Dawn Staley and South Carolina are back in the NCAA Tournament title game after knocking off unbeaten UConn and Geno Auriemma in a physical contest that ended with a heated exchange between the game’s most recognizable coaches. Ta'Niya Latson (5'8''-G) scored 16, Agot Makeer (6'1''-G-2007) added 14 and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak. The Gamecocks have reached the NCAA championship game in four of the last five seasons, including three straight. They will be looking to win a fourth national title Sunday when they face UCLA. “I thought our players just locked in once we built a little lead,” Staley said. “We got suggestions from coaches as to should we change our defense, start switching everything. I’m like, no, this is what is working. Let’s continue to do what’s working.” As the final seconds ticked down, Auriemma walked down the sideline to shake hands with Staley and had an animated conversation with her while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two. When the clock finally ran out, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The teams did shake hands. “I have no idea,” Staley said when asked what happened between the coaches. “But I’m going to let you know this, I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong, to Geno, I had no idea what I did. “I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand. I don’t know what he came with after the game, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.” Auriemma didn’t want to disclose what he said to Staley specifically but made it a point of saying he was annoyed about the lack of a pregame handshake. “I’ve been coaching and been to 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “Protocol is we meet at half-court, two coaches meet at half-court and shake hands. They announce it on the loudspeaker, waited there for three minutes.” Auriemma also was upset that in the third quarter star Sarah Strong (6'2''-F-2006)’s jersey was ripped, in his opinion because of South Carolina’s physical defense. Strong said: “It was an accident, I missed my shot.” UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022. “Coach was pretty mad going into the half,” Latson said of Staley. “She was yelling ‘Meet the moment! Meet the moment!’ We couldn’t be scared to play on this stage, especially against UConn. I mean, they were undefeated.” The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title, and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season. Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the fourth quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven. Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn’t score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points. “I think our defense is pretty elite,” Makeer said. “We were super prepared by all of our coaches. I think we all wanted this really bad. We were just ready.” South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds but went 4-for-16 from the field. Azzi Fudd (5'11''-G-2002) had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots. UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19-for-61 (31.1%) from the field. Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning easily in the first four rounds. The Huskies rarely had been challenged all season, routing their Big East opponents by record margins. Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer. The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The teams combined to shoot 22-for-62 (35.4%) from the field and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half. Dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players were in the crowd, including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.
Courtesy of: chicagotribune.com

Timaya Lewis-Eutsey (5'8''-G) scored 14 of her 27 points in the first quarter and Marshall beat Illinois State 66-41 on Saturday to claim the Thundering Herd's first WNIT championship. Lewis-Eutsey, who came in averaging 19.8 points per game, made 12 of 17 shots and all three of her 3-ponters for the Thundering Herd (28-9). All 10 Marshall players who got into the game had at least one basket. Addison Martin (6'1''-F) had 11 points to lead the Redbirds (24-14) and Trista Fayta (5'8''-G) scored nine. Doneelah Washington (6'1''-F) led the team with a 17.1 scoring average, but she missed all seven of her shots against Marshall and failed to score. Lewis-Eutsey buried all six of her first-quarter shots with two 3-pointers, scoring the first 11 points for Marshall in building a five-point lead in the first 4:35. Lewis-Eutsey hit a 3-pointer and Kassie Ingram (5'11''-G) followed with a layup for a 21-10 lead before both teams went scoreless over the final 2:37. Blessing King's layup at the first-half buzzer gave Marshall a 31-21 advantage at the break. King and Ingram had the final two baskets in a 12-0 run to begin the third quarter and Marshall cruised to the finish. Marshall shot 49% overall, made 6 of 22 from distance and went 4 for 4 at the free-throw line. Illinois State shot 29.2%, made 3 of 17 from distance and 10 of 12 foul shots. The Redbirds beat South Dakota 67-60 on the road in the semifinals, while Marshall posted a 69-62 road win over Arkansas State to advance to the title game.
Courtesy of: espn.com

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award: Hannah Hidalgo (5'6''-G-2005) of Notre Dame

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Finalists 2026

Hidalgo

Harmon

Johnson

Miles

Morgan

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Finalists
Hannah Hidalgo (5'6''-G-2005) of Notre Dame
Rori Harmon (5'6''-G) of Texas
Raven Johnson (5'9''-G) of S.Carolina
Olivia Miles (5'10''-G-2003) of TCU
Tonie Morgan (5'9''-G) of Kentucky

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top 10 2026

Hidalgo

Harmon

Johnson

Miles

Morgan

Brooks

Chavez

McGill

Prince

Rice

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Top 10
Hannah Hidalgo (5'6''-G-2005) of Notre Dame
Rori Harmon (5'6''-G) of Texas
Raven Johnson (5'9''-G) of S.Carolina
Olivia Miles (5'10''-G-2003) of TCU
Tonie Morgan (5'9''-G) of Kentucky
Zoe Brooks (5'10''-G) of NC State
Aaliyah Chavez (5'10''-G) of Oklahoma
Liv McGill (5'9''-G) of Florida
Britt Prince (5'11''-G) of Nebraska
Kiki Rice (5'11''-G) of UCLA

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Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award: Mikayla Blakes (5'8''-G-2005) of Vanderbilt

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Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award: Lauren Betts (6'7''-C-2003) of UCLA

Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Finalists 2026

Betts

Crooks

Beers

Okot

Strack

Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Finalists
Lauren Betts (6'7''-C-2003) of UCLA
Audi Crooks (6'3''-C-2004) of Iowa St.
Raegan Beers (6'4''-C-2002) of Oklahoma
Madina Okot (6'6''-C-2004) of S.Carolina
Clara Strack (6'5''-C) of Kentucky

Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10 2026

Betts

Crooks

Beers

Okot

Strack

Williams

Heiden

Kyle

Meyer

Trygger

Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Top 10
Lauren Betts (6'7''-C-2003) of UCLA
Audi Crooks (6'3''-C-2004) of Iowa St.
Raegan Beers (6'4''-C-2002) of Oklahoma
Madina Okot (6'6''-C-2004) of S.Carolina
Clara Strack (6'5''-C) of Kentucky
Serah Williams (6'4''-F) of UConn
Ava Heiden (6'4''-C) of Iowa
Ra'Shaya Kyle (6'6''-C-2002) of Miami, FL
Brooklyn Meyer (6'2''-F) of S.Dakota St.
Tilda Trygger (6'6''-F-2006) of NC State