Four new astronauts arrive at the International Space Station to replace NASA's evacuated crew

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.

SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.

Last month’s medical evacuation was NASA’s first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.

Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have lived up there before. During her first station visit in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk.

Adenot, a military helicopter pilot, is only the second French woman to fly in space. Hathaway is a captain in the U.S. Navy.

“Bonjour!” Adenot called out once the capsule docked to the space station 277 miles (446 kilometers) up.

A couple of hours later, the hatches swung open and the seven space travelers hugged and exchanged exuberant high-fives. “Let's get rolling,” Meir said.

NASA has refused to divulge the identity of the astronaut who fell ill in orbit on Jan. 7 or explain what happened, citing medical privacy. The ailing astronaut and three others returned to Earth more than a month sooner than planned. They spent their first night back on Earth at the hospital before returning to Houston.

The space agency said it did not alter its preflight medical checks for their replacements.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In this image from video provided by NASA, foreground from left, Russian Andrei Fedyaev, Americans Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir and France’s Sophie Adenot, gather with, background from left, Russian Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, American Christopher Williams and Russian Sergei Mikayev, after a new crew entered the International Space Station on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this image from video provided by NASA, France’s Sophie Adenot, Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev and Americans Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway greet colleagues as they enter the International Space Station after arriving on a SpaceX Dragon capsule on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

In this image from video provided by NASA, a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Americans Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev, approaches the International Space Station for docking on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

Crew 12 mission astronauts, from left, pilot Jack Hathaway, Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, commander Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophia Adenot, of France, leave the Operations and Checkout building before heading to pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, on a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

PHOENIX (AP) — Ta'Niya Latson scored 16 and Agot Makeer added 14 points and South Carolina played stifling defense to beat UConn 62-48 on Friday night, ending the Huskies' 54-game winning streak and advancing to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game.

The Gamecocks will face the winner of Texas and UCLA semifinal on Sunday for the title, capping off another March Madness. South Carolina (36-3) will be looking to win its fourth national championship. Their other three have come in the last decade.

UConn (38-1) entered the Final Four undefeated for the ninth time in school history and for the third straight time left without a title. The Huskies also lost in the 2017 and 2018 national semifinals. This was the fewest points UConn had scored since putting up 49 points in a national championship game loss to the Gamecocks in 2022.

The Huskies and Gamecocks played last season for the title and UConn came away with an 82-59 rout for the school’s 12th national championship. UConn also beat South Carolina handily during the 2024-25 regular season.

With less than a second remaining in the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma walked across the court to shake hands with Dawn Staley and had an animated conversation with the South Carolina coach while pointing to the floor. Staley yelled back at him as assistants from both teams separated the two.

When the clock ran out finally, Auriemma walked straight to the tunnel and didn’t shake hands. The two teams did shake hands.

The teams came into the game as the second- and third-leading scoring teams in the nation, both averaging over 87 points per game. This was a defensive battle.

Leading 46-44 a few minutes into the third quarter, South Carolina scored five straight points, capped by Agot Makeer’s 3-pointer to extend the advantage to seven.

Sarah Strong hit a 3-pointer to get the Huskies back within 51-47 with 4:39 left. The Huskies didn't score again until Strong hit a free throw with 30.8 seconds left, after South Carolina had scored 11 straight points.

South Carolina clamped down on UConn’s two stars. Strong, who was honored as the AP Player of the Year on Thursday, had 12 points and 12 rebounds, but went 4 for 16 from the field. Azzi Fudd had just eight points for the Huskies, making only 3 of 15 shots.

UConn had its worst shooting night of the season finishing 19 for 61 (31.1%) from the field.

Trailing 26-24 at the half, South Carolina opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead. The Gamecocks extended the advantage to 40-30 — the biggest deficit the Huskies’ had faced this season.

UConn, which missed 10 of its first 11 3-point attempts, then started to get hot from the field, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, the last by Fudd to get within 40-39. The All-America guard had missed seven of her first eight shots as she was blanketed by South Carolina’s defense.

South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 44-39.

Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily. The Huskies had been rarely challenged all season long, routing their Big East opponents by record margins.

Facing their first real test in a long time, they had no answer.

The opening 20 minutes was full of missed shots and turnovers. The two teams combined to shoot 22 for 62 from the field (35.4%) and had 14 turnovers. UConn led 26-24 at the half.

There were dozens of former Huskies and Gamecocks players in the crowd including Diana Taurasi, Paige Bueckers and Aliyah Boston. Boston was sitting next to Flavor Flav, who is a huge supporter of women’s sports.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

UConn guard Azzi Fudd (35) fouls South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (8) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) and UConn guard Kayleigh Heckel (9) scramble for the ball during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) drives against UConn guard Blanca Quinonez (4) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) shoots over UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) during the second half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

South Carolina guard Ta'Niya Latson (00) and South Carolina guard Agot Makeer (44) go for a rebound against UConn during the first half of a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)