South Carolina fans avoid a crash out after the Gamecocks get smoked in the Natty

The South Carolina Gamecocks were blown out by the UConn Huskies in the National Championship game. Afterwards, fans barely avoided a crash out.
Dawn Staley, UConn v South Carolina
Dawn Staley, UConn v South Carolina | Carmen Mandato/GettyImages

Despite popular belief, the South Carolina Gamecocks aren't immune to loss. Nobody proved that more accurately than the UConn Huskies when they demolished the Gamecocks in the 2025 National Championship game.

However, despite the brutal result, South Carolina fans were able to avoid complete crashouts by admitting just how good the Connecticut team was, especially all-star senior Paige Bueckers.

Even the Gamecocks' head coach, Dawn Staley, showed her frustration throughout the matchup as her team struggled to do anything on the offensive end of the court, falling 23 points short of the Huskies' total. Repeatedly, the camera panned to Staley as she expressed her frustrations, both physically and verbally.

Right alongside Staley, South Carolina fans were crashing out as their team continuously failed to match the pace of the UConn squad.

Understandably, the Gamecocks lost by nearly 30 points, having lost by the same amount to the same team just two months earlier.

No matter what, the Gamecocks were returning (defending) national champions, having defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes in the title game last season.

The seniors from the South Carolina team had appeared in four consecutive Final Fours (2023, 2024, & 2025, winning one of the most recent National Championships (2024).

Undeniably, Staley is one of the greatest college women's basketball head coaches in the history of sport. Right alongside the head coach of Connecticut, Geno Auriemma.

With the win, the Huskies earned their 12th national title, the most in the nation. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks have just three national titles, all under Staley (2017, 2022, & 2024).

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