UConn’s Sarah Strong (21) runs down a loose ball before getting fouled by South Carolina’s Raven Johnson (25) during their Final Four match up at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona Friday, April 3, 2026.
Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media
PHOENIX — UConn women’s basketball’s quest to go back-to-back fell short Friday evening in the Final Four.
Heading into next season, it’ll be over 10 years since the last time there was a repeat champion in women’s college basketball at the Division I level. UConn was the last program to do so, winning four in a row from 2013 to 2016.
Article continues below this ad
If the Gamecocks beat the Bruins, they’ll have successfully won three out of the last five championships, following their titles in 2022 and 2024. But even they fell short in repeating in 2025, when they lost to UConn in the championship game in Tampa.
There have been six D1 repeat championships in the history of the women’s game, as only three different programs have ever accomplished the feat. USC (Southern California) was the first in 1983 and 1984, followed by three straight from Tennessee in the late 90s. UConn also won three in a row in the early 2000s, before the Lady Vols went back-to-back in 2007 and 2008. The Huskies won both the 2009 and 2010 titles before their historic four-peat.
With the parity in college women’s basketball continuing to exponentially grow each season because of the transfer portal boom and revenue sharing explosion, it’s possible, and probably likely, that we may never see a repeat champion again. Not only is it hard to maintain a loaded roster, but keeping up with competition requires reinventing the wheel and also a little bit of luck.
Article continues below this ad
Make CT Insider a preferred source on Google to see more of our journalism when you search.
Add Preferred Source
The Huskies lost Friday’s Final Four due to a plethora of reasons, including many self-inflicted. South Carolina’s defense flustered and frustrated UConn’s offense to the point of no return, as the Huskies had their worst shooting performance in years. Yet, many believe the loss also came from the Huskies being ill-prepared, as they didn’t face any adversity or play a top-five competitive opponent in the regular season.
This season was the first time that UConn and South Carolina didn’t meet in the regular season in over 11 years. While the Gamecocks battled all year long in SEC play, which boasted two of the Final Four teams, the Huskies cruised from one blowout victory to the next in the Big East.
UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma yells at someone on the bench during their loss to South Carolina in the Final Four game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona Friday, April 3, 2026.
Jim Shannon/Hearst Connecticut Media
UConn’s only real scare of the season came against Michigan in November after the Wolverines cut the Huskies’ once 20-point lead down to one with 13 seconds left. The Huskies still finished the year defeating opponents by a nation-best 37.8 points per game.
Article continues below this ad
“We don’t go into games thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to win.’ We go into games trying to get better, trying to work on different things, working on our discipline, working on different ways we can get better as a team and build,” said Azzi Fudd Friday after the Huskies’ loss.
Fudd said the team wasn’t surprised by what they saw from South Carolina and that their poor performance wasn’t because they weren’t prepared.
“We had a great scout, Morgan (Valley) did an incredible job, and what happened out there was on us,” said Fudd. “We didn’t adjust some of the things quick enough. I mean, being a No. 1 team, making it to the Final Four: you’re here for a reason. You can’t possibly see out every single thing you’re going to see out there. So, I think that was on us. We didn’t adjust quick enough, offensively or defensively.”
UConn went undefeated in the regular season, including beating seven ranked teams (both Ohio State and Notre Dame weren’t ranked when either faced UConn, but did spend time in the AP Top 25 Poll throughout the season). The Gamecocks played 11 different ranked opponents, including facing SEC regular-season champion and fellow Final Four team Texas three separate times.
Article continues below this ad
When asked if he felt the Huskies’ schedule had an impact on how they played Friday night, Geno Auriemma downplayed its effect.
Tessa Johnson #5 of the South Carolina Gamecocks attempts a shot over Sarah Strong #21 of the UConn Huskies during the second half of a NCAA Women’s Final Four semifinal game at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 3, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
“You got to run the race you’re racing,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s not our fault we beat all those teams in November and December by 30. I can’t tell them, ‘Let’s make the game close.’ It is what it is, you know? We just weren’t good enough tonight. It has nothing to do with going through adversity or no adversity. … What happens to you along the way, I don’t think that maybe has any bearing on it. At least it hasn’t in the past. But who knows?”
Next year, the Huskies have a much more competitive non-conference schedule with games against South Carolina, Notre Dame, LSU, Duke, Tennessee, Ohio State, Louisville and Maryland.
Article continues below this ad
Both South Carolina and UConn will return as top favorites to win the 2027 national championship. Yet only time will tell if either, or any other program, will be able to put together two consecutive championship runs.