Gamecocks Finish Season as National Runner-Up

PHOENIX – No. 4/4 South Carolina finished its 2025-26 season as the NCAA Runner-Up following Sunday’s 79-51 loss to No. 2/2 UCLA in the championship game a Mortgage Matchup Center.

Junior Tessa Johnson led the South Carolina offense with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and sophomore Joyce Edwards pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.

The Gamecocks were in a battle from the opening tip and ceded the glass to the Bruins, who out-rebounded them 49-37, including a 29-17 edge in the first half, and finished with 25 second-chance points on 21 offensive rebounds.

South Carolina’s usually efficient offense was stymied in the first half with the Gamecocks shooting jut 16.7 percent in the opening 10 minutes to fall behind by double digits by the end of the period.

Defensively, the Gamecocks slowed the Bruins down in the second quarter, but could not overcome their early deficit.

“We got a chance to play on the last day of college women’s basketball, a season of a lot of great basketball, great talent, great coaching,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “Just great viewership. I mean, when you’re in this position, you don’t win all of ’em. There are too many great teams out here, too many great players and coaches that decrease your chances of winning national championships.”

The trick is to continue to get here. The more you get here, the more you increase your chances of winning. So we got a lot of work cut out for us. I really enjoyed the weekend. I enjoy every challenge that basketball creates. I enjoy facing them. I enjoy dealing, playing the hand that I’m dealt. This weekend includes that.

It marks the second time in as many seasons that South Carolina finished as the tournament runner-up on the heels of their 2024 National Championship.

Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson were named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team for their efforts on the weekend.

Gamecock Notables

• South Carolina finished the season with several program records, including 85.6 points per game, 46.0 paint points per game, 21.4 points off turnovers per game and 19.0 fast break points per game.
• The Gamecocks’ season field goal percentage of .500 was the second highest in program history as was their .730 free throw percentage, 36 wins and a 1.40 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Individually, Joyce Edwards set the program record with 768 points on the season, also claiming the program’s top spot for single-season minutes played (1,221), games started (40) and games played (40).
• Raven Johnson joined Edwards with the program record for games started and played in a season, and the senior point guard set the program record with a 2.86 career assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Raven Johnson finished her career having been to five NCAA Final Fours, including four championship game appearances – two of which yielded national titles (2022, 2024). She led the Gamecocks to a 145-8 record in games she played, including a 49-6 mark against ranked opponents and a 20-3 slate in the NCAA Tournament.
• Tessa Johnson’s 90 made 3-pointers are the third most in a season in program history, moving her into seventh place in the career list with 171. She also holds the program record for made 3s in career NCAA Tournament games at 27.