South Carolina claims national title, snaps UConn’s title game streak

(KYMA, KECY/ CNN) - After 40 minutes on the floor, the number one team in the country for the entire women's college basketball season ends the year on top as national champions.

The South Carolina Gamecocks took down Connecticut (64-49) on Sunday night in Minneapolis.

It took a hot start from the Gamecocks to run away with a large advantage in the first half. A three from Destanni Henderson put South Carolina up 30-12 in the second quarter and it took awhile for the Huskies to make a run.

Connecticut made very small runs to cut the lead to six or seven a few times, but it was the Gamecocks who held off the Huskies and ran away with an even bigger lead down the stretch.

South Carolina was led by a career-high 26 points for Destanni Henderson.

For the Huskies, 14 points from Paige Bueckers wasn't enough.

After the win, South Carolina's head coach Dawn Staley explained how the program's culture has put them where they are now after the title win.

"I learned that culture matters. I learned that chemistry matters. I learned that the majority of your team really has to be locked in," sadi Staley. "A big part of our team are made up of young players that if they were the majority, they wouldn't know how to navigate through a season in which you're the No. 1 team throughout the entire season. And they don't know the heartaches of what took place last year when we fell short in the semifinals. So you need players who have an incredible, insatiable desire to want to succeed and win a National Championship, or else it won't take place."

As for Connecticut, the loss on Sunday marked the first title game loss for the Huskies in their 11 trips, snapping coach Geno Auriemma's historic streak.

"The eleven times that we won I would say maybe all eleven, but at least ten, we had the better team. And we played like we were the better team and we were well balanced and we had all the bases covered and we had everything you needed to win a championship," said Auriemma. "I told Dawn after the game, they were the best team in the country all year. They were No.1 in the country in November when we saw them down in the Bahamas and they’re the best team in the country today."