In the wake of the Gamecocks loss in the national title game, The State’s Chris Trainor examines what the team has meant to its fanbase, and to the Capital City.

It's official: USC women's basketball guard JuJu Watkins is the 2024-25 Wooden Award winner. Watkins, who was announced as the winner of college basketball's most prestigious award on Saturday, beat out UConn's Paige Bueckers, UCLA's Lauren Betts, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, Texas' Madison Booker and Kentucky's Georgia Amoore for the honor.

When JuJu Watkins tore her ACL, the entire NCAA basketball world was in shock. USC women’s basketball took a massive hit with their sophomore guard being ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.

The Gamecocks opened at +450 on ESPN Bet to win the 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament, which puts them at the top of the odds board over USC (+500) and 2025’s newly-minted champion, UConn (+600). Texas, Notre Dame and LSU are tied for fourth at +750, while UCLA opened just behind at +850.

For the first time since 2021, the UConn women’s basketball team finished the 2024-25 season ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll after dismantling South Carolina 82-59 in the NCAA championship on Sunday.

A season that was supposed to be defined by parity instead ended with the two most iconic brands in women’s basketball meeting in the national title game and UConn adding a historic record 12th title.

University of Connecticut’s Head Coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a call during the first half of action against the University of Connecticut for the NCAA National Championship at Amalie Arena in Tampa,

The “underdog” UConn Huskies are national champions once again! The No. 2 seeded team took the national title — their 12th overall — handily beating the South Carolina Gamecocks with a final score of 82-59 on Sunday,

There may never be a better storybook written than the one the UConn women’s basketball team completed on Sunday afternoon at Amalie Arena with an 82-59 win over South Carolina in the 2025 NCAA Championship game.