South Carolina has been the standard in women’s college basketball for a while, as the Gamecocks went undefeated last season en route to a national championship. There will be no undefeated run this season, as Dawn Staley’s team was knocked off by UCLA, 77-62 on Sunday.

Final – USC 62, UCLA 77

We'll take on Iowa State on Thursday, Nov. 28

— South Carolina Women's Basketball (@GamecockWBB) November 24, 2024

The loss for South Carolina ends a 43-game winning streak and is the program’s first defeat since losing in the Final Four to the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa Hawkeyes in 2023. This was also the first road loss for the Gamecocks in their last 34 road contests.

This game was never close, as the Bruins got off to a double-digit lead after the first quarter, and were leading 43-22 at the half.

It is a historic win for UCLA and coach Cori Close, as the Bruins had never defeated the No. 1 team in the country.

https://twitter.com/B1Gwbball/status/1860819714299068661

The Bruins got a balanced offensive attack on Sunday, as 5 players scored at least 11 points. Guard Londynn Jones scored 15 points and was 5-of-5 from the 3-point line. Center Lauren Betts had another double-double for the Bruins, as she finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists.

UCLA entered this game as the No. 5 team in the country and will move up even higher in the rankings with the win. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are likely to slide from the No. 1 spot after occupying that position from Nov. 13, 2023 through last year’s title win.

The Bruins will be back in action against UT-Martin on Friday, while the Gamecocks have another tough game against No. 8 Iowa State on Thanksgiving.

Mark Kern