back championships faded. However, South Carolina entered the Final Four on Friday with more size, more scoring options and an infinite amount of confidence.

"I was just trying to fight aggression with aggression. If she pushed me, I was going to push back. I wasn't going to back down. I'm not scared of nobody," 5-foot-9 Gamecocks guard Raven Johnson said about guarding 6-foot-2 UConn forward Sarah Strong.

"You can be (6-7), you could be seven feet. Even (Alicia Tournebize), shoot, I'm not scared of her. She's 6-7, and I push her, too. Little things like that when you're trying to win."

UConn tried to play a traditional lineup at Mortgage Matchup Center in front of a crowd of over 15, 000 people, but South Carolina was prepared. Johnson stepped up to guard Strong for several minutes, and the Gamecocks didn't flinch defensively. Johnson kept up with her, stride for stride, just as UConn had done months before to South Carolina's players, never really letting Strong get in a rhythm or have space to operate freely.

Johnson's defense was unlike anything Strong or the Huskies had seen all season, and the Gamecocks took their cue from the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Staley says that the defense Johnson deployed ― and later the team ― allowed other Gamecocks players to be on the floor longer to show different looks.

"We were able to be a little bit more versatile in our small lineup because of Raven's ability to be fearless and guard anyone," Staley said.

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South Carolina's defense also held Strong and guard Azzi Fudd to 7-of-31 from the field, limiting the Huskies two star players to 20 total points. Strong and Fudd typically average 18 points and 17 points per game, respectively. The Gamecocks forced UConn to beat them without their two best players, and the Huskies couldn't. UConn finished the game shooting just 31% from the field and lost the battle in the paint, 34 points to 20, eerily similar to the 36-26 paint war South Carolina lost in 2025.

Ultimately, South Carolina beat UConn at its own game. The Gamecocks controlled the tempo after being down 26-24 at halftime, forcing the Huskies to take tough shots and frustrating UConn, putting the Huskies in proverbial hell for 20 minutes ― all things the Huskies typically do to other teams.

South Carolina now carries its fearlessness into Staley's fifth national championship game appearance on April 5. The Gamecocks will take on head coach Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins, who are seeking their first championship in the NCAA era. The Bruins have six WNBA prospects on their roster, including potential no. 1 overall pick, Lauren Betts.

"UCLA is coached by a great coach, Cori Close, who has done a tremendous job with keeping that group together and formulating something truly special in getting back-to-back Final Fours, now to the national championship game," Staley said "She's done it with players who believe in her and her system. Her system works. We're going to be challenged because they are pretty methodical in how they want to cut you apart.

"So they got bigs, they got shooters, they got a point guard that's super smart. They're complete. Probably the only thing they don't have is a lot of depth, right? I don't think any of us have the depth that we want to have, but when you got a strong seven like they do, they put you in positions to compete for (a) national championship. We're up against that."

Still, if Staley were to win on Sunday, that potential championship, her third in five years, would feel different than her previous titles. Outside of UCLA proving to be a challenging opponent, Staley would be perhaps be redeemed for a 2023 loss, which, she says, still haunts her for not being able to finish the job with her roster. Also, her latest championship would likely have something her previous ones didn't.

"This one would probably, if I had to give it a title, it would be sacrifice," Staley said.

"Sacrifice for players like Ta'Niya Latson, right? Sacrifice for Raven (Johnson). Us not having her in the future. Maryam (Dauda), who has committed to us for the past two years. ... We have players like that that commit to the sacredness of a team, (and it) means the world to me. I want it for those young ladies."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina dissects UConn in 'fearless' Final Four win, UCLA up next

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