South Carolina dominates UConn to win National Championship: NCAA basketball media reacts
The South Carolina Gamecocks bested UConn to win the Women’s National Championship, prompting the media to heap praise on Dawn Staley and company.
South Carolina was a putback away from going to the national title game last year. This year, they made it and played like they had a year’s worth of emotion to unleash on the UConn Huskies.
The Gamecocks jumped out to a big lead over the Huskies in the first quarter, leading 22-8 at the break. They never let up and saw off a couple of comeback attempts to secure their championship with a 64-49 victory.
The NCAA basketball media had plenty of things to say about South Carolina’s epic run to a title.
South Carolina dominates UConn to win National Championship
And that’s it. South Carolina wins it. Destanni Henderson with the huge game to make this possible. Dawn Staley stays undefeated in national finals, and the player of the year Aliyah Boston gets a ring.
— Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) April 4, 2022
What we're seeing tonight is what we already knew - no one player can do it all by themself. This isn't a slight at anyone but rather just the pure fact that USC is loaded with talent across the roster, put their egos aside and embraced their roles. This is special to watch.
— Mike Uva (@Mike_Uva) April 4, 2022
Such an impressive win by South Carolina. They were more physical and aggressive than UConn, and led from start to finish. Congrats to @dawnstaley for winning her second national title.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 4, 2022
Dawn Staley becomes the first Black coach in men’s or women’s Division I basketball history to win multiple national championships with South Carolina’s 64-49 win over UCONN pic.twitter.com/VvG1lyy32t
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) April 4, 2022
Congratulations to @dawnstaley and the South Carolina Gamecocks on their NCAA Division I Women’s basketball national title. I truly believe that if Staley ever becomes interested, she could be the first women’s head coach in the NBA. Wizards had interest before hiring Unseld, Jr. pic.twitter.com/SDwxzbrkDe
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) April 4, 2022
Congrats to South Carolina and Dawn Staley! National Champions and a dominating performance tonight 💪🏽
— Joy Taylor (@JoyTaylorTalks) April 4, 2022
South Carolina wins their 2nd National Championship.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 4, 2022
They finish with 35 wins, the most in SC history.
UConn finished with 49 points, their 2nd-fewest ever in a NCAA Tournament game. pic.twitter.com/nyN6THP6Yu
Per @ESPNStatsInfo: South Carolina's Aliyah Boston finished the tournament averaging 16.8 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 4, 2022
She's the first player to average 15 PPG and 15 RPG in the tournament for a national champion
https://twitter.com/JaMorant/status/1510795716242903059
Staley took over the Gamecocks in 2008 and has lifted the program to prominence. They won a national title in 2017 and made it to the Final Four in 2021 as a No. 1 seed.
They were the best team in women’s college basketball for most of the season and earned another No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament.
March Madness started with a 79-21 victory over No. 16 Howard. Then they dispatched No. 8 Miami, 49-33. A tighter matchup with No. 5 North Carolina followed in the Sweet 16 but they made it through 69-61.
In the Elite Eight, South Carolina faced No. 10 Creighton and rolled 80-50. They didn’t give No. 1 Louisville a chance in the Final Four, winning 72-59.
UConn may have been the lower-seeded team, but Geno Auriemma’s record of 11-0 in championship games made the Huskies a tricky opponent.
Destiny Henderson went off with 26 points, four assists and three steals on the night. Player of the Year Alijah Boston grabbed 16 rebounds and had two blocks to go along with 11 points.
UConn star Paige Pueckers led her side with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Next. 25 biggest heroes in March Madness history. dark
For more NCAA basketball news, analysis, opinion and features, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.