UCLA was 0-20 against the nation’s No. 1 team. South Carolina hadn’t lost in 43 games. The Bruins ended both streaks Sunday.
One weekend in Los Angeles. Four of the best women’s college basketball teams in the country. Two upsets. And the longest winning streak in Division I snapped.
No. 6 Notre Dame beat third-ranked USC 74-61 on Saturday at the Galen Center.
Across town Sunday at Pauley Pavilion, No. 5 UCLA beat No. 1 South Carolina, ending the defending national champions‘ run of 43 consecutive victories. The Gamecocks hadn’t lost since March 31, 2023, to Iowa in the national semifinals.
UCLA (5-0) — which entered Sunday’s game 0-20 against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll — dominated the first half and led the Gamecocks (5-1) by 21 points at the break. The teams were more even in the second half, but South Carolina couldn’t erase the Bruins‘ comfortable lead.
It marked the Gamecocks‘ biggest loss since falling by 25 to eventual national champion Baylor in the 2019 Sweet 16. It also snapped South Carolina’s 33-game road winning streak, which dated to December 2021.
What did the Bruins do best to get their big win, what went wrong for the Gamecocks and who will be the new No. 1 team in Monday’s Associated Press poll?
There really wasn’t any aspect of Sunday’s game that UCLA didn’t do better than South Carolina. The Bruins were strong on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 41-34. And they shut down the Gamecocks‘ inside offense. Starting forwards Chloe Kitts and Sania Feagin were a combined 3-of-11 from the field for six points. Forwards Ashlyn Watkins and Joyce Edwards, who came off the bench, were 6-of-16 for 14 points.
None of the South Carolina starters went to the free throw line; the Gamecocks were 6-of-8 from the stripe, all by reserves. So give the UCLA defense a lot of credit. Center Lauren Betts had four blocks and altered other Gamecock shot attempts.
