No. 5 UCLA stuns top-ranked South Carolina in 15-point blowout to snap Gamecocks’ 43-game winning streak

After being perfect for over a year and completely dominating the sport, Dawn Staley and South Carolina have finally fallen.

No. 5 UCLA rolled to a dominant and stunning 77-62 upset win over the top-ranked Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. It marked the Bruins’ first-ever victory over a No. 1-ranked team in program history and cemented their spot as a legitimate title contender this season.

The loss snapped a 43-game winning streak for South Carolina and was the first for the Gamecocks since falling to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the 2023 Final Four. They were a perfect 5-0 this season after winning the national championship last spring and had won 85 of their last 86 games before Sunday.

The Bruins led from the jump on Sunday and never looked back. They opened the game on a 15-2 tear, then sent the Gamecocks into the locker room more down than they have been in years. UCLA took a 21-point halftime lead after draining six 3-pointers — half of which came from Londynn Jones off the bench — in the first 20 minutes.

South Carolina’s offense was largely non-existent in the first two quarters as well. The Gamecocks entered halftime with just 22 points as a team and shot 26.5% from the field. Three South Carolina starters were held scoreless in the first half and they were returned with seven.

It marked the first time South Carolina trailed by double digits at halftime in any game since 2021. According to ESPN, the last time they trailed by 20 points or more at halftime was against Baylor in 2019 — more than 2,000 days ago.

Although the Gamecocks came out of halftime on a quick 7-2 burst, the Bruins didn’t let up. UCLA had a 20-point lead entering the fourth quarter before winning by 15 points.

Jones led UCLA with 15 points off the bench, all of which came from behind the arc. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points and four assists, and Lauren Betts finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Te-Hina Paopao led the Gamecocks with 18 points in the loss while shooting 7-of-13 from the field. Tessa Johnson was the only other player to hit double figures for South Carolina. She finished with 14 points off the bench. The Gamecocks shot better than 36% from the field as a team and shot just eight total free throws.

The next few weeks won’t get any easier for South Carolina. The Gamecocks will face No. 8 at Iowa State next Thursday in Fort Myers tip-off before games against Purdue, no. 14 Duke and no. 19 TCU. The Gamecocks will also fall from No. 1 in the rankings on Monday.

However, UCLA now has a non-conference winner. If Sunday is any indication, the Bruins should be in a great spot to not only hang with JuJu Watkins and USC, but potentially make the Big Ten run in their first season in the league.