Two of the most dominant programs in women’s college basketball over the past decade will decide the 2025 NCAA title. South Carolina, the defending national champion, has won three titles in that stretch: 2017, 2022 and last year while going undefeated.
UConn won its most recent NCAA title — and 11th overall — in 2016. The Huskies have reached the Final Four 24 times. That includes every year since 2008 except for 2023, when star guard Paige Bueckers missed the season with an ACL injury.
The Gamecocks and Huskies have met before in the national championship game, in 2022 in Bueckers’ hometown of Minneapolis. South Carolina won 64-49; the Gamecocks have taken five of their past seven matchups with UConn.
But in their most recent meeting on Feb. 16 at South Carolina, UConn dominated 87-58. Both teams won their national semifinals handily Friday here at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Which team might have the edge Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ABC)?
UConn seems to have hit its stride over the past month. What did the Huskies do to peak at the right time?
Voepel: The younger/less experienced players matured well. This is Bueckers’ fourth Final Four; you knew she would be at her best now. But several other players proved they were ready for the brighter spotlight in March and April.
“We have less experience throughout the lineup than some of the other [Final Four teams],” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “We have had teams that were young, but they also [had more] significant older players. Paige is the only upperclassman that’s been through this for four years.”
But Auriemma referenced freshmen Sarah Strong (22 points, 8 rebounds in the 85-51 semifinal win over UCLA) and Jana El Alfy (6 points and 8 rebounds), along with second-year guard KK Arnold (9 points vs. UCLA) as players who are showing up big now despite their youth. And even though guard Kaitlyn Chen is a fifth-year senior, this is her first Final Four after transferring from Princeton. She has had her big moments in this NCAA tournament, too.
Does South Carolina have enough offense to beat UConn?
Voepel: The Gamecocks do have enough offense — if they don’t make the mistakes that UCLA did in the semifinals against UConn. The Bruins turned over the ball too much, they didn’t appear ready for UConn’s pace of play, and their offense became one-dimensional in relying on center Lauren Betts (she scored 26 of the Bruins’ 51 points).
“I think people underestimate how quickly we play,” Auriemma said. “If you’re not able to get buckets on your end, the pressure that we put on you because we keep scoring is just demoralizing. I think we catch some people by surprise. I don’t think we’ll catch South Carolina by surprise.”
The Gamecocks had 10 players score against Texas, with 35 points coming from the bench. If South Carolina repeats that kind of depth and versatility, it will be tough for even UConn to defend.
Adelson: This is what South Carolina will tell you: Its defense helps its offense, and so that naturally will allow the Gamecocks to make this a game. Coach Dawn Staley mentioned this Saturday: Not having a go-to player doesn’t necessarily spell doom and gloom because their depth is so good.
“It’s just old-school basketball where you’re just playing to your strengths, and our strength is our depth, our ability to play together, to play linked up,” Staley said. “And I think a staple for us has been our ability to defend because the offense will sometimes go off on a journey on its own. And our mainstay has been our ability to defend and come up with schemes that will help us through those stretches where we’ve got a lull from an offensive standpoint.”
1:59
Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi break down UConn-South Carolina matchup
Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird join Scott Van Pelt to break down what went right for UConn in its Final Four win over UCLA and preview its national championship game against South Carolina.
What lesson from the teams’ February meeting could be an X factor Sunday?
Voepel: South Carolina players called their defensive effort in that game “embarrassing,” and Staley didn’t let them forget it.
“Practice was very hard that [next] week; Coach turned it up,” guard Raven Johnson said. “It was like a lesson game for us. We didn’t feel like ourselves out there. Now we have to come out and show them who we really are.”
The Gamecocks have not lost since falling to UConn. One more victory will give them 13 in a row and the program’s fourth NCAA title.
2:36
Geno Auriemma: South Carolina will want revenge for regular-season loss
Geno Auriemma joins Scott Van Pelt to discuss UConn’s Final Four win over UCLA and its upcoming matchup against South Carolina in the national championship game
One reason UConn will win again
Voepel: The Huskies could have too much offense from their big three of Bueckers, Strong and Azzi Fudd for the Gamecocks to overcome. They combined for 57 points against UCLA, outscoring the Bruins by themselves. A similar performance from that trio could give UConn its 12th championship.
Adelson: Indeed, as Auriemma has said, it’s not all on Bueckers anymore to deliver a championship. UConn has the talent and depth to get it done.
2:28
Highlight: Edwards leads 1-seed South Carolina’s dominance over 1-seed Texas
Joyce Edwards registers 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help the Gamecocks shut down the Longhorns, 74-57, clinching their chance at back-to-back national titles.
One reason South Carolina will be able to change the ending
Adelson: There is a reason South Carolina began the season ranked No. 1. With a team full of players who have been in this spot before, the Gamecocks have what it takes to win. They will be the first to admit they play as underdogs. They will be the first to admit they wanted another shot at UConn because, as MiLaysia Fulwiley said, “We owe them one.” They will be the first to admit they want to make history and repeat as national champions. Wait, is that three reasons? Needless to say this will be a highly motivated team ready to play its best basketball.
Voepel: Defense. UCLA forward Janiah Barker lamented Friday about the Bruins’ issues against the Huskies: “We literally just gave them whatever they wanted. We let them get so comfortable.”
South Carolina has elite defenders at every position; that’s a staple for the Gamecocks and a big part of how they have dominated the SEC for the past decade. As we’ve talked about, that defense didn’t show up in the regular-season meeting against UConn. But odds are that it will on Sunday.
Which team will win the championship?
Adelson: UConn. The Huskies have better, more consistent shooters. Even though they say defense wins championships, the better offense will win.
Katie Barnes: UConn. The Huskies are playing their best basketball at the right time.
Alexa Philippou: UConn. While the Gamecocks looked better against Texas than they did earlier in the tournament, the Huskies feel like a freight train barreling toward the championship. The game should be much closer than February’s meeting — and if South Carolina gets in a hole early, it will respond much better than UCLA did Friday. But UConn’s combination of Bueckers, Fudd and Strong will be the difference, and Bueckers will win a championship in her final collegiate game.
Voepel: South Carolina. I’ve stuck with the Gamecocks to repeat all season. This game seems very likely to be much closer than South Carolina’s three previous NCAA final wins: by 12 vs. both Mississippi State in 2017 and Iowa in 2024, and by 15 vs. UConn in 2022. This could come down to the final minute. If it does, that’s where the Gamecocks’ defense could come up big for the most important play.