South-Carolina

NCAA women’s Final Four: UConn v South Carolina, UCLA v Texas – live updates

Published

3 months ago

April 3, 2026

NCAA women’s Final Four: UConn v South Carolina, UCLA v Texas – live updates

Key events

South Carolina 40-39 UConn, 0:46 left, third quarter: South Carolina thought they had UConn trapped, but the Huskies work the ball around to a wide-open Quiñónez, who atones for her fouls by hitting the open 3-pointer. Raven Johnson turns it over, and at last, Azzi Fudd hits a 3.

Nine points in about 90 seconds.

South Carolina 40-33 UConn, 2:11 left, third quarter: Quiñónez fouls Latson. The South Carolina player hits both free throws, and the Gamecocks have a double-digit lead.

Heckel is stunned to find herself open from six feet out, and her shot draws the front rim. But UConn fights to keep the ball, and Heckel hits a three.

South Carolina 38-30 UConn, 3:09 left, third quarter: Edwards draws a foul from Strong and has a chance to put the Gamecocks up 10, but her first free throw is too … well, strong. She misses her second as well.

Strong bangs hard in the post to create some space but still misses a shot.

It’s chaos now.

Expected:

For South Carolina, Joyce Edwards has 10 points, and Madina Okot has seven rebounds.

For Connecticut, Sarah Strong has eight points and six rebounds.

Unexpected:

For South Carolina, Raven Johnson is 1-for-5.

For Connecticut, Ashlynn Shade has 10 and Azzi Fudd has two.

South Carolina 38-30 UConn, 4:16 left, third quarter: Quiñónez races out of control down the lane and misses a layup. Tessa Johnson rushes a shot at the other end and barely hits the rim.

Ashlynn Shade finds her range again, hitting from the free throw line.

Edwards restores the eight-point lead. She follows up with a steal and draws a foul in transition from Azzi Fudd.

Timeout on the court.

South Carolina 36-28 UConn, 5:35 left, third quarter: Okot drains two free throws to put South Carolina up by four. KK Arnold answers with a sharp change of direction and a layup. Edwards scores on a forceful drive.

UConn misses, gets a rebound and resets, but Raven Johnson steals again. This time, the Huskies get back quickly and disrupt her drive.

Shade has gone cold for UConn.

Latson, who scored several early points for South Carolina, hits two free throws. ESPN’s graphic tells us this is the largest deficit UConn has faced this season.

And now it’s even more, as Makeer hits from the baseline. UConn calls timeout.

South Carolina 28-26 UConn, 7:30 left, third quarter: South Carolina continues its outstanding offensive rebounding but can’t finish in three tries. But at the other end, Raven Johnson picks off a pass and races for a layup, her first points of the game.

South Carolina 26-26 UConn, 8:45 left, third quarter: Turnover by Raven Johnson, airball by Azzi Fudd. Strange game this is.

Okot scores for the first time, and we’re tied.

Back underway …

South Carolina’s lowest score of the season is 60, in a 60-56 win over Kentucky in their regular season finale. They were held to 61 in the SEC final, losing 78-61 to Texas.

UConn’s low is 63 from their 63-42 win over North Carolina in the Sweet 16. They broke 70 in every other game.

Some stats

Rebounds: South Carolina 24-16. Imagine if Strong didn’t have six rebounds for UConn.

Field goal percentage: UConn 40-31

3-pointers: South Carolina 1 for 2, UConn 1 for 8

Leading UConn scorers: Strong 8, Shade 8, Williams 4 (and hasn’t been seen since midway through the first), three players with 2 each.

Leading South Carolina scorers: Edwards, Latson and Tessa Johnson with 6 each. Makeer has 5, McDaniel 1.

Halftime: South Carolina 24-26 UConn

Shade makes yet another contribution with an offensive rebound, but Fudd misses the resulting shot. South Carolina can’t find a decent shot as the clock runs down, though. UConn gets the rebound but has no time to advance the ball, and a compelling first half is over.

South Carolina 23-26 UConn, 1:10 left, second quarter: Not the restart Staley had in mind, as UConn picks off a pass and is off to the races. But the Huskies can’t finish, and South Carolina continues to have a rebounding edge.

Ashlynn Shade once again pops free for a 3-pointer … nope, her foot is on the line again. She still picks up two points to run her total to eight.

South Carolina 23-24 UConn, 2:08 left, second quarter: Quiñónez gets her first points on a nifty post move. South Carolina rushes things at the other end, and then Azzi Fudd’s first points of the game put UConn out in front. Dawn Staley calls timeout.

