South Carolina ends UConn's perfect season, advances to title game

PHOENIX -- Ta'Niya Latson had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced South Carolina attack, and the Gamecocks stunned undefeated and top-seeded UConn 62-48 in the NCAA Women's Final Four on Friday.

"I knew I had to impact the game in any way I could," Latson said. "I wanted this win. Whether that was rebounding, scoring, assisting, I was going to do what I had to do. The balls were coming my way, so I had to grab 'em and snag 'em."

Agot Makeer scored 14 points, Joyce Edwards had 11 and Tessa Johnson added 10 for the Gamecocks (36-3), who avenged an 82-59 loss to the Huskies in the 2025 national championship game.

The Gamecocks will play for their fourth national championship and third in five seasons on Sunday against UCLA, which beat Texas 51-44 in the second semifinal. South Carolina completed a 38-0 season with an 87-75 victory over Iowa in the 2024 title game.

"This is my why," Latson said. "This is why I came to South Carolina."

National player of the year Sarah Strong had 12 points and 12 rebounds, Ashlynn Shade scored 10 points and Azzi Fudd had eight points and five assists for the Huskies (38-1), who had a 54-game winning streak broken.

Strong's 3-pointer, her first points in the second half, closed the deficit to 51-47 with 4:39 remaining, but South Carolina scored the next 11 points to pull away.

Strong shot 4 of 16 from the field against a sticky South Carolina defense that pressured the perimeter. Fudd was 3 of 15. The Gamecocks limited UConn to 31.1% shooting and outshot the Huskies 45.8% to 22.6% in the second half.

"Yeah, I just thought that we made it real difficult for them to get clean looks," South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. "We made them put the ball on the floor. That's disruption to UConn, because they're a passing team, they like to assist. They did get 15 assists on 19 field goals. If they're allowed to play that way throughout an entire game, they win.

Advertisement

"I thought our players just locked in once we built a little lead, and we got suggestions from coaches as to should we change our defense, start switching everything."

UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, "I think, and we do this a lot, the more defensive pressure you try to put on the other team's best player, you are hoping that there is a level of frustration a little bit and it starts to affect the way they play."

Latson made six free throws in the final 1:45 and UConn missed 11 of its last 12 field-goal attempts.

Auriemma and Staley were seen having a heated exchange on the sideline as the clock wound down, but neither offered much additional clarity on the situation following the game.

"You can ask Geno the question, he's the one that initiated the conversation," Staley said in the postgame presser. "I don't want what happened to dampen what we were able to accomplish today."

Auriemma told ESPN that Staley "rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referees some names you don't wanna hear."

After the Huskies held a 26-24 halftime lead, the Gamecocks opened the second half on a 12-2 run for a 12-point lead, the largest deficit UConn had faced all year. All but one of the Huskies' wins were by at least 10 points.

Latson made a pair of free throws for a 40-30 lead with 3:09 left in the third.

Consecutive 3-pointers by Kayleigh Heckel, Blanca Quinonez and Fudd brought UConn within 40-39 with 1:10 left in the quarter, but the Huskies were never closer. The Huskies had made 1 of 11 3-point tires before that and finished 6 of 21. The Gamecocks led 44-39 after three.

--Jack Magruder, Field Level Media

byAdministrator

in

07:06

South Carolina ends UConn's perfect season, advances to title game

PHOENIX -- Ta'Niya Latson had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced South Carolina attack, and the Gamecock...

Read More

'What are you doing dude?': Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation

The UConn women's basketball program came into the2026 Final Fouras a sizable favorite to take home its second national championship in as many years.

Instead, the Huskies left Phoenix empty-handed after the national semifinals.

Burdened by an uncharacteristically cold shooting night in which it made just 19 of its 61 field goal attempts (31%), including a 4-of-16 showing from national player of the year Sarah Strong, coachGeno Auriemma's team saw its perfect season come to an end in a 62-48 loss to fellow No. 1 seedSouth Carolinain the national semifinals on Friday, April 3.

The Final Four matchup between South Carolina and UConn was played with intensity throughout, with emotions building as the game reached its closing stretch.

That tension surfaced late as the outcome was decided, leading to visible reactions and an exchange between two of women's basketball's most prominent coaches.

Above, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley react during the second half of the 2026 Women's Final Four semifinal at Mortgage Matchup Center.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks and head coach Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies exchange words 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.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma bring intensity to SC‑UConn. See photos

The Final Four matchup between South Carolina and UConn was played with intensity throughout, withemotions building as the game reached its closing stretch.That tension surfaced late as the outcome was decided, leading to visible reactions and an exchange between two of women's basketball's most prominent coaches.Above, UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma and South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley react during the second half of the 2026 Women's Final Four semifinal at Mortgage Matchup Center.

REQUIRED READING:Geno Auriemma rants about South Carolina fouls: 'Been beating the (expletive) out of our guys'

The loss snapped a 54-game win streak for the Huskies, which is tied for the fourth-longest run in Division I women's basketball history. UConn had won its first 38 games this season by an average of 37.8 points, with only one of those victories decided by fewer than 13 points.

Advertisement

The victory came with a measure of revenge for coach Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks, who lost to UConn 82-59 in the national championship game last season.

Despite the comfortable margin of victory for South Carolina, there were some fireworks after the game when Auriemma and Staley got into a heated exchange while shaking hands at the end of regulation. The interaction happened with a few tenths of a second remaining. Once the horn officially sounded and the game came to an end, Auriemma was already walking back to his team's locker room.

