For the first time since December 2020, the Gamecocks’ extended win streak at Colonial Life Arena officially ended this past Sunday in a blockbuster matchup.
South Carolina was blown out by the seventh-ranked UConn Huskies 87-58 in front of a sold-out crowd, snapping the Gamecocks’ perfect streak at home. This matchup is one of the biggest upsets in college basketball, as the Huskies picked up a statement win against a deep Gamecock team.
Coming into this game, South Carolina had won the last five of six matchups against the Huskies and was the favorite to win a home game, according to ESPN analysts. The Gamecocks are the reigning national champions and have more ranked wins this season than any team in college basketball. South Carolina plays its best at home, holding opponents below its average and winning games by double digits.
The UConn Huskies, who have been 24-3 in the past seasons, have been plagued with injuries, which has affected the program’s high standard of dominating college basketball. This year, the Huskies have been playing really good basketball and are one of a few teams predicted to win the national championship. The Huskies have not beaten the Gamecocks since Paige Bueckers’ freshman year, when the team played at home with limited people in the audience.
The only way that UConn was going to have a chance at beating South Carolina was that they needed to make more threes than the Gamecocks, and huge performances from their guards and post players. In three of the Huskies’ losses, the team has struggled from three and has allowed their opponents to shoot better than them.
Coach Auriemma was very confident in his team who practiced hard preparing for this game and did not worry what the predictions were going to be in the matchup. The first five minutes of the game saw both teams trade baskets as the Huskies were leading anytime the Gamecocks came back. UConn ended the first quarter leading 21-14 against South Carolina, giving them a little separation going into the second quarter.
The Huskies continued their run into the second quarter, maintaining aggressive defense, attacking the paint, and taking open three-pointers to take a big lead, which forced the Gamecocks to struggle. South Carolina returned from the break feeling motivated and started moving the ball around and scoring, helping them bring the lead down to ten.
The Huskies stayed locked in and continued to build up their lead, getting Sarah Strong touches and not allowing the Gamecocks to get back into the game. UConn left halftime up 45-23, holding South Carolina to nine points, the lowest score this season. They were 20 minutes away from pulling the upset.
In the second half, the Huskies forced many fastbreak points, continued to knock down more threes, and went to the free-throw line off of the Gamecocks’ personal fouls. Azzi Fudd, who was 2-10 in the first half, came out playing confidently, going 9-12 overall and 6-9 from three, finishing with 28 points. UConn’s supporting cast, Ashlynn Shade, Kaitlyn Chen, and Jana El Alfy, provided scoring and rebounding to help the Huskies take down South Carolina.
The Huskies getting this shocking win showed how they can play against high profile teams with little experience especially when they are not the deepest team. UConn’s 29-point win against the Gamecocks is one of the top biggest wins in the overall series since 2018 NCAA women’s tournament.
South Carolina was out of rhythm at home against the Huskies which shows that the team is not perfect and also can be challenged when they fail to get the job done. The Gamecocks’ transition defense and forcing too many passes on offense costed them the opportunity to win the game.
The reigning champs know how to bounce back from an embarrassing loss at home and learning from the mistakes in this game to help them find their confidence again. This game taught the Gamecocks that they need to be more aggressive and not allow the opponents to take over the game.
The Gamecocks look to finish out a competitive SEC conference as the top overall seed going in the tournament in March, where they look to repeat as the conference champions. UConn looks to continue to remain undefeated in Big East play and win the regular season and conference championship at the tournament in Connecticut.