South Carolina 23-20 UConn, 3:05 left, second quarter: Wild shot by Mateer misses, but UConn takes two inaccurate shots at the other end. South Carolina beats UConn back down the court, with Edwards converting the layup. Edwards gets back on defense to pick up a steal.

South Carolina 21-20 UConn, 4:28 left, second quarter: Ashlynn Shade wasn’t the person you might have expected to keep UConn close, but she’s doing just that, as she runs her point total to six. After another South Carolina miss, Sarah Strong makes a … well, strong move in the lane to pull the Huskies within one. They tie up the ball and will have possession after the media timeout.

South Carolina 21-18 UConn, 5:35 left, second quarter: Tessa Johnson hesitates as if unable to believe how open she is after a South Carolina inbounds play.

Another miss for UConn, and Edwards scores in the post at the other end. The Gamecocks are on a tear.

South Carolina 17-16 UConn, 7:15 left, second quarter: Sarah Strong takes a turn on the breakaway, poking the ball free and racing upcourt. Maddy McDaniels fouls the UConn star to put on the free throw line. She clanks the first off the rim but hits the second.

South Carolina 17-15 UConn, 7:47 left, second quarter: South Carolina pokes the ball free, and Latson has a breakaway. She easily converts.

Fudd misses a 3-pointer. She has not yet scored.

The defenses are back in the ascendancy.

South Carolina 15-15 UConn, 8:30 left, second quarter: Raven Johnson picks up a second quick foul. Coach Dawn Staley gives a look of disapproval.

South Carolina 15-15 UConn, 9:00 left, second quarter: Missed opportunity on defense for South Carolina, as they force UConn to run down the shot clock but allow the Huskies to reset after Raven Johnson commits a foul.

End first quarter: South Carolina 15-15 UConn

Quiñónez picks up her second foul and takes a seat.

UConn forces South Carolina to use all of the shot clock, and Latson has to try an acrobatic scoop. It’s off the rim, but South Carolina taps the ball out to Mateer, who hits a 3-pointer with just a couple of seconds left in the quarter. We’re tied.

South Carolina 12-15 UConn, 1:35 left, first quarter: Pretty fadeaway jumper from Kayleigh Heckel, who transferred to UConn from the other USC (Southern California).

Quiñonez commits the game’s first foul, and Agot Makeer hits both free throws.

South Carolina 10-13 UConn, 2:03 left, first quarter: UConn brings in impressive first-year player Blanca Quiñonez, but she shows a bit of inexperience by stepping over the baseline for a turnover.

Good work in the post by Joyce Edwards to pull South Carolina within three.

South Carolina 8-13 UConn, 3:27 left, first quarter: We’ve hit the first media timeout.

Both teams sputtered at the start but have figured things out offensively. The defenses are solid – UConn has already forced a shot clock violation, and South Carolina nearly did so at the other end – but these teams have too much offensive talent to hold back for too long.

South Carolina 8-13 UConn, 3:55 left, first quarter: And as I type that, Sarah Strong bails out her team with a 3-pointer as the shot clock nears zero. She scores again after another Okot miss, and the Huskies are already running away.

Tessa Johnson responds with a layup and then a jumper.

Shade hits a long 2 – this is frenetic stuff.

South Carolina 4-6 UConn, 5:49 left, first quarter: Williams again after some dizzying ball movement.

Tessa Johnson rushes things for South Carolina at the other end. UConn misses on their next possession but forces a turnover with a tough trap along the baseline. They miss a 3-pointer, and Latson ties it.

Ashlynn Shade scores for UConn – the big names for each side have been held scoreless as the teams collect their first 10 points.

South Carolina 2-2 UConn, 7:35 left, first quarter: Great defense by the Huskies to force Madina Okot to take a long jump shot. She seems uncomfortable with it and misses the rim, yielding a shot clock violation.

Serah Williams picks up the first points for UConn.

Tipoff

South Carolina 2-0 UConn, 9:23 left, first quarter: South Carolina controls, and Latson hits a layup for the game’s first points.

One minute to go? Maybe?

The national anthem is finished … but we still have nearly 10 minutes until tipoff. What they plan to do until then, I have no idea. Classwork?

AP All-Americans in the Final Four …

First team
Sarah Strong, UConn
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Madison Booker, Texas
Lauren Betts, UCLA
(Also Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt)

Second team
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina

Third team
Kiki Rice, UCLA
Raven Johnson, South Carolina

Honorable mention
Rori Harmon, Texas
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina

Since last year …

In last year’s Final Four, Connecticut beat UCLA 85-51 in the semifinals and finished off South Carolina 82-59 in the final.

