South Carolina’s quest for back-to-back titles came up short after the team suffered a blowout loss against the UConn Huskies in the championship game. 

The Gamecocks defeated Texas in their national semifinal match before losing in the title game. Against the Huskies, the Gamecocks were dominated on both ends of the court, and nothing they did slowed UConn down. 

“Our kids gave it all they had,” head coach Dawn Staley said after the game. “When you've been on the other side of that three times, you understand it. You can swallow it. We lost to a very, very good basketball team.” 

The loss marks the end of another long season of gamecock basketball that saw many highs and moments of triumph. The team qualified for its fifth consecutive Final Four, won the SEC regular season and tournament titles and reached the 30-win mark for the 10th time in 12 years. 

South Carolina advanced through the tournament and earned a trip to the Final Four after winning a couple of close contests against Indiana, Maryland and Duke. 

The Gamecocks would be joined in Tampa, Florida by the only three teams to beat them this year, Texas, UCLA and UConn. The team played Texas for a fourth time this season in the national semifinal. 

Texas and South Carolina split their regular season meetings, with each team winning on its home floor. The third meeting came in the SEC championship game, which South Carolina dominated. 

This fourth and final meeting had the most at stake. A trip to the national championship was on the line, and with two teams so familiar with each other facing off, there were not many surprises throughout the game. 

South Carolina held a slim lead at halftime but really opened the game up in the third quarter after outscoring the Longhorns 20-9. 

“I think depth really plays a part in our success. I can't go back to all the times that we've played them, but I'm pretty sure that depth played a part today. And depth played a part in the games that we played this season,” Staley said. “And I think we do a really good job on Booker just because we've got bodies to throw at her.” 

South Carolina held Texas star Madison Booker to 11 points on 5-11 shooting. It was Booker’s lowest-scoring output of the tournament and the third time this season the gamecocks held her under her season average. 

On the flip side, the Gamecocks' offense was also clicking. The team was outshooting Texas 51% to 39%. Seven players scored at least five points and the team had 35 points off the bench. 

Te-Hina Paopao led the way with 14 points. Freshman Joyce Edwards finished with a double-double, scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Gamecocks would not get a rematch against UCLA after losing to the Bruins in November. UConn knocked UCLA out of the tournament with an 85-51 win. 

In their previous meeting, UConn buried South Carolina 87-58. While the score to the second game appears to tell a similar story, Staley said the two matches were very different. 

“The game plan was being executed in the first half. We just couldn't get the looks that we normally make. If we just made layups, you might be able to make it a little bit more interesting,” Staley said. “Although the score may be very similar in the results, I thought we had better execution on what we wanted to do.”

The Gamecocks successfully ran UConn off the three-point line and forced the Huskies inside. UConn’s big three of Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd was just too much to overcome as they combined for 65 of UConn’s 82 points. 

The loss marked the final game for a historic class of Gamecock seniors. Bree Hall and Sania Feagin spent their entire career in a Gamecock uniform and leave as two of the winningest players in program history. 

Hall and Feagin have been a part of four final four appearances, two national championships and 144 wins, including 71-straight at home. 

It was also the last game for Paopao and Sakima Walker, who transferred into the program. 

“No other college women's college basketball student-athlete has what they have, experienced what they've experienced, won as much as they've won,” Staley said. “That's championships and that's games.”

The Gamecocks will now transition into the off-season mode and look at rebuilding for another shot at a championship next year. The team could see many returning faces, including MiLaysia Fulwiley, Chloe Kitts, Raven Johnson and Edwards. 

After the loss, Staley said she hopes those players learn from this moment and come back motivated to do better. 

“I hope they're boo-hooing because from crying they have emotion about losing, makes you work hard in the offseason. Makes you look at it and really analyze what the separation is from their program and our program and how we close the gap with that,” Staley said. “They're very talented, and I think they got a great experience of playing at this level. I hope they have a desire to get back here and do all the things it takes to play in the national championship game and to deliver the blows that's needed to win.”