By Mike Harley | @mhar3481 MINNEAPOLIS — South Carolina senior guard Destanni Henderson saved her best game of the season for last, leading the Gamecocks to their second national championship in program history, defeating perennial power Connecticut 64-49 on Sunday night. Henderson scored a career-high 26 points while shooting 9-for-20 from the field, and 3-for-6 …

By Meghan Rominger Sports Capital Journalism Program MINNEAPOLIS — Before she carried the national championship trophy to the makeshift stage at center court, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley made a pit stop. She wanted the South Carolina pep band members to pass it around and take pictures with it first. Across the court, Gamecocks superstar …

By Michael Harley Sports Capital Journalism Program MINNEAPOLIS- Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma was not particularly pleased with his team’s performance against Stanford on Friday night, but he is not taking the opportunity to compete for a national championship for granted. “Well, you get to the Final Four, it’s not easy to win either game,” …

By Mike Harley | @mhar3481 Sports Capital Journalism Program MINNEAPOLIS — The Connecticut Huskies held off defending national champion Stanford Friday night at the Target Center, defeating the Cardinal 63-58 to advance to the national championship game against South Carolina on Sunday. Despite UConn’s 19 turnovers, including eight in the fourth quarter alone, the Huskies …

By Michael Harley | @mhar3481 Sports Capital Journalism Program MINNEAPOLIS – A showdown between two national powerhouses will take place Friday night in the second semifinal game of the NCAA Women’s Final Four. The Connecticut Huskies will meet the defending national champion Stanford Cardinal at the Target Center. UConn (29-5) is making its 22nd Final …

Cory Collins covered the 2014 Final Four in Arlington, Texas while a graduate assistant for the sports journalism program on the IUPUI campus. Here is his reflection on the weekend that led to Connecticut’s national championship. By Cory Collins | @CoCoCoryCollins Rarely had it sounded so sweet. Despite some-70,000 bodies standing in the spacious confines …

Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS — With eight minutes to go in the first quarter of Tuesday’s national championship game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, UConn’s Gabby Williams passed to Moriah Jefferson. Jefferson took a brief look at her coach. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma rolled his hands to signal that they needed …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS – They sat in front of their lockers and spoke softly. Many hung their heads while others gazed straight ahead at nothing in particular. Their eyes were still red and watery. Syracuse had just suffered one of its biggest losses of the season on a …

By Frank Gogola | @FrankGogola Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS — Before 2014, the Orange didn’t have an NCAA tournament victory to their name. They had never advanced to the Sweet 16 until 11 days ago, when they knocked off top-seeded South Carolina on March 25. The wins kept coming. They took down perennial powerhouse …

By Rebecca Harris | @MsRebeccaHarris Sports Capital Journalism Program INDIANAPOLIS — Oregon State held UConn star senior Breanna Stewart to two points in the first half, a feat no other team has accomplished. Yet it wasn’t enough to stop UConn’s dominance, as the Huskies’ 80-51 victory over the Beavers sent the Huskies (37-0) to their …