Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are on the losing end of history yet again. Though they got their revenge over Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies, the Gamecocks couldn’t avenge last year’s runner-up finish and lost in the NCAA Women’s Tournament National Championship Game once more. This time, it was in humiliating fashion, as the UCLA Bruins handed the Gamecocks one of the most lopsided defeats in a title game in college basketball history.
If there’s a silver lining, though, it’s the fact South Carolina avoided making history of the wrong kind. After the Gamecocks’ 28-point loss to the Bruins, the record for the biggest blowout in a national title game in women’s college basketball still belongs to the UConn Huskies, who defeated the Louisville Cardinals 93-60 (33-point difference) in the 2013 National Championship Game.
Regardless, Staley and the Gamecocks have now lost in back-to-back championship games, and they weren’t particularly close. Last season, South Carolina lost 82-59 (23-point margin) against UConn. Staley’s side has now been outscored by 51 points in its last two title game appearances in the NCAA.
Top 3 biggest losses in title game
Though Staley’s South Carolina avoided being on the wrong end of the worst defeat in the NCAA’s Women’s National Championship Game, it couldn’t escape the podium. The 28-point defeat at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, AZ is now the third biggest blowout in a title showdown.
Gabriela Jacques of UCLA celebrates
The Bruins’ victory is surpassed only by the Huskies’ 93–60 win over Louisville and 82–51 victory against Syracuse in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Had UCLA not taken its best players off the court in the final minutes, the final score might have been even more lopsided.
UCLA wins 1st NCAA title
Although UCLA had hoisted an AIAW national championship in 1978, its conquest over South Carolina meant the Bruins have cut down the nets of March Madness for the first time in school history. It was extra sweet for them, as the Bruins prevented the Gamecocks from hoisting their fourth national championship.
Hungry dogs run faster, and that was definitely the case, as the Bruins simply wouldn’t be denied in their pursuit of immortal glory. The program had gone through a valley, and how fitting that, in The Valley, UCLA touched the sky in NCAA Women’s Tournament history.