The defending champion Huskies had to reload after No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers departed, along with Kaitlyn Chen and Aubrey Griffin. To give some idea of how deep that team was – Griffin averaged 11.1 minutes per game and played just three minutes in the final, but she was still taken in the WNBA draft. Connecticut had two players with 24 points each in the final, Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong, and they’re both ready to run it back tonight.

South Carolina came into the tournament as the defending champions, having fended off Caitlin Clark’s Iowa team the year before. Like UConn, the Gamecocks had three players picked in the WNBA draft – Te-Hina Paopao, Sania Feagin and Bree Hall. MiLaysia Fulwiley transferred to LSU. Two senior transfers, Madina Okot (Mississippi State) and Ta’Niya Latson (Florida State), have joined senior Raven Johnson and junior Tessa Johnson in an experienced starting lineup in which the only younger player is second-team All-American sophomore Joyce Edwards.

Thanks, Ella and Stephanie, for making me cry. (I went to Duke. The Blue Devils came agonizingly close to a championship a few times, but they needed some rebuilding by the time Kara Lawson took over.)

Would anyone know anything about the University of Connecticut if they didn’t have the most dominant women’s basketball team of the past 30 years? What? They have a men’s team? I’m unfamiliar with that. I know Duke lost in the Elite Eight (same day at the women), but I think they lost to Southern California or Hofstra or Georgia or someone.

Back to the games at hand today – these teams’ presence in the Final Four is a surprise to exactly no one. They were all here last year. They were No. 1 seeds. Is it a good thing that women’s college basketball is so predictable? I asked that question recently.

But tonight, we have the potential for two fascinating games. If any teams can give UConn a game, it’s the three other teams in Phoenix.

Enjoy.

Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, read Stephanie Kaloi’s piece on the word echoing throughout this year’s NCAA Tournament, through the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Kara Lawson’s Duke team saw their Final Four dreams dashed with a 70-58 loss to UCLA on Sunday. The Blue Devils had pulled an impressive, buzzer-beating upset of No 2 seed LSU in the Sweet 16 days before, but against the No 1 Bruins in the Elite Eight, they didn’t give a repeat performance. They missed a few key moments in transition that could have changed the game and helped them to their first Final Four in 20 years.

In the end, though, it was OK.

“I told the group after the game, just before we came up here, what a great season it’s been for us. And this group has been a joy to coach every day,” Lawson told reporters after the game. Duke lost six of their 13 games played between 3 November and 28 December, and many had written off the team before they even had a chance to get into a groove.

“From where we started to where we finished, I don’t know that there’s a team that grew more than we did in the country, from where we started to where we finished,” Lawson added. “That is all because of our players, their belief, their faith and their trust in each other and our staff. That’s hard to find. That’s rare.”

Suffering a big loss that simultaneously ends a team’s March Madness hopes isn’t easy to swallow, and summoning joy from that experience isn’t for the weak. But over and over again, that’s what players and coaches have done so far during this tournament cycle. While there’s been plenty of emphasis on what went wrong and how it can be fixed before next season, there’s also been an intentional focus on what went right, too.

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South-Carolina

South Carolina is in for the longest day of year as summer 2026 starts

Published

3 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Press Room

South Carolina is in for the longest day of year as summer 2026 starts

The first astronomical day of summer in 2026 is Sunday, June 21, which is also the summer solstice.
Meteorologically, summer begins on June 1 and ends on August 31 for easier climate data comparison.
The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, when the North Pole is at its maximum tilt toward the sun.
On June 21, South Carolina will experience over 14 hours of daylight.

It may have felt like summer in South Carolina these past few weeks, but it is just now the first official day of summer.

Days have become longer, and temperatures have pushed toward 100 on some days ahead of the first day of summer. Now the longest day of the year is here, and the hottest months in the South are ahead of us.

On June 21, Greenville and Upstate South Carolina will experience more than 14 hours of daylight, according to Time and Date. From there, days will start being shorter once again.

Here’s how much daylight Upstate South Carolina is expected to see for the summer solstice.

When is the first day of summer 2025?

Well, there are technically two answers.

The first official day of summer astronomically for 2026 is Sunday, June 21, which is when the Northern Hemisphere has the longest day of the year, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

But when we talk meteorologically, summer starts on June 1. The reason for this is that meteorologists divide the year into four seasons based on the months and the temperature cycle. Doing it this way also allows them to compare and organize climate data more easily. In this system, summer begins on June 1 and ends on August 31.

