x
THEDMVDAILY
College Sports National News Sports

South Carolina Gamecocks Beat UConn Huskies to Earn Their Second National Championship

South Carolina Gamecocks Beat UConn Huskies to Earn Their Second National Championship
  • PublishedApril 3, 2022

One year after suffering a heartbreaking Final Four defeat to eventual champion Stanford, No. 1 South Carolina found vengeance with a 64-49 triumph over No. 2 UConn on Sunday at Minneapolis’ Target Center.

The Gamecocks, who went 14-0 against teams rated in the Associated Press Top 25, were the eighth program in NCAA women’s basketball history to win multiple national titles, joining UConn (11), Tennessee (8), Stanford (3), Baylor (3), Notre Dame (2), USC (2), and Louisiana Tech (2).

South Carolina is also the 12th team to be ranked No. 1 in the AP poll from start to finish and win the national championship.

South Carolina’s 35 wins are the most in a single season in program history; seven were over national championship-winning coaches, and two were over UConn’s Geno Auriemma, as the Gamecocks had previously defeated the Huskies 73-57 in the Bahamas on Nov. 22.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is also 2-0 in NCAA national championship games after leading her team to victory over Mississippi State in 2017.

The Huskies, who have 11 titles to their name and are tied for the most in Division I basketball, are still looking for their first crown since winning four in a row from 2013 to 2016. Their five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances without a championship is the longest streak the program has had since winning its first title in 1995.

National player of the year Aliyah Boston ended with 11 points and 16 rebounds, allowing the Gamecocks to outrebound the Huskies 49-24. Destanni Henderson had a career-high 26 points, four assists, two rebounds, and a strong defensive effort against 2020-21 national player of the year Paige Bueckers.

 

UConn
STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
A. EdwardsF 38 4-9 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 1 2 3 8
O. Nelson-OdodaF 23 2-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 1 2 1 3 4 4
A. FuddG 16 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 3
P. BueckersG 39 6-13 1-3 1-2 0 6 6 2 1 1 1 1 14
C. WilliamsG 23 1-7 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 3 2
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
A. DeberryF 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
C. DucharmeG 22 4-8 1-3 0-2 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 5 9
N. MuhlG 16 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 0 2 1 2
E. WestbrookG 19 3-10 1-5 0-0 0 4 4 2 0 1 3 3 7
TEAM 22-54 4-16 1-4 6 18 24 14 4 5 15 21 49
40.7% 25.0% 25.0%
South Carolina
STARTERS MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
A. BostonF 35 3-8 0-0 5-8 5 11 16 3 0 2 3 2 11
V. SaxtonF 25 1-1 0-0 4-6 5 0 5 0 2 1 2 2 6
B. BealG 29 1-7 0-2 0-0 2 2 4 1 0 1 2 4 2
Z. CookeG 30 5-13 0-4 1-2 0 5 5 0 0 0 1 1 11
D. HendersonG 34 9-20 3-6 5-6 1 1 2 4 3 0 2 1 26
BENCH MIN FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
S. FeaginF 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L. AmihereF 9 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2
E. WesolekF 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
K. CardosoC 9 2-2 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 4
B. HallG 10 0-5 0-3 1-2 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 1
S. RiversG 5 0-1 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
E. RussellG 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
O. ThompsonG 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
D. LittletonG 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
L. GrissettG 9 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 22-60 3-16 17-26 21 28 49 9 6 4 14 11 64
36.7% 18.8% 65.4%

 

 

 

 

Written By
Ashton Horne

Ashton Horne is an upcoming writer who currently resides in Harford County. He currently interns for TheDMVDaily as a journalist.