No. 7 UConn came into Columbia and stunned No. 4 South Carolina, 87-58, in a marquee non-conference women’s basketball clash on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Huskies snapped the Gamecocks’ 71-game winning streak at Colonial Life Arena.
UConn was scorching from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting 46% from long-range. Azzi Fudd led the barrage, going 6-of-10, while Ashlynn Shade shot 3-for-6 from deep. That contributed to the Huskies ending the first half with a 45-23 lead.
The Gamecocks were outscored 24-9 in the second quarter, leading to the largest deficit South Carolina had faced at home since trailing the-No. 2 Stanford by 18 points on Dec. 21, 2021, according to ESPN.
The halftime break didn’t rejuvenate South Carolina as the Huskies continued their sharp-shooting and built a 57-29 margin by the 5:28 mark of the third quarter. After 30 minutes, the Gamecocks trailed 70-44. Fans began to leave with 4:38 remaining in the game and the home team facing a 78-54 deficit.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma singled out his team’s rebounding effort, beating the Gamecocks 48-29 on the boards.
“There’s a team mentality that you have to have, and the rebounding stats are always about effort,” Auriemma said. “That, more than anything else was evident today, that we played to win.”
South Carolina’s last loss in Columbia was a 54-46 defeat to NC State on Dec. 3, 2020. The Gamecocks previously lost by double digits at home to Baylor, falling 94-69 in 2018. And the last time they lost by as many as 29 points in Columbia was in 2008 when they also fell by 29 to UConn.
Per @herhoopstats Andy Tulin, today’s 29 pt South Carolina loss is the program’s worst home court loss since Dec 28, 2008 when they lost by 29 pts to UConn.
It was Dawn Staley’s 7th home game as Head Coach.
— chelsea leite (@chelsealeite) February 16, 2025
Fudd scored a game-high 28 points for UConn, which improved to 24-3 (8-2 on the road). Sarah Strong followed with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Paige Bueckers added 12 points, 10 assists and seven boards.
South Carolina was led by Joyce Edwards‘ 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks. MiLaysia Fulwiley added 11 points and Te-Hina Paopao tallied 10.
“We just got punked today. It’s very much embarrassing,” Paopao said afterwards. “That’s not who we are. We’ve got to do a better job giving effort and being mentally tough.”
“When you lose like this, something else is going on that isn’t just about basketball.”
Dawn Staley on how the #Gamecocks can respond to its 87-58 loss to UConn. Says its about toughness but they’re not going to make a wholesale change to how they do things.@abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/yYQj599Gk9
— Noah Chast (@NoahChastTV) February 16, 2025
“You just get back to your habits. We’re not going to change — wholesale change — what we’re doing,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley told reporters after the game.
“I mean, a loss like this is about toughness. A loss like this isn’t about anything besides getting our players to just keep the main thing the main thing,” she continued. “Obviously, when you lose like this, there’s something else going on that isn’t just about basketball. So we gotta figure that out and and get back on it.”
The Gamecocks dropped to 23-3 overall, losing more than two games for the first time in four seasons. Including last Sunday’s defeat to No. 3 Texas, Staley’s team has lost two of its past three games.
Prior to the game, South Carolina was the No. 2 overall seed in the early bracket reveal from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee. UConn was seeded No. 7. Those rankings may change when the next top 16 is announced on Feb. 26.
The Gamecocks return to SEC play on Thursday, hosting Arkansas (9-18, 2-10) at 7 p.m. ET. UConn travels to Seton Hall (17-7, 9-4) for a Big East matchup on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.