What is the summer solstice?

The summer solstice marks the astronomical first day of the summer season in June in the Northern Hemisphere.

This is also when the Earth arrives at the point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its maximum tilt toward the sun, according to the Almanac. This makes it the longest day with the longest period of sunlight hours and the shortest night of the calendar year.

It will begin at 8:25 UTC or 4:25 a.m. ET on June 21, according to EarthSky.org.

When is the longest day of the year?

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. On June 21, it will be the day with the longest period of sunlight, with some areas in the Northern Hemisphere getting upwards of 15 hours of sunlight on that day, according to EarthSky.org.

In South Carolina, communities will see around 14 hours and 28 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year, according to timeanddate.com, which tracks when sunrise and sunset occur in communities across the United States.

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South-Carolina

South Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for June 20, 2026

Published

14 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at June 20, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from June 20 drawing

16-20-44-48-50, Powerball: 15, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL numbers from June 20 drawing

Midday: 3-8-7, FB: 6

Evening: 3-8-5, FB: 6

Check Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL numbers from June 20 drawing

Midday: 5-6-4-2, FB: 6

Evening: 3-5-4-4, FB: 6

Check Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 20 drawing

Midday: 06

Evening: 14

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Palmetto Cash 5 numbers from June 20 drawing

02-13-16-19-21

Check Palmetto Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from June 20 drawing

11-12-25-42-57, Powerball: 20

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

The South Carolina Education Lottery provides multiple ways to claim prizes, depending on the amount won:

For prizes up to $500, you can redeem your winnings directly at any authorized South Carolina Education Lottery retailer. Simply present your signed winning ticket at the retailer for an immediate payout.

Winnings $501 to $100,000, may be redeemed by mailing your signed winning ticket along with a completed claim form and a copy of a government-issued photo ID to the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center. For security, keep copies of your documents and use registered mail to ensure the safe arrival of your ticket.

SC Education Lottery

P.O. Box 11039

Columbia, SC 29211-1039

For large winnings above $100,000, claims must be made in person at the South Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters in Columbia. To claim, bring your signed winning ticket, a completed claim form, a government-issued photo ID, and your Social Security card for identity verification. Winners of large prizes may also set up an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for convenient direct deposit of winnings.

Columbia Claims Center

1303 Assembly Street

Columbia, SC 29201

Claim Deadline: All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date for draw games.

For more details and to access the claim form, visit the South Carolina Lottery claim page.

When are the South Carolina Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Pick 4: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Cash Pop: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
Palmetto Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. ET daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Carolina editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South-Carolina

With 77 days until South Carolina football kicks off 2026 season, a look back at No. 77 George Schecterly

Published

24 hours ago

June 20, 2026

Press Room

With 77 days until South Carolina football kicks off 2026 season, a look back at No. 77 George Schecterly

South Carolina football will take the field for the first time in 2026 on September 5 against Kent State. Williams-Brice Stadium will play host to the Gamecocks and Golden Flashes at 12:45 p.m., just 77 days from today.

The No. 77 is often worn by offensive linemen. One of two tough-nosed offensive tackles in a fun Gamecock era wore the number, as George Schechterly played for the Gamecocks from 1978 to 1980.

Questions about this story? Kevin Miller is discussing it with subscribers on The Insiders Forum.

Schechterly actually began his career at Penn State, playing for legendary coach Joe Paterno. However, as a redshirt, he didn’t meet the conditioning requirements to stay with the Nittany Lions. South Carolina gave him a second chance, and the offensive lineman dedicated himself to getting better. It paid off in a big way.

Despite being a little undersized, Schechterly earned a starting job at right tackle for the Gamecocks. He played opposite left tackle Chuck Slaughter, and the duo excelled at sealing off defensive ends with reach blocks.

That proved to be a big deal for South Carolina, as a running back named George Rogers made defenses pay on toss sweep plays. Of course, Rogers wound up winning the 1980 Heisman Trophy, and Schechterly and Slaughter provided a lot of assistance. The toss sweep play worked so well that the fanbase often joked that the best ideas in the team’s playbook were “George Sweep Right” and “George Sweep Left.”

See other jersey countdown stories like this on GamecockCentral.com.

That same 1980 season, Schechterly was an All-Independent selection at tackle and won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the top overall blocker among Independent School blockers. He was USC’s only tackle ever to earn the honor, though several interior blockers did.

Following his graduation, Schechterly played briefly in the NFL, CFL, and USFL.

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