Final Four 2026: South Carolina stifles, stuns UConn to end Huskies' undefeated season short of a championship; tensions boil over late

There will be no undefeated season or back-to-back national championship for UConn.

South Carolina stifled UConn’s prolific offense Friday night to stun the Huskies for a tense, 62-48 win in the Final Four.

When the game ended, those tensions boiled over as UConn coach Geno Auriemma shared heated words with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley in the handshake line and eventually had to be pulled away from her.

Auriemma was previously furious with what he described as South Carolina’s physical play and how the game was being officiated. He told ESPN during a game break before the fourth quarter that “they’ve been beating the s*** out of our guys down there the entire game.”

Then came the end-of-game exchange.

Staley talks about exchange with Auriemma

After the game, Staley shared her side of the exchange with ESPN.

“I have no idea,” she said of Auriemma’s part of the exchange. “But I’mma let you know this, I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did.

“I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know — I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand. I don’t know what he came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on. …

“I’m super proud of our kids, I’m not going to let any incident take away from the performance on the floor.”

Auriemma and Staley did, in fact, share a pregame handshake and pat on the back.

Auriemma was upset about another moment before tip in which he stood near the scorer’s table by himself, apparently expecting another handshake from Staley.

“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and have been, I dunno, to 30, 25 Final Fours,” he said in his postgame news conference. “And the protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt. Two coaches meet at halfcourt, and they shake hands. …

“I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”

As for what he said to Staley in the handshake line, Auriemma told reporters this:

“I said what I had to say,” Auriemma said in his postgame news conference of the exchange. “And nothing, nothing.”

Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma exchange words in the end-of-game handshake line.

(C. Morgan Engel via Getty Images)UConn’s undefeated dreams come crashing down

As for the game itself, South Carolina advanced to Sunday’s national championship with the win and avenges last year’s 82-59 loss to UConn in the national title game that extinguished its own back-to-back title hopes. The Gamecocks will now play for their third national title in five seasons.

UConn, meanwhile, sees its season end at 38-1 with its first loss after entering the NCAA tournament on a 54-game win streak as the heavy favorite to win the championship. But a team coached by a three-time NCAA champion in Staley and led by a pair of players from their 2024 championship roster in Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson proved to be UConn’s foil.

South Carolina rides all-time defensive effort to upset

South Carolina secured the win with a balanced offensive attack and a defense that smothered the Huskies, holding them to their lowest scoring output of the season.

UConn entered Friday’s game having posted its two lowest-scoring games of the season in Sweet 16 and Elite Eight wins over North Carolina and Notre Dame. The Huskies rode their own overwhelming defense to win both of those games comfortably.

But South Carolina’s defense was on another level Friday night as neither of UConn’s All-Americans, Sarah Strong or Azzi Fudd could get any sort of offensive rhythm. South Carolina’s aggressive defense had UConn off balance early and throughout the game and ultimately prompted Auriemma’s complaints about officiating.

But Auriemma’s protests were to no avail as South Carolina continued to control the game through the final buzzer.

Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong shut down

The game left the first quarter tied at 15 as South Carolina held UConn well below its season-long scoring pace of 87.9 points per game. UConn didn’t reach 15 points again in any of the game’s remaining three quarters — scoring just nine in the fourth.

Fudd, who averaged 17.5 points per game and shot 45.5% from 3 this season, missed her first three shots. She didn’t score her first bucket until a floater in the paint with 2:26 remaining in the first half.

Fudd finished the game with 8 points and 5 assists while shooting 3 of 15 from the field and 2 of 9 from 3.

While Fudd struggled, Strong paced the UConn offense early and led the Huskies with 8 points and 6 rebounds at halftime. But South Carolina clamped down on the National Player of the Year after halftime.

Strong didn’t score her first bucket of the second half until a 3 in the game’s final five minutes. She finished the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 4 of 16 from the floor and 2 of 5 from 3.

Raven Johnson disrupts UConn while defending multiple positions

Raven Johnson, a 5-foot-9 guard and South Carolina’s top defensive stopper, defended both Fudd and Strong at different points of the game, frustrating both. Strong, 6-2, struggled to find position in the post when Johnson guarded her.

Johnson’s effort set the tone for the entire South Carolina defense, which limited UConn to 31% shooting from the floor, 29% (6 of 21) shooting from 3 and did so without fouling, sending the Huskies to the line for just six free throws (4 of 6). A Gamecocks unit that finished fifth in the nation in rebounding margin dominated the glass with a 47-32 advantage on the boards.

The result was holding UConn to 40 points below its season scoring average and 15 points below its previous lowest scoring output from a 63-42 win over North Carolina in the Sweet 16. This was a UConn team that won by an average of 36.1 points per game during its 54-game win streak dating back to last season.

Raven Johnson's defense on Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong set the tone for South Carolina's win.

Raven Johnson’s defense on Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong set the tone for South Carolina’s win.

(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / REUTERS)

A two-time NCAA champion and All-America selection, Raven Johnson didn’t do much on offense while posting 2 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. Outside of her 2 steals and 1 block, her impact on the game was largely unrecorded in the box score. But it was undeniable.

Ta’Niya Latson, who joined South Carolina as a senior transfer from Florida State to compete for a championship, led the Gamecocks with 16 points and 11 rebounds. She’s now one win away from achieving that goal.

Joyce Edwards added 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Gamecocks. Agot Makeer tallied 14 points and 4 rebounds off the bench while accounting for South Carolina’s only two made 3s of the night. She hit both of her attempts as the Gamecocks shot 2 of 6 from long distance, focusing their offensive efforts inside.

South Carolina advances to take on fellow No. 1 seed UCLA from Friday’s other national semifinal.

Live coverage is over42 updates

Fri, April 3, 2026 at 4:11 PM PDT

Fri, April 3, 2026 at 6:16 PM PDT

Ian Casselberry

UConn’s undefeated season ends after going 38-0. In their 39th game, the Huskies lost to South Carolina in the Final Four, 62-48.

Ta’Niya Latson led the Gamecocks with 16 points, sinking 10-of-10 free throws, with 11 rebounds. Agot Makeer followed with 14 points off the bench, hitting both of her 3-point tries.

UConn was led by Sarah Strong’s 12 points, but she shot 4-of-16 from the floor. She also grabbed 12 rebounds. But Strong only scored four points in the second half. Ashlynn Shade added 10 points.

But the postgame talk will likely focus on the spat between head coaches Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley. Staley thought that Auriemma might have been sore over not shaking hands before the game. But video doesn’t support that, so there may be more to it.

Final Four 2026: South Carolina stifles, stuns UConn to end Huskies’ undefeated season short of a championship; tensions boil over late

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