Auriemma had complained about the officiating during an interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe earlier in the game, which included a shot at Staley, who he said "rants and raves on the sideline" and "calls the referees "some names you don't want to hear."

Here's a sampling of what people were saying on social media about the war or words between the two Philadelphia natives:

Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation after UConn-South Carolina

byAdministrator

in

07:06

'What are you doing dude?': Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley altercation

The UConn women's basketball program came into the2026 Final Fouras a sizable favorite to take home its second nation...

Read More

UK police investigate after officers left guns outside mayor’s home

LONDON (AP) — London police are urgently investigating how armed protection officers guardingMayor Sadiq Khanleft a bag of guns outside his home.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement late Friday that five officers had been removed from front-line duties while inquiries were being carried out.

The weapons cache, which according to The Sun newspaper included an MP5 semiautomatic Heckler & Koch ­carbine, a Glock pistol, Taser and ammunition, were found in south London Tuesday by a couple, who then informed the Metropolitan Police.

Scaffolder Jordan Griffiths told the newspaper that his girlfriend found the bag by the curbside and said that he was in "shock" after discovering what was inside.

Advertisement

"I could not believe my eyes and took some pictures as proof of what we had found," he said. "I called the police and told them what I had found and within a few minutes they turned up to collect the guns."

The police Directorate of Professional Standards is reviewing what happened and confirmed that five officers have been removed from front-line duties.

"We are urgently reviewing the circumstances of this incident and recognize the concern it may cause," it said in a statement. "At this stage it is believed the bag was misplaced by on-duty officers a short time before the member of the public located it."

A spokesperson for the mayor said the police "must now take all steps to ensure an incident like this never occurs again."

byAdministrator

in

06:34

UK police investigate after officers left guns outside mayor’s home

LONDON (AP) — London police are urgently investigating how armed protection officers guardingMayor Sadiq Khanleft a bag o...

Read More

Floods, landslides triggered by heavy rain in Afghanistan leave 77 dead in 10 days, authorities say

KABUL, Afghanisan (AP) — Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered byheavy rain and stormsacross Afghanistan have left 77 people dead and 137 injured over the past 10 days, the country's Disaster Management Authority said Saturday.

Afghanistan Severe Weather

More rain has been forecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authority warned the public to stay away from river banks and areas prone to flooding.

So far this year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable toextreme weather events.Earlier this year, heavy snowfall and flash floodsleft dozens of people deadacross the country.

The recent toll includes 26 people killed over the past 48 hours, the disaster authority said. Overall, 793 homes have been completely destroyed and a further 2,673 have been damaged, while floods and landslides have destroyed 337 kilometers (about 210 miles) of roads, it said.

Businesses, agricultural land, water wells and irrigation canals have also been damaged, with more than 5,800 families affected overall, the authority said.

Several highways connecting the country's capital to the provinces have also been damaged by floods and landslides, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach Kabul, Public Works Ministry spokesman Ashraf Haqshinas said Saturday.

Advertisement

They include the Kabul to Jalalabad highway, which is the main route linking the capital to the Pakistani border and eastern Afghan provinces. A landslide and rockfalls, as well as flooding, shut the highway on Thursday morning, and Haqshinas said crews were working to re-open the road.

The Public Works Ministry warned travelers to be cautious when using roads in affected areas.

Flooding has also shut the Salang Pass, a high mountain pass in the Hindu Kush mountain range that connects Kabul to the country's north, including the major cities of Kunduz and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Snow and heavy rain often trigger flash floods that kill scores, or even hundreds, of people at a time in Afghanistan. In 2024,more than 300 people diedin springtime flash floods.

Elena Becatoros contributed from Kabul, Afghanistan.

byAdministrator

in

06:34

Floods, landslides triggered by heavy rain in Afghanistan leave 77 dead in 10 days, authorities say

KABUL, Afghanisan (AP) — Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered byheavy rain and stormsacross Af...

Read More

Appeals court confirms prison sentences for 3 ex-Grenoble rugby players for rape

ANGOULEME, France (AP) — Three former Grenoble rugby players serving time for the rape of a 20-year-old student in 2017 have lost an appeal against their convictions and prison sentences.

An appeals court in France on Saturday re-imposed the original sentences of prison terms up to 14 years.

Irishman Denis Coulson and Frenchman Loïck Jammes were sentenced to 14 years in prison, and New Zealand's Rory Grice to 12 years.

The victim had lodged a complaint in March 2017 following Grenoble's match in the southwestern French city of Bordeaux. According to French media reports, she said she had met the players during an alcohol-fueled night and was raped in a hotel in the outskirts of Bordeaux.

Advertisement

A court sentenced the men to prison in December 2024, and all three have been in prison since. They claimed that the sexual encounter had been consensual.

"To reach the same decision as in the first instance, the court and the jurors took into account the seriousness of the facts," said the court presiding judge, Marie-Dominique Boulard-Paoloni, as quoted by L'Equipe newspaper. "We also considered the absence of any notable change compared to the previous decision. You now have ten days to lodge an appeal in cassation."

Lawyers for the defendants said they would appeal to the Court of Cassation, France's highest court of the judicial order.

AP rugby:https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

byAdministrator

in

05:06

Appeals court confirms prison sentences for 3 ex-Grenoble rugby players for rape

ANGOULEME, France (AP) — Three former Grenoble rugby players serving time for the rape of a 20-year-old student in 2017 h...

Read More