The highly anticipated matchup between No. 4 South Carolina and No. 7 UConn is set to be one of the biggest showdowns in women’s college basketball. Both teams have faced recent challenges, making Sunday’s game even more critical. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley has kept her team focused, while UConn’s Geno Auriemma is looking for a response from his squad after a tough loss.
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina’s Focus Amid Challenges
Staley made it clear her team was not looking ahead to UConn despite the hype surrounding the game. Following South Carolina’s dominant 38-point victory over Florida, she addressed whether the Gamecocks had been thinking about their matchup with the Huskies.
“No,” Staley said. “I mean, I think this team stays in the moment. I know they know we play UConn on Sunday. You can’t—you can’t get around it.”
South Carolina and UConn have developed an intense rivalry, facing off 13 times since Staley took over the program. While UConn leads the all-time series 8-5, South Carolina has dominated recent meetings, winning five of the last six since 2020.
Their matchups have included both regular-season and postseason clashes, most notably South Carolina’s national championship win over UConn in 2022.
Both teams are dealing with setbacks this season. UConn recently lost 80-76 to Tennessee, marking its third defeat of the year. Meanwhile, South Carolina suffered its second loss of the season against Texas. Staley acknowledged how demanding the SEC can be and emphasized that her team did not overlook Florida before shifting its focus to UConn.
“Like, it almost—we didn’t skip over this game, but, you know, a lot of people have just moved on to, like, UConn. This league is unforgiving,” Staley said. “Like, we didn’t take Florida lightly. Florida scores a lot of points, and we were very mindful of that. We wanted to make sure that they weren’t scoring 80 and 90 points like they have against some other teams.”
With Sunday’s game approaching, the attention turns to which team will leave Columbia with a crucial win—and which will suffer another February loss.
Paige Bueckers vs. Joyce Edwards: A Key Matchup
Staley has consistently praised freshman Joyce Edwards and believes she deserves more national recognition. While many consider UConn’s Sarah Strong a top contender for Freshman of the Year, Staley wants Edwards to be part of the conversation. Edwards has averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, proving her value to South Carolina.
“It’s not a one-woman race for National Freshman of the Year,” Staley told WACH FOX News. “So I’ve got to put a narrative out there that Joyce is doing some incredible things. We have a tendency to just focus on one [player], right?
“What [Joyce] has been able to do, with the type of schedule that we had, it’s not easy. It’s not easy. So I just don’t want people to forget what Joyce is doing over here, because we’re not just going to allow awards to be given out with no consideration for our players here.
“So I’ve just got to throw that out there now because I don’t want people to think it’s a shoo-in. You gotta look at the players on our team and what they’re doing in our game, for our game.”
Former South Carolina star and three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson also praised Edwards, particularly for her basketball IQ. Wilson believes Edwards’ ability to read the game will be a major asset moving forward.
“Joyce, her IQ is something that’s going to take her far,” Wilson said. “I think she is already becoming a pro at the young age of a freshman, and obviously she’s going to have her ups and downs … but the patience and IQ that she plays with is crazy. It’s insane.”
Meanwhile, Staley’s admiration for UConn star Paige Bueckers remains evident. She previously called Bueckers one of the most efficient players in the game and a potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
“Paige is great,” Staley said. “I think Paige is probably the elitist basketball player to ever grace our game. You look at her efficiency. She doesn’t take bad shots.”
LSU guard Hailey Van Lith also praised Bueckers’ ability to read the game under pressure.
“There are players like Paige Bueckers who haven’t always had the opportunity to be healthy throughout her college career,” Van Lith said.
She continued:
“But I think her finesse and her ability to make reads in very quick moments of live action—where teams are doing their best to throw every kind of defensive scheme at her—her poise and her consistency in making the correct read every time, it’s special. And you don’t really see that in a player as young as her.”
Geno Auriemma Challenges Bueckers After Tennessee Loss
Despite the praise, Auriemma recently called out Bueckers following her 14-point performance in the loss to Tennessee. He openly questioned her ability to handle defensive pressure and make key plays.
“We have some guys on our team that are supposed to be our best players, and they have to play better,” Auriemma said. “It’s a real conundrum—Paige wants the ball in her hands all the time, then when they trap her, she doesn’t want the ball in her hands.
“We try to move her around from one thing to another, without the ball, and it’s just so-so. We have to come to some definitive thing on how we’re going to handle it. … It’s not the winning edge, for sure, and she’s passing up stuff—I don’t get it.”
Bueckers took accountability for her struggles and acknowledged that she could have been more aggressive.
“I feel like it was more myself, taking myself out of rhythm,” Bueckers said. “Shots were short, should have attacked more, got to the free throw line a little bit. They [Tennessee] crashed the boards really hard, and we didn’t box out like we were supposed to.”
KEEP READING: Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Players in 2025
As South Carolina and UConn prepare for their high-stakes battle, all eyes will be on how Bueckers responds.
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