UConn, South Carolina meet again in Women’s 2026 Final Four

PHOENIX – During the third installment of “WrestleMania” on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan, renowned wrestling commentator Gorilla Monsoon uttered the words: “The irresistible force meeting the immovable object.” 

Now 14,250 days later, Mortgage Matchup Center will bear witness to the meeting of two titans in a matchup of similar magnitude in the 2026 Women’s Final Four.

Meet this story’s irresistible force: the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Heading to Phoenix carrying a 35-3 record, the Gamecocks extended their consecutive streak of Final Fours to six after beating TCU in the Elite Eight. 

Just how impressive is this streak? 

The last time a Final Four was played without South Carolina, the word “COVID” was just a random jumble of letters, “Avengers: Endgame” theories were running wild for the then-unreleased film and the Golden State Warriors were still two-time reigning champions, attempting to achieve a three-peat. 

Despite making the last six Final Fours, the first test for the Dawn Staley-led Gamecocks as they walk into the Mortgage Matchup Center will be to avenge the result of last year’s national championship game, which South Carolina lost to UConn.

Now for the immovable object: the UConn Huskies.

On the heels of breaking an eight-year national championship drought, which is surprisingly long for the program, UConn is undefeated in 2025-26, hoping to mark the 11th time a team has finished a season without a loss.

Their leader and coach, Geno Auriemma, reached a quarter-century of Final Four appearances after taking down Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. Boasting a laughably long resume, Auriemma has the chance to win his 13th national championship. 

While the programs alone carry the name value to set up a heavyweight bout, the coaches leading them elevate the clash to extreme heights. 

Friday’s game being the 16th meeting between the two, a new installment will create an epic feeling in Arizona’s capital city.

In the previous 15 matchups, Auriemma has the lead, 9-6. However, one important stat is the deadlocked 2-2 record in NCAA Tournament games. 

As a player at Virginia, Staley took down Auriemma’s Huskies in the 1991 Final Four in the only Staley versus Auriemma clash in which both weren’t coaches. Despite four regular season matchups in between, it took 26 years before the two had their next postseason matchup, where UConn won in the 2018 Elite Eight.

Then, the two met in the 2022 and 2025 national championship games, with South Carolina winning the first and UConn the second.

Without a Huskies versus Gamecocks game in the regular season for the first time after an eight-year streak, Friday’s game carries more of a blank slate than the teams are used to. With just under 365 days in between the last matchup between the two, Auriemma doesn’t look at last year’s game in preparation for this year’s.

“This is a different South Carolina team than the one we played last year,” Auriemma said Thursday. “Our two wins against them last year don’t really mean anything going into tomorrow. The way that game was played has no bearing on tomorrow.”

That sentiment is shared across the two locker rooms. South Carolina senior guard Raven Johnson, who took on a leadership role as one of the more experienced players on the 2025-26 roster, said the stage is irrelevant for a game between these two teams.

“It doesn’t matter if you played them throughout the season, Final Four, Championship, first game,” Johnson said. “They’re still going to be UConn. We’re still going to be South Carolina. When we do play them, just got to be ready.”

Friday’s game is made even more intriguing by the lack of a regular season matchup, marking the first time that has happened since the 2017-18 season.

Through the many previous years and matchups the two have had, 2026 serves as the first time UConn and South Carolina will play in the Final Four.

Despite the magnitude of the game, Johnson isn’t phased by the opponent in front of her.

“We have one goal, that’s to get to the national championship,” Johnson said. “They’re in our way of getting to the national championship. That’s how we’re thinking of it. It won’t matter if they were UConn, if they were Benedict. It doesn’t matter. They’re in our way.”

While South Carolina is focused on knocking UConn out of the tournament, the Gamecocks still recognize how important a program the Huskies have.

UConn is the benchmark for success in women’s basketball, and Staley thinks her opponent’s prestige is a benefit to the game.

“UConn has been the standard in women’s basketball for a very long time,” Staley said. “Everyone has to measure up to their standard. I think they allow us something to reach for. When you have a traditionally rich program like that, I think it helps us all grow.”

The respect goes from one bench to the other as well. Despite cutting down the nets last spring, Auriemma doesn’t see himself going in with an advantage. 

After losing three players to the draft from last year’s team, Staley brought in four players who play over 14 minutes per game. Auriemma pointed out the additions while complimenting South Carolina’s roster.

“They have added some really key pieces,” Auriemma said. “I think they’re a much better team than they were last year. Really hard to prepare for. They’ve shot the ball exceptionally well this year. They’ve added the size that is hard to match up with.”

Heading into what will be the final game of the season for one of the two teams, the mindset of the seniors stepping onto the court at Mortgage Matchup Center shares a few similarities, but also some major differences.

One impressive similarity is that any four-year senior playing Friday would have won a national championship in the past. With South Carolina winning it in 2024 and UConn the year after, veterans on the court will not be cutting down the nets for the first time if Friday’s winner takes it all on Sunday.

However, the way in which those seniors are handling the game going into it is not the same. 

At pregame availability for South Carolina, Staley highlighted Johnson as an important leader, noting that she has no fears when she’s on the court.

“I don’t worry about winning because Raven is a winner,” Staley said. “The play may be sketchy at times. Play may be in the groove. I don’t worry about winning. Her winning percentage with our program is pretty darn high.”

Pretty darn high it is. Since she stepped on the court in Columbia, South Carolina has a 144-8 record, which is a winning percentage of 94.4%, guaranteeing that Johnson will finish her college career with single digits in the loss column.

From redshirting her first year in college on the Aliyah Boston-led 2022 championship team to being a senior in 2026, she has not shied away from the role of a leader.

Johnson’s leadership skills come across when she speaks. After being asked about what she tells the freshman on her team to prepare for the Final Four, she shared her blunt advice.

“The lights are bright here,” Johnson said. “Be yourself. When your number’s called, be ready. The room for marginal error is very small.”

While the people on the South Carolina bench focused on leadership from their seniors, UConn went the sentimental route.

Auriemma has coached countless players who are now in all-time conversations. From Breanna Stewart to Diana Taurasi, who spent 20 years playing at the Mortgage Matchup Center for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, the cast of people who have learned from Auriemma is a who’s who of basketball legends. 

The primary entry to the list from the 2025-26 roster is Azzi Fudd, who put up a career-high 17.5 points per game this season. Looking to past legends, Auriemma understands what it’s like for a player to play her final game in a Huskies jersey.

“The hardest part is being a senior at Connecticut and knowing what that means and what the expectation for you is, and carrying that around with you,” Auriemma said. “So many of our players have ended their careers cutting down nets in the national championship game. (She) desperately wants to be one of those people.”

While Johnson spoke about advice she gives her teammates, a primary narrative when Fudd spoke before the Final Four was her feeling going into her final weekend.

Managing the balance between the emotion of saying goodbye to college and focusing on winning it all is no easy task.

On one hand, Fudd’s focus is on cementing her name in the history books as a back-to-back national champion. On the other, she wants to appreciate every little moment, staying appreciative of what she has.

As she takes a step back, she realizes that this is her last team trip. Her last time being roommates with her UConn teammates. Despite these realizations, Fudd tries to avoid the inevitable. 

“I’ve been kind of in denial thinking about how this is my last weekend,” Fudd said. “I know, but I haven’t really accepted that yet. I’m really just trying to enjoy every single moment.”

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