After being perfect for more than a year and completely dominating the sport, Dawn Staley and South Carolina have finally fallen.
No. 5 UCLA rolled to a dominant and stunning 77-62 upset win over the top-ranked Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. It marked the Bruins’ first ever win over a No. 1-ranked team in program history.
The loss snapped a 43-game win streak for South Carolina and was the first for the Gamecocks since they fell to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four in 2023. They were a perfect 5-0 this season after winning the national championship last spring, and had won 85 of their last 86 games before Sunday.
The Bruins led from the jump on Sunday, and never looked back. They opened the game on a 15-2 tear, and then sent the Gamecocks into the locker room down more than they have been in years. UCLA took a 21-point lead at halftime after draining six 3-pointers — half of which came from Londynn Jones off the bench — in the opening 20 minutes.
South Carolina’s offense was basically non-existent in the first two quarters, too. The Gamecocks entered halftime with just 22 points as a team, and shot 26.5% from the field as a team. Three South Carolina starters were held scoreless in the first half, and they were out-rebounded by seven.
It marked the first time that South Carolina has trailed by double digits at halftime in any game since 2021. According to ESPN, the last time they trailed by 20 points or more at halftime was against Baylor in 2019 — which was more than 2,000 days ago.
Though the Gamecocks came out of halftime on a quick 7-2 burst, the Bruins didn’t let up. UCLA carried a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter before cruising to the 15-point win in the final 10 minutes.
Jones led UCLA with 15 points off the bench, all of which came from behind the arc. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points and four assists, and Lauren Betts finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Te-Hina Paopao led the Gamecocks with 18 points in the loss. Tessa Johnson was the only other player to hit double figures for South Carolina. She finished with 14 points off the bench. The Gamecocks shot better than 36% from the field as a team, and shot just eight total free throws.
The next few weeks won’t get any easier for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will take on No. 8 Iowa State next on Thursday in the Fort Myers Tip-Off before games against Purdue, No. 14 Duke and No. 19 TCU. The Gamecocks will fall from No. 1 in the rankings on Monday, too.
UCLA, however, now has its marquee non-conference win. If Sunday is any indication, the Bruins should be in a great spot to not only hang with JuJu Watkins and USC, but potentially run the Big Ten in their first season in the league.
This post will be updated with more information shortly.
