How South Carolina beat UConn to win the National Championship: Women's NCAA Live Updates
Summary
No. 1 seed South Carolina controlled the game from the start to beat No. 2 seed UConn for a 64-49 win to secure the national championship.
Coach Dawn Staley earned her second championship in five tournaments, becoming the first Black coach in men’s or women’s Division I basketball history to win multiple national championships. This is Geno Auriemma's first championship loss, dropping him to 11-1 in national title games.
Destanni Henderson led all scorers with 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting, while national Player of the Year Aliyah Boston finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds for her 29th double-double of the season. The Gamecocks never trailed and outrebounded UConn 49-24.
Paige Bueckers finished with 14 points, shooting 6 of 13 from the field. She was the only member of the Huskies to reach double-digits.
All that's left for college basketball is No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 8 North Carolina on the men's side. Follow our updates here.
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
How Destanni Henderson led South Carolina to a title
MINNEAPOLIS — Exactly five rungs up the ladder brought 5-foot-7 Destanni Henderson eye-to-eye with the rim and a net that was practically begging to be cut.
So much had come easily for Henderson all night — or, rather, she had made it look easy, as career nights tend to seem — that the moment required a double-take, as bystanders beheld a most unlikely sight. She was … struggling. She didn’t know what to do. Henderson started to trim one piece of string and then hesitated, needing further instruction from South Carolina director of player development Freddy Ready, who at one point jumped up to physically touch the specific strand that she should cut. After some helpful pointers, she finally snipped off a nice chunk, put the net on her wrist like a bracelet and climbed back down.
It felt, dare we say it, like destiny. How else do you explain a senior playing the best game of her life, scoring a career-high 26 points in the biggest game of her life to win a national championship? No one gets storybook endings like that, not in real life. Right?
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Is South Carolina starting dynasty?
Aliyah Boston says yes. Her coach says that's just because she's in the "social media" age. Not in her day.
"Look at the tradition of UConn," Staley says. "They're the standard. If it takes winning 11 national championships to be a dynasty, I'm probably going to fall short enough because I'm not going to be (in coaching long enough)."
Staley is 2-0 in national championship games.
This season's net
Dawn Staley famously cut up pieces of her last championship net and mailed them to every Black female coach in the nation.
She carried the piece of her 2017 net in her pocket at Sunday's championship game. She said this year she might send pieces of the net to Black male coaches of women's basketball teams and Black journalists.
South Carolina wins the national championship
South Carolina never trailed in the national championship game to beat UConn 64-49 Sunday night at the Target Center.
The championship is the second title for coach Dawn Staley in five tournaments, taking the trophy home to Columbia S.C. after coming up short in last season's Final Four.
Destanni Henderson led all scorers with 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting, while national Player of the Year Aliyah Boston finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds for her 29th double-double of the season.
Henderson's defense was also key on UConn star Paige Bueckers, who scored 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting in front of a sellout crowd in her home state.
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Ja Morant shoutout
Another player who got buckets in the NCAA Tournament took notice of Destanni Henderson. She has a career high 26 points.
Gamecocks lead 46-37 heading into fourth quarter
Carolina Ducharme has made an impact as the Huskies closed an 18-point gap to trail only 46-37 heading into the final quarter.
The freshman hit a key 3-pointer and has seven points with a steal in 14 minutes of action. This is the most she's played in the tournament. She leads her team with a plus-9 for the impact she's having on the court.
Comeback?
UConn's on a 10-0 run, causing South Carolina to call a timeout as the Huskies trail 43-37.
Carolina Ducharme and Evina Westbrook hit 3-pointers to help close the gap. South Carolina led by 18 points in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks haven't scored in nearly four minutes with four turnovers in that span.
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UConn eats into South Carolina lead
South Carolina leads UConn at halftime.
The Gamecocks led by as many as 18 points in the first half, dominating on the glass to collect 17 second-chance points.
They ended the half much cooler, hitting only one of their last 10 shots.
Destanni Henderson leads the Gamecocks with 11 points, while Paige Bueckers has nine for UConn.
UConn looking for answers
Geno Auriemma subbed in freshman Amari DeBarry, who has played in only 15 games this season.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa has two fouls and Dorka Juhasz is out with injury.
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South Carolina leads UConn 22-8 at end of first quarter
The Gamecocks are controlling the boards and every facet of the game.
They lead UConn 22-8 behind eight points from Zia Cooke. Aliyah Boston has five points and three rebounds. South Carolina is crashing the boards with a 12-3 edge there, including a 7-0 offensive rebounding advantage.
Paige Bueckers is scoreless through the first quarter for UConn.