Collegiate Sports

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South Carolina overwhelms UConn to win second national championship
Jason Owens
Jason Owens
Sun, April 3, 2022, 10:14 PM

UConn made a great run to get to Sunday's national championship game. When it arrived, it ran into a buzzsaw.

South Carolina overwhelmed UConn on defense and the glass en route to a 64-49 win to earn the NCAA women's national championship. The victory spoiled the Minneapolis homecoming of UConn star Paige Bueckers while handing head coach Geno Auriemma his first championship game loss after winning each of the previous 11 he coached with the Huskies.

Head coach Dawn Staley, meanwhile, collects hers and South Carolina's second championship in two trips to the title game since 2017. Senior guard Destanni Henderson saved her best game for last while pacing the Gamecocks with a career-high 26 points to lead the South Carolina offense.

Dominant early run sets tone for South Carolina
South Carolina set the tone early, opening the game on a 13-2 run.
When the first quarter ended, the Gamecocks led 22-8 while holding a 12-3 rebounding advantage. UConn’s three leading scorers — Christyn Williams, Bueckers and Azzi Fudd — were held scoreless in the stanza.

South Carolina extended its lead to 30-12 early in the second quarter, ensuring that UConn would have to make a historic rally to win its 12th championship. The largest deficit overcome in a national title game was 15 points by Notre Dame in 2018. UConn fought back with a 9-0 run in the second quarter and a 10-0 run in the third to stop the game from becoming a complete runaway. But the historic rally never materialized.

South Carolina didn't let UConn within six points of the lead.

https://sports.yahoo.com/south-carolina-overwhelms-u-conn-to-win-second-national-championship-021410813.html