PHOENIX (AP) — South Carolina's quest to win a fourth national title ended in ugly fashion for a second straight season when the Gamecocks lost to UCLA 79-51 in the NCAA women's basketball title game on Sunday.
Even so, the monster program that Dawn Staley has built over the past 15 years doesn't look like it's going anywhere.
“Obviously, we got smacked today,” Staley said. “We got to figure out how we smack back and put ourselves in the position where we’re hoisting the trophy at the end of the day."
South Carolina should be one of the top contenders to make a seventh straight Final Four in 2027 and will have plenty of motivation after Sunday's miserable performance. The Gamecocks shot just 29% from the field and the 28-point margin was among the biggest in championship game history.
It's the second straight year South Carolina has fallen flat in the title game. The Gamecocks lost 82-59 to UConn in the 2025 final.
“To get here is hard,” Staley said. “To win here is harder, right? We just have to keep getting here and make adjustments when we don’t win.”
Staley will undoubtedly stew over this loss for a while, but once she focuses on next season, there are lots of reasons for optimism. Leading scorer Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson are expected to return, while Madina Okot is seeking a fifth year of eligibility from the NCAA.
Veteran forward Chloe Kitts has said she’ll be back after missing this year with a torn ACL. There’s also the possibility that forward Ashlyn Watkins could return after recovering from a knee injury and taking a year away from the program to focus on personal growth.
On top of that, there's a group of promising young players who were reserves on this year's team and a highly-rated recruiting class that includes guard Jerzy Robinson.
Staley will still have work to do. The Gamecocks have to identify a new leader to replace Raven Johnson, who excelled as a floor general during his five-year career.
“Raven was the last of the core group of players that had been together that actually had taken our program to the very top,” Staley said. “I just think we just need players who are committed to team, committed to getting better as individuals, creating pro habits so when they are challenged to perform at a high level, it won’t be something that they wrestle with. It is a norm.”
Johnson had a dream career with the Gamecocks — even if it ended with a loss — never missing a Final Four and winning a pair of national championships.
She was sidelined most of the 2022 title run after tearing her ACL early in the season but was an important part of South Carolina's undefeated title in 2024, when the Gamecocks topped Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game.
Johnson became more of an offensive threat this season, averaging 10 points, but it's her leadership and defense that made her an indispensable part of this Gamecocks title run. In the semifinals, the 5-foot-8 guard matched up with UConn's 6-foot-2 Sarah Strong, stifling the AP Player of the Year for most of the night.
Now, the Gamecocks have to move on without her.
If recent history is any indication, as long as Staley is in charge, South Carolina will be well-equipped for the challenge.
“There’s going to be a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but believe in Coach Staley,” Johnson said. “She wants the best for you. You might not get what you want in that moment, but you just believe in the process and trust the process, everything will turn out good.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley motions towards the court during the first half of the women's National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game against UCLA, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley motions towards the court against UCLA during the second half of the women's National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson (5) reacts after a play against UCLA during the second half of the women's National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The United States pulled off a daring rescue of two aviators whose fighter jet was shot down by Iran, plucking the pilot from behind enemy lines before setting off a complicated extraction of the second service member who hid deep in the mountains as Tehran called for Iranians to help capture him.
The CIA looked to throw off Iran’s government before the crew member was found, launching a deception campaign to spread word inside the Islamic Republic that the U.S. had already located him.
Even as President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials described an almost cinematic mission, rescuers faced major obstacles, including two Black Hawk helicopters coming under fire and problems with two transport planes that forced the U.S. military to blow them up.
“This is the first time in military memory that two U.S. Pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in Enemy Territory,” Trump wrote early Sunday on his Truth Social platform. “WE WILL NEVER LEAVE AN AMERICAN WARFIGHTER BEHIND!”
In a pair of social media posts, Trump said the operation over the weekend required the U.S. to remain completely silent to avoid jeopardizing the effort, even as the president and top members of his administration continuously monitored the airman’s location.
The White House and the Pentagon refused to publicly discuss details about the downed fighter jet for well over 24 hours after the initial crash, particularly about the first crew member rescued from the F-15E Strike Eagle — an effort that Trump later said took seven hours in broad daylight over Iran.
The United States and Iran's government then were both racing to find the second crew member, a weapons systems officer, whose location neither side knew.
The CIA spread word in Iran that the U.S. had found him and were moving him by ground to get him out of the country, according to a senior Trump administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public.
The confusion allowed the CIA time to uncover the location of the service member, who was hiding in a mountain crevice, the official said.
He had climbed 7,000 feet (2,133 meters) despite being injured, said Sen. Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican who told “Fox News Sunday” that he was briefed by a senior administration official involved in the operation.
The intelligence agency sent the aviator's coordinates to the Pentagon and the White House, where Trump ordered a rescue operation.
Meanwhile, an anchor on a channel affiliated with Iranian state television had been urging residents in the mountainous region of southwest Iran where the fighter jet went down to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward for anyone who did.
Trump said the American aviator was being “hunted down” by enemies who were “getting closer and closer by the hour.” The United States was monitoring his location continuously, he said.
At the right moment, Trump said, he directed the military to send dozens of heavily armed aircraft to rescue the crew member, who the president said is “seriously wounded” but will recover.
Iranian state media reported that airstrikes in southwestern Iran on Saturday killed at least three people and wounded others, in the same area where the missing American crew member was believed to be.
The American rescue mission ran into major challenges behind enemy lines. Iran’s joint military command claimed it struck two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters taking part in the operation.
A person familiar with the situation said the two helicopters were able to navigate to safe airspace, although it’s unclear if they landed or if crew members were injured. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive information.
Then, the U.S. military was forced to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue of the second service member due to a technical malfunction, according to a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission. The U.S. blew up two transport planes it was forced to leave behind because of the mishap, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.
Iran’s state television on Sunday aired a video showing what it claimed were parts of a U.S. aircraft shot down by Iranian forces, along with a photo of thick, black smoke rising. The broadcaster said Iran had shot down a transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation.
Iran’s joint military command said the destroyed aircraft included two C-130 military transport aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters in the province of Isfahan, where the rescue took place.
“The fact that we were able to pull off both of these operations, without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded, just proves once again, that we have achieved overwhelming Air Dominance and Superiority over the Iranian skies,” Trump said on social media.
Trump, however, did not mention that a second military jet also went down the same day as the F-15E.
Iranian state media said Friday that a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being struck by Iran’s defense forces.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, confirmed a second Air Force combat aircraft went down in the Middle East on Friday.
An additional U.S. pilot was rescued but details were not available given the security concerns, another person familiar with the situation said.
Neither provided more information, including whether it was the A-10.
Kim and Lee reported from Washington, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, black smoke rises into the air at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site where an American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation were shot down, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)
In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)
In this image provided by Sepahnews, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's official website, wreckage is shown at what Iran's state TV claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in a rescue operation, in Isfahan province, Iran, April, 2026. (Sepahnews via AP)
