PHOENIX, AZ — Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks finally got over the speed bump of UConn, but had another obstacle in the way of capturing their fourth title in program history and that was UCLA.
The Bruins handed South Carolina another embarrassing loss in the championship game for a second consecutive season. The Gamecocks gave the Huskies a lesson in defense on Friday, April 3rd in their Final Four matchup. They were able to hold UConn to just 29% shooting from the three-point line and 31% from the field en route to handing them their only loss of the season. The defensive effort sent the Huskies legendary head coach Geno Auriemma into a ‘crash out’ on national television during the post game handshake between him and Staley.
Unfortunately, that defensive effort didn’t carry over into Sunday’s game for the Gamecocks and their offense struggled. They scored just 10 points as a team in the first quarter and found themselves trailing by 13 points at halftime and as many as 35 points in the game.
Ta’Niya Latson was looked at to be the answer to their offensive struggles that plagued them against the Huskies in both of their games in 2025, but she, along with the rest of the Gamecocks, couldn’t figure it out in Sunday’s loss. Staley stated that they were ‘smacked’ and need to figure out a way to ‘smack back.’ Was that a call for help that maybe in the transfer portal or was that another way of Staley challenging her locker room this offseason?
Of course, we won’t know until this fall but we do know Staley has a way of getting the best out of her talent and the Gamecocks will be back. Despite the tough loss, this season was their sixth consecutive trip to the Final Four, dating back since 2021, and third consecutive appearance in the national title game. They will lose senior point guard Raven Johnson, but Latson has another year of eligibility and will bring in three players ranked in the top 25 of the 2026 recruiting class. That class features no.3 overall shooting guard Jerzy Robinson.
Also, Tessa Johnson, Joyce Edwards and freshman standout Agot Makeer will all be returning alongside Chloe Kitts who missed the entire 2025-26 season due to a knee injury. Edwards led the team in scoring this season with 19.2 ppg while Latson and Tessa made the all-Final Four team. It’s never easy losing a championship, but Staley and South Carolina’s future is once again bright and she handled her loss with class unlike Auriemma.
“I’m always happy for people that worked hard in this game, who are really quality people,” Staley said. “I want good things to happen for them. Cori is one of those people who really works at making our game better. Not just UCLA, but our entire game.”
Now, South Carolina will turn the page on the 2025-26 season and look forward to a 2026-27 season to remember and possibly bring back that fourth title to Columbia. In the meantime, it will be no easy task replacing Raven. She will leave the Gamecocks second in all-time wins, two-time national champion, third all-time in assists and fifth all-time in steals in program history. Then, there is the intangibles that she would take with her such as her positive attitude, leadership and ability to do whatever it takes to win including guard a 6-foot-2 post player in the Final Four.
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