South-Carolina
Ruthless UConn is coming for national title, and South Carolina is next victim | Opinion
UConn players do their best impressions of head coach Geno Auriemma
The UConn Huskies have some fun before Final Four and impersonate their head coach, Geno Auriemma.
Sports Seriously
TAMPA, Florida — UConn isn’t letting Paige Bueckers leave without a national title, so woe to anyone who tries to get in their way.
Just ask UCLA, which was effectively run off the floor by halftime Friday night and wound up on the wrong end of an 85-51 loss. That would be the overall No. 1-seeded Bruins, mind you. Or Oklahoma, which is still licking its wounds from the 40 points Bueckers dropped on the Sooners a week ago.
Heck, ask South Carolina, which headed for the exits at halftime of UConn’s beatdown of UCLA, having experienced this nightmare once already. UConn shellacked the defending champs on their home court less than two months ago. They didn’t need to watch UCLA get picked apart to know what awaits them in Sunday afternoon’s title game.
There was, oh, three decades or so when everyone hated UConn because the Huskies were just better than everyone else. They collected titles like European royalty – 11 so far, for those counting – and the Final Four might as well have been a scheduled game. UConn coach Geno Auriemma had his pick of All-Americans, the Huskies alums a “Who’s Who” of women’s basketball.
But all dynasties eventually end, and the game had seemingly caught up to UConn these last few years. The Huskies haven’t won a title since 2016, and have only made one appearance in the title game since then. It’s South Carolina that’s the team to beat now, reaching the title game for the third time in four years after routing Texas in the other national semifinal.
We all should have known better.
Since a loss to Tennessee on Feb. 6, no team in the country is playing better than UConn. And the Huskies haven’t just been good. They’ve been ruthless, snatching the very souls from their opponents.
They’ve won 15 in a row, all but two by 20 or more points. They’re outscoring their NCAA tournament opponents by 30-plus points, with Bueckers averaging 29 points on 58.7% shooting in her first three games.
Against UCLA, they had a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter. They’d harassed UCLA into 10 turnovers midway through the second, two more than the Bruins had field goals.
And in perhaps the most audacious moment of the entire night, with less than two minutes left in the first half, Azzi Fudd stripped Elina Aarnisalo and whipped the ball to Bueckers. Bueckers, spotting Kiki Rice at her side, shoved the ball to Kaitlyn Chen, who scored on a layup that put UConn up 39-22.
Bueckers and Chen burst into laughter. UCLA had to want to cry.
But this is UConn and Bueckers’ year.
Bueckers is one of Auriemma’s all-time favorite players – somewhere between 1 and 1,000, she joked last weekend – but her career has not exactly been smooth. She was a freshman during COVID, playing in empty arenas. She missed part of her sophomore season with a knee injury, then tore her ACL weeks before her junior season was to begin.
Last year, Bueckers was healthy but the rest of the Huskies were being held together by bubble gum and sticky tape. That they even got to the Final Four was a minor miracle.
Everything has fallen into place this year for UConn, and the Huskies aren’t about to waste it. They want a title, and they’ll run over anyone they have to to get it.
Consider yourselves warned, South Carolina.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
Impact of the longest government shutdown in US history
USA TODAY’s Washington bureau chief lays out of the impact of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The federal government shutdown ended late on Nov. 12 after President Donald Trump signed a temporary spending plan.
All of South Carolina’s Republican delegation in the House of Representatives voted in favor of the spending plan when it came before their chamber.
This week’s About Politics examines South Carolina representative’s response to the government shutdown, one congresswoman’s increased security push, and why one political candidate says he is running against Lindsey Graham.
House members on government shutdown
The U.S. government is back open after 43 days of shutdown. President Trump signed a temporary spending plan into place late at night on Nov. 12, meaning that furloughed employees will be back at work and crucial government programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be funded.
The temporary spending plan passed the House in a 222 to 209 vote. All six of South Carolina’s Republican House members voted for the bill. The lone Democrat, 6th-District Rep. James Clyburn, voted against the policy.
Clyburn said on X that he opposes the bill because it fails to extend Obamacare tax credits that have kept healthcare costs down for millions of Americans.
“As a result of this bill, Americans will continue to experience painful sticker shock when they see their new healthcare premiums,” Clyburn said. “The end of this shutdown does not mean the end of Democrats’ fight to ensure that health care in this country is accessible and affordable for all.”
South Carolina’s Republican House members commended the end to the shutdown, while pointing a finger at their Democratic peers for holding out on a spending plan.
U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs, R-District 3, wrote on X that she spent the weeks of the shutdown traveling across her district and connecting with people who were impacted.
“While Democrats were playing political games at risk of American families, we remained focused on doing right for our people and rejecting their radical demands,” Biggs wrote. “Now, it’s time to move forward, and get back to work for South Carolina and continuing in our America First agenda.”
