USC 62 — UConn 48 (Game Summary)
- Friday’s semifinal game was a rematch of last year’s national title contest won by UConn 82-59. It is the sixth straight “Final Four” in which the Gamecocks have reached, while the Huskies are participating in their 25th all time
- Carolina snapped UConn’s 54-game winning streak with the victory
- Raven Johnson picked up her 2nd PF (personal foul) at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter with the game tied at 15-15. USC was able to play the remainder of the half with Johnson on the bench and only trail 26-24 at the break.
- Joyce Edwards scored six first-half points for the Gamecocks and, in doing so, moved into first place at USC for the most points scored in a single season. Edwards, who finished the game with eleven, surpassed Katrina Anderson’s 754 points that Anderson scored during the 1977-78 season. For context, this was Edwards’ 38th game, while Anderson set the record in just 34 outings
- USC took over the lead in the third quarter, outscoring UConn 20-13 and grabbing as much as a ten-point advantage in the quarter. The deficit was the largest faced by the Huskies this season. UConn head coach Geno Auriemma took exception with the officials for not calling a foul against the Gamecocks in the third. He expressed his frustrations to ESPN during a between quarter interview by using some language that isn’t safe for work. Auriemma’s frustration may have been warranted as the Gamecocks were 18-of-22 from the free throw line, while UConn attempted just six free throws in the game
- The story of the night, USC’s defense, manifest itself in the fourth quarter as the Gamecocks were relentless on that end of the floor. UConn scored just nine points in the final quarter, shooting 2-of-14 (14%) from the field. The 48 points are the fewest the Huskies have scored in a game since they lost to the Gamecocks 64-49 in the 2022 National Championship game
- The rivalry between USC and UConn boiled over with a second remaining in the game, as the two coaches had a heated exchange on the sideline. Auriemma stormed off the court as the final horn sounded, not staying around for the postgame handshake.
- In his postgame comments to the media, Auriemma expressed his frustration with Coach Staley on the timing of the pregame handshake between the coaches
- USC finished the game on an 11-1 run to punch their ticket to Sunday’s national title matchup with UCLA at 3:30pm ET. The Bruins knocked off Texas 51-44 in the other National Semifinal on Friday night
I wish Dawn would have gone west Philly on Geno.