Women's hoops powers UConn, South Carolina meet again in Final Four

PHOENIX -- For South Carolina, familiarity breeds respect.

"UConn has been the standard in women's basketball for a very long time," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said Thursday, on the eve of another faceoff.

"When you have some traditionally rich program like that, it helps us all grow. It helps us all try to game plan and figure out ways to just measure ourselves up to them and then possibly beat them."

Staley and South Carolina (31-3) will have their next chance Friday, when the Gamecocks face undefeated UConn (38-0) in the semifinals of the NCAA Women's Final Four, where two of the game's very elite will meet.

UConn has won 54 straight games and is playing in its 25th Final Four.

The game will be a rematch of UConn's 82-59 blowout victory in the 2025 title game, when the Huskies won their 12th championship. UConn also rolled to an 87-58 regular-season win last season.

"This is a new South Carolina team we're playing, a new UConn team playing them," Huskies point guard and team leader Azzi Fudd said. "That experience playing them in the Final Four last year is helpful."

South Carolina also has some history to build on as it makes its sixth straight Final Four appearance, the second-longest streak in tournament history to, yes, UConn (14, 2008-22).

The Gamecocks beat the Huskies 64-49 in the 2022 championship game, one of their three banners since 2017. Since 2009, the teams have combined to win 10 of the 16 titles.

UConn and South Carolina are two of the four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four field, joining UCLA and Texas. UConn was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Top 25; South Carolina was fourth.

"Our two wins against them last year don't really mean anything," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, downplaying the past. "They've added some really key pieces. I think they're a much better team than they were last year."

South Carolina point guard Raven Johnson, playing in her fourth straight Final Four, guides a team that has five double-figure scorers, led by 6-foot-3 forward Joyce Edwards (19.7 ppg).

Edwards had 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in the Gamecocks' 78-52 dismantling of TCU in the Sacramento Region 4 final Monday. Edwards is averaging 20.5 points and 9.8 rebounds with two double-doubles in the tournament.

Transfers guard Ta'Niya Latson (14.4 points) and center Madina Okot (13.2 points, 10.8 rebounds) joined for a simple reason.

"This is something I came here for, to play in big games and big moments like this," said Latson, who spent the last three seasons at Florida State.

"Reaching the final Four for the first time, obviously I'm a little star struck. But I'm ready to go out there and compete."

Sarah Strong leads the Huskies with 18.6 points and 7.6 rebounds, while Fudd, entering her last Final Four, averages 17.5 points and 3.1 assists.

Strong had 21 points apiece in Fort Worth Region 1 wins over North Carolina and Notre Dame, and Fudd had 34 in a second-round win over Syracuse.

The Huskies have received significant contributions from reserve freshman guard Blanca Quinonez, in her first season in college after playing internationally. She averaged 10.0 points in the regular season but has bumped that to 17.3 in four tournament games.

"There are some freshmen you know whatever position you put them in, they have it," Auriemma said. "They have it mentally. They have it emotionally. You know the moment is not going to be too big for them. Then you just have to hope that they can do what you think they can do."

--Jack Magruder, Field Level Media