U.S. Rep. Timmons writes op-ed on impacts of shutdown on veterans
U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-District 4, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Reporter on Nov. 11 about the impacts that the government shutdown was having on veterans and their families. He said that the shutdown caused delays in career counseling, job trainings and adaptive employment support for veterans. The congressman also pointed to weeks of delays for new disability claims and limited communication from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“These are not just statistics,” Timmons wrote. “They are real people who have served our country and are trying to move forward in civilian life. Every day that services were delayed made reintegration harder for them and their families.”
He said that some Senate Democrats’ decision to switch their votes in support of a spending plan “cannot come soon enough.”
Nancy Mace gets federal security at Lowcountry office
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace’s office in Charleston now has a full time security detail, according to her staff. The Republican congresswoman who represents South Carolina’s 1st District claims to receive over 1,300 credible threats every year.
U.S. Capitol Police worked with the Charleston Police Department after an incident with the congresswoman’s security detail at the Charleston International Airport in late October, according to her office. The dispute between Mace and the airport started after a mixup involving Mace’s arrival at the airport and the security detail that was supposed to escort her through the facility.
Mace said in a statement that she is grateful for both departments’ work to provide security at the office.
“Unfortunately, it took an airport falsifying police reports and retaliating against a Member of Congress to wake everyone up to the reality of the threats we face daily,” Mace stated.
Alan Wilson supports posting Ten Commandments in classrooms
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and 17 other state attorneys general signed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a Louisiana law requiring a display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. The brief was filed after an appeals court deemed the law unconstitutional.
Kentucky, Idaho, Mississippi and Utah were among other state attorneys general who signed onto the brief. The group of attorneys general argued that acknowledgements of how the Ten Commandments influenced America’s heritage are common. The commandments displayed in the U.S. Supreme Court building is a representation of their impact on the legal system, the brief stated.
“Our society is healthier and stronger when we have more religion in public life — not less,” Wilson said. “It is time to end the left’s war on religion.”
Paul Dans speaks with Tucker Carlson on Senate race
Author of Project 2025 and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Paul Dans spoke to conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson on his bid against Incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham. Tucker introduced Dans and said he is grateful for Dans running “not as a protest candidate,” but as someone who has been involved in policy making.
“My motives are not personal. I’ve always liked Lindsey Graham, but I think he’s very obviously evil and if he is the face of the Republican Party, normal people can’t support it including me,” Carlson said.
Dans said he is running to make sure that the Make America Great Again (MAGA) and America Firm movements survive beyond Trump’s presidency. The candidate said his primary values as a candidate are god, family and country.
“I cannot sit back and watch someone like Lindsey Graham represent our state,” Dans said.
Greenville businessman Mark Lynch is also running in the Republican Senate primary. There are five Democrats in the primary: Charleston pediatrician Dr. Annie Andrews, Greenville business owner Brandon Brown, Columbia preservationist Catherine Fleming Bruce, Columbia logistics professional Kyle Freeman and Myrtle Beach resident Christopher Giracello.
The independent candidates are Jack Ellison of Charleston, Cindy Glaser of Fountain Inn and Paul Sedletsky of North Myrtle Beach. Kasie Whitener, a businessowner and writer residing in Blythewood, is also running as a Libertarian.
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
South-Carolina
SC Ports launches annual holiday toy drive to fulfill wish lists for SC foster children
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — South Carolina Ports is calling on Charleston area businesses and residents to help fulfill the holiday wish lists of SC foster children this holiday season, through their fourth annual toy drive.
This annual event, supported by SC Ports, the International Longshoreman’s Association Locals 1422,1422-A and 1771, Coalition 18 and the Maritime Association of South Carolina, aims to fill a 40-foot shipping container with donations for children across the state.
According to the release from SC Ports, approximately 2,000 donations are collected each year, and from there are distributed statewide by the S.C. Department of Social Services, ensure no child is without a gift this holiday season.
Those who wish to donate and support this cause can deliver unwrapped toys to the SC Ports headquarters, located in Mount Pleasant. Alternatively gifts can be purchased off the following wish lists:
Amazon Gift Wish List
Target Gift Wish List
Walmart Gift Wish List
Anyone who purchases items from an online wish list is urged to ensure that the gift is being shipped to the address linked in the registry.
The deadline for donations is Dec. 12.
COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A Colleton County man has been charged for allegedly striking a 4-year-old, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
31-year-old Garrett Scott Biering was arrested on Nov. 5 and faces a charge of unlawfully placing a child at risk of harm, SLED announced Wednesday. Biering allegedly struck a 4-year-old with an open palm on the thigh “three or more times,” causing the child to bruise, according to an affidavit.
READ MORE | “North Charleston police charge two with attempted murder after shots fired during dispute”
Biering was booked at the Colleton County Detention Center, and the case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
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