South Carolina’s 43-game winning streak ends with loss to UCLA

LOS ANGELES — Londynn Jones scored 15 points, making all five of her 3-pointers, and fifth-ranked UCLA beat No. 1 South Carolina 77-62 on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks’ overall 43-game winning streak and their streak of 33 consecutive road victories.

The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023 when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals.

Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 points and Tessa Johnson scored 14 for the Gamecocks, whose road winning streak was the third-longest in Division I history.

It was the first time UCLA took down a No. 1 team in school history to go 0-20 in such games. The program’s previous best wins were over a pair of No. 2 – Oregon in 2019 and Stanford in 2008.

Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points as one of five Bruins in double figures.

UCLA (5-0) dominated from start to finish, with the Bruins’ suffocating defense preventing the Gamecocks from putting up sustained scoring.

The Gamecocks trailed by double digits at halftime for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021 against Stanford, according to ESPN Research.