LOS ANGELES — A strong defensive effort helped No. 5 UCLA crush No. 1 South Carolina in a stunning 77-62 victory on Sunday, snapping the reigning national champions’ 43-game winning streak. This marked UCLA’s first win over an AP No. 1 team in program history.
The Bruins handed the Gamecocks just their fourth loss since the start of the 2021-22 season, and the celebration was deafening inside Pauley Pavilion.
“This means a lot because Dawn Staley has set the tone of what women’s basketball excellence should be over the last several years,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “I just have so much respect for her, her staff, for the way they have a global view of the game… That being said, we expected to win.
“We have a phrase in our program that ‘it begins before it begins.’ You gotta do the work to prepare, and it starts way before the tipoff happens. There was never a doubt. We prepared like we expected to win.”
UCLA got the job done with a full team effort that saw six players score at least eight points. Londynn Jones led the way with 15 points and knocked down all five of her 3-point attempts.
“I just know it takes a lot of preparation. It’s something that I work on every morning and after…
