South Carolina and UCLA Will Face Off in 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship

Then there was two. The stakes are high and the stage is all set for Sunday; it will be a good one. The South Carolina Gamecocks and the UCLA Bruins will face off in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship. Nonetheless, to get to this moment, both teams had to defeat their tough opponents, UConn and Texas. How did they do it?

Well, this year’s Final Four was interesting. Every team had demonstrated a strong ability to win. This was the first Final Four in NCAA women’s basketball tournament history where all four teams have 35+ wins. UConn went in undefeated, while South Carolina, Texas and UCLA all had three losses or less. So then, it truly was anyone’s game to get to the championship round.

However, South Carolina kicked things off on Friday night by getting revenge after being beaten by UConn just last season. Dawn Staley coached a masterclass against the Huskies. Showing why she is the highest-paid women’s basketball coach ever; with six-straight Final Fours appearances. And now Dawn Staley will coach for a fourth national championship.

South Carolina dominated the Huskies both offensively and defensively. Coach Dawn Staley had a great game plan to go against UConn. The Gamecocks were led by Ta’niya Latson’s 16 point, 11 rebound double-double and freshman Agot Makeer came up big adding 14 off the bench. South Carolina is the first team ever to beat an undefeated team in the Final Four (semis or championship, men’s or women’s) while holding them to under 50 points.

South Carolina now punches its ticket to the national championship game for the fifth time in program history. The Gamecocks rolled past previously undefeated, top-seeded UConn, 62-48. Furthermore, this is the third time that UConn has been held to fewer than 50 points in an NCAA women’s tournament game. Two of the three instances have come against the South Carolina Lady Gamecocks. UConn’s 48 points in the Final Four marks the first time they’ve been held below 50 points in any game since the 2022 National Championship Game against South Carolina.

Additionally, UConn couldn’t recover from Raven Johnson’s defense (seriously, one of the best defensive performances of the season). The Huskies shot 7-24 for 17 points and 3 turnovers on 28 halfcourt plays when Johnson was the final defender. Azzi Fudd went 1-5 with 1 turnover on those plays.

South Carolina efficiently snapped UConn’s 54-game win streak en route to the title game. The Gamecocks are the 6th team ever to beat an undefeated team in the Final Four. With the Huskies having now been on the receiving end of three of those losses.

Now, how about the Bruins? Well, UCLA is advancing to their first NCAA national championship. But truth be told it was an ugly win. Both teams did not play well. Tons of missed shots and opportunities, plus an unbearable amount of turnovers. For 70% of the game, neither team had scored more than 22 points.

Texas was a disaster. After scoring the first points of the game, Madison Booker missed her next 17 shots from the floor. That’s the longest streak of missed field goals in a game in Final Four history.

South Carolina and UCLA Will Face Off in 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship

But there are still some positives to take from this game. UCLA now extends their win streak when leading at the half. The Bruins have now won 73 straight games when leading at halftime, having not dropped such a game since Feb. 16, 2024 against Oregon State.

Furthermore, a victory is a victory. Teams don’t always win pretty. Therefore, UCLA is hoping to become the seventh team to win its first national championship in the last 30 years. The previous six teams:

1999 Purdue
2001 Notre Dame
2005 Baylor
2011 Texas A&M
2017 South Carolina
2023 LSU

So then, there’s plenty of history on the line this upcoming Sunday. Tune in to see if UCLA can finally hoist the trophy at long last. Or witness the thrill of South Carolina possibly adding to their growing collection of titles.

**Want Even More Sports, News, Hot Takes, Stats as well as Athlete Celebrity Sighting Updates, Insights as well as Trends? Well, be sure to join all of us Sports Feens over on Youtube to get an additional sports fix; and also don’t forget to check out all of our new Podcast topics and episodes. Plus, get fast highlights and trivia daily by following us on TikTok. Just Click HERE**

Thoughts on South Carolina and UCLA Will Face Off in 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship? Well let’s connect then you Feen! We are always around on social media posting as well as chatting away. And we would love to hear some POV from you. Therefore, join the discussion and talk all things Sports Feen; athletics as well as breaking industry news related with us by dropping a comment or two. Get into our comment section on YT; or also hit us up on our TikTok page or tweet us @SportsFeen.