South Carolina leads at halftime of national title game after a near flawless start

South Carolina got off to a near flawless start in the national championship on Sunday night.

The Gamecocks held UConn to the fewest points (8) in a first quarter for Geno Auriemma’s team, as the Gamecocks got off to an 11-2 start thanks to a barrage of offensive rebounds. Dawn Staley’s team, which averaged 19.4 offensive rebounds in the NCAA Tournament, had 5 offensive rebounds by the 7:00 mark.

South Carolina built an 18-point lead in the first half, but missed 12 of its final 13 shots down the stretch to lead 35-27 at halftime. It’s the largest deficit ever for UConn in a national title game.

This is South Carolina’s second appearance in the title game. Staley’s squad won the championship in 2017.

The Gamecocks have widely viewed as the best team in the country all season, and went wire-to-wire ranked as the No. 1 in the AP Poll.

Several media members and fans were impressed, and here’s a sampling:

#Gamecocks go cold offensively (1 of last 9) and UConn climbs to within eleven at 32-21.
2:20 to play in the first half of the NCAA Championship game

— SportsTalk Media Network (@sportstalksc) April 4, 2022

I would not wish this South Carolina defense upon my worst enemy.

Actually, I take that back. I would.

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 4, 2022

Cooke drains a jumper and it’s 11-2, Geno has to call a timeout. Gamecocks hungry, aggressive, going right at the Huskies in the paint.

— David Cloninger (@DCPandC) April 4, 2022

South Carolina’s D is really, really impressive. Suffocating. Gamecocks couldn’t ask for a better start than this.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 4, 2022

UConn has only taken four shots and we’re about five minutes into the first quarter.

— Alexis Cubit 🔥 (@Alexis_Cubit) April 4, 2022

Blowout in making. @GamecockWBB up 13-2, has allowed only one UConn rebounds and FG attempts for Bueckers.

— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) April 4, 2022

South Carolina is off to a HOT start.

Wow.#MarchMadness

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) April 4, 2022

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.