Minneapolis — Daybreak Staley hoisted the championship trophy excessive, strutted across the courtroom and stopped for a short victory dance. She handed over the hardware to South Carolina's pupil band, then headed again to midcourt for extra merriment.
The Gamecocks hit all the suitable notes this season, and so they completed with a masterpiece.
Staley's crew buttoned up on protection and dominated on the glass, beating UConn 64-49 on Sunday night time to finish the Huskies' undefeated streak in title video games. Destanni Henderson scored a career-high 26 factors, Aliyah Boston added 11 factors and 16 rebounds, and the Gamecocks handed Geno Auriemma's Huskies their first loss in 12 NCAA title video games.
"We performed each possession prefer it was our final possession," mentioned Staley, the primary Black males's or girls's coach with two Division I titles. "They have been decided to be champions as we speak."
A yr in the past, South Carolina misplaced within the Remaining 4 when Boston missed a layup earlier than the buzzer.
"Actually, I have been desirous about this since final season. Everybody had an image of me crying," mentioned Boston, who was the Most Excellent Participant of the Remaining 4. "In the present day, we're nationwide champions and I am in tears."
This was UConn's first journey to the championship sport since 2016, when the Huskies gained the final of 4 straight titles. Since then, the crew has suffered heartbreaking defeats within the nationwide semifinals, shedding twice in additional time, earlier than holding off Stanford on Friday night time. The Huskies have been attempting to win their twelfth title in the identical metropolis they gained their first one in 1995.
With Staley calling the pictures in a Louis Vuitton letterman jacket, South Carolina took UConn to high school on the boards and capped a wire-to-wire run because the No. 1 crew within the nation in The Related Press ballot. The Gamecocks additionally gained the championship in 2017 with A'ja Wilson main the best way.
This time it was Boston - the AP Participant of the Yr - and her fellow South Carolina publish gamers who dominated on the sport's greatest stage. The Gamecocks outrebounded UConn 49-24, together with a 21-6 benefit on offensive boards.
"We knew tonight that if we did not maintain our personal on the boards, that it was going to be a extremely dangerous night time for us,," Auriemma mentioned. "And that is precisely what occurred."
In addition they clamped down on star Paige Bueckers and the Huskies on protection, identical to they did all season lengthy.
"They deserved it 100%," Auriemma mentioned. "They have been the most effective crew all yr."
It was South Carolina's night time from the beginning. The Gamecocks (35-2) jumped to an 11-2 lead, grabbing practically each rebound on each ends of the ground. They led to 22-8 after one quarter, a lot to the delight of their followers, who made the journey to Minneapolis to be a part of the sellout crowd.
UConn (30-6) trailed by 16 within the second quarter earlier than Bueckers, a Minnesota native, acquired going. After having only one shot within the first quarter, she scored 9 factors within the second to get the Huskies inside 35-27 on the half. She completed with 14.
An 8-2 run to start out the third quarter put South Carolina up 43-29 earlier than the Huskies lastly began connecting from behind the arc. UConn missed its first eight 3-point makes an attempt till Caroline Ducharme made one from the wing and Evina Westbrook adopted with one other to get the Huskies inside 43-37.
That is as shut as they may get due to Henderson.
The senior guard had a three-point play to shut the third quarter after which had the crew's first 4 factors within the fourth to revive the double-digit lead. The Huskies could not get better.
"My teammates believed in me as soon as once more. We have been working so exhausting since Day 1, and it lastly paid off, all my exhausting work, all my focus," Henderson mentioned. "Me trusting the method. Me trusting God. She simply put me able simply to be nice, and as we speak, we nationwide champions."
Auriemma mentioned Saturday that when his crew had gained every of its 11 titles, the Huskies entered the sport as the higher crew. They definitely weren't on Sunday.
"We simply did not have sufficient," he mentioned. "They have been simply too good for us."
It had been probably the most difficult seasons of Auriemma's Corridor of Fame profession. UConn overcame shedding eight gamers for a minimum of two video games with harm or sickness, together with Bueckers, who missed practically three months with a left knee harm suffered in early December. She got here again in late February however wasn't on the similar stage that earned her AP Participant of the Yr as a freshman final season.