PHOENIX — Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in a familiar place, reaching the NCAA Tournament championship game for the fourth time in five years. They’ll have to beat a title-seeking newcomer in UCLA to win the ultimate prize.
South Carolina will be trying to win its fourth national championship in 10 years. The Gamecocks played stifling defense to knock off UConn 62-48 and end the defending champion Huskies’ 54-game winning streak in the Final Four on Friday night.
UCLA played incredible defense of its own in its 51-44 win over Texas. The Bruins spoiled a chance at the first all-SEC title game since 2017, when Staley’s team beat Mississippi State, which was led by current Texas coach Vic Schaefer. That victory was South Carolina’s first title and started the current run. The Gamecocks also won titles in 2022 and 2024.
South Carolina and UCLA have played each other many times over the last few seasons. UCLA coach Cori Close has been impressed with what Staley has built at South Carolina.
“Dawn does such a great job and is a standard-bearer in our sport,” Close said. “Thankful for what they’ve done, not just for South Carolina but for the game. We also are an incredibly competitive, confident group. I’m sure they are as well. All you can ask for is to play your best basketball for a national championship.”
The Bruins have been on a mission since losing to UConn in the Final Four last season. It was the Bruins’ first-ever trip to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. With most of the key players back from that team and a couple of new additions, UCLA ran through the regular season with the only loss in November to Texas in Las Vegas.
That loss was the only blemish the Bruins had this season, and they cruised to both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships.
Now, they’ll have a tall test with South Carolina, which put on a defensive clinic against UConn. The ending of that game was overshadowed by a dust-up between Staley and UConn coach Geno Auriemma as they were shaking hands with less than a second left. The coaches needed to be separated by their assistants.
Coming into the season Staley wasn’t sure about this team as they were dealing with injuries and trying to work in star transfer Ta’Niya Latson from Florida State. The country’s leading scorer last season just wanted to have a chance to win a national championship.
“This is why I came to South Carolina,” Latson said. “It was a personal sacrifice that I had to make. I know a lot of people don’t get that, they don’t understand my why. This is my why. This is why I came to South Carolina.”
Close and her team will try to hang a championship banner to go with the one the school won by taking the 1978 AIAW title, which was the postseason tournament for women’s basketball before the NCAA took over in 1982.
The Bruins are a veteran team, even though they have no championship game experience. UCLA’s starting five, led by center Lauren Betts, are all seniors or graduates.
