For years, South Carolina has been the gold standard in women’s college basketball. But on Sunday, UConn turned back the clock and delivered a dominant 87-58 win, ending the Gamecocks’ 71-game home winning streak in shocking fashion.
The No. 7 Huskies handed No. 4 South Carolina its worst home loss since 2008, marking the biggest road win over a top-five team in Division I since 2009. UConn’s defense suffocated the reigning national champions while Azzi Fudd led the charge with a stellar 28-point performance.
“We got beat. We got beat bad,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley admitted. “No silver lining.”
UConn took control early, leading 45-23 at halftime—South Carolina’s largest home halftime deficit in five years—and never looked back. Fudd erupted in the third quarter, scoring 18 points, while the Huskies shot 13-for-28 from beyond the arc, a stark contrast to their previous struggles against ranked teams.
“They had their way with us,” senior Te-Hina Paopao said. “We just got punked.”
The Huskies didn’t just dominate from deep—they beat South Carolina at its own game, outrebounding them 48-29 and scoring 31 fast-break points. The Gamecocks, who suffered their first home loss since 2020, now face back-to-back setbacks after Texas snapped their SEC win streak just a week earlier.
For UConn, the victory was a much-needed statement after recent struggles against ranked opponents. “This has to be our standard from here on out,” Fudd said.
With the postseason looming, both teams now have something to prove—but for one night, UConn was back on top.
