South Carolina was this close to repeating as women's college basketball national champions. But in the end, Dawn Staley's dynamic group simply couldn't overcome Geno Auriemma's Connecticut Huskies to go back-to-back.
In fact, other than perhaps the opening tip and first few minutes, Sunday's 82-59 national title game loss to UConn was never all that competitive.
Such is life. Such is sports.
Arguably, the biggest reason South Carolina couldn't make it a more competitive affair was its struggling offense. The Gamecocks shot just 34.4 percent from the field and only 25 percent from 3-point land. Eleven sloppy turnovers didn't help matters as a focused UConn took advantage and took South Carolina apart in the process. It sure felt like the Gamecocks just ran out of steam at the worst time.
At the start of the fourth quarter, you could start to tell Staley was resigned to the first national title game defeat of her coaching career. When ESPN's Holly Rowe asked how South Carolina could fix its offense to attempt a rally, Staley sounded exasperated, claiming she didn't really have an answer or see an easy remedy mid-game for her group.
Oof:
Holly Rowe: "Who else can score for you right now? Where do those points come from?"
— Jennifer X. Williams (@JenXperience) April 6, 2025
Dawn Staley: "I don't know."#NCAAWBBpic.twitter.com/k1K45K7ook
When the opposing coach is talking like that, you know you've done something right if you were in the position UConn was in.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Dawn Staley had confusing answer about South Carolina's offense in loss to UConn
