Top 5 reasons why Dawn Staley and South Carolina will stop Paige Bueckers' national title run

NCAA Womens Basketball: Final Four National Championship Practice-South Carolina - Source: Imagn

Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies are up against Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks in the national championship game on Sunday. The Huskies are looking to win their first championship since 2016 and are having the most dominant run of the tournament this season.

However, the Gamecocks stand in the way. Despite the strong March Madness from the Huskies, South Carolina has arguably had a great season and is looking to defend last year's championship win. Here are the top five reasons why the South Carolina Gamecocks can stop Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies.

Top five reasons the South Carolina Gamecocks will win the National Championship

#1 They make use of their balanced offense

Unlike the three other teams that reached the Final Four, the Gamecocks do not have a go-to player. While this can be an issue for some teams, it has not been one for the Gamecocks. The players in South Carolina have bought into the balanced offensive system, with all players chipping in and they will keep it up against UConn as well.

#2 They have national championship experience

The Huskies have a few players who were around for their 2022 national championship game loss to South Carolina. For the rest of the team, this will be their first finals and lack of experience could be a problem.

The Gamecocks do not have that issue as most players were around for last year's undefeated season championship win. These players have experience winning in big games and can use that to their advantage.

#3 They force Paige Bueckers to pass the ball

One of the biggest reasons UConn has been successful this season has been because of the outstanding play of Paige Bueckers. While the Huskies have other great players, they do not perform as well when Bueckers is not scoring. So, if the Gamecocks consistently double-team Bueckers and keep her from shooting, they will stand a better chance of winning.

#4 They get good scoring off the bench

The South Carolina Gamecocks might not have a go-to scorer, but they have a strong bench. Part of the reason they were able to reach the final was because of strong bench performances. Joyce Edwards had an outstanding performance against Texas, registering 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

#5 They play strong lockdown defense

The key for the Gamecocks in a close game over Duke in the Elite Eight was lockdown defense. That will be crucial again against the Huskies, who have one of the most dynamic offenses in college basketball.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Ruth John S