Final Four: UConn’s perfect season ended by South Carolina, 62-48
Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd combined for just 20 points on 9-29 shooting in the loss.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - APRIL 03: Azzi Fudd #35 of the UConn Huskies drives to the basket between Tessa Johnson #5 and Raven Johnson #25 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the fourth quarter in the Final Four of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 03, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images UConn’s perfect season is over. On Friday, the Huskies fell to the 1-seed South Carolina Gamecocks 62-48 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
South Carolina shut down UConn’s two stars. Sarah Strong finished with 12 points on 4-16 shooting to go with 12 rebounds while Azzi Fudd only had eight points on 3-15 shooting in her final collegiate game. Ashlynn Shade stepped up with 10 points, but it wasn’t enough.
The Huskies were dominated down low. South Carolina had a 47-32 rebounding edge — 14-9 on the offensive glass — and outscored UConn 34-20 on points in the paint. The Gamecocks also went 18-22 at the line while the Huskies went just 4-6.
UConn only made five layups on 19 attempts. In the handshake line, Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley got into an altercation and needed to be separated by their respective coaching staffs. Since the final buzzer hadn’t yet sounded, the two sides returned to the bench and let the remaining time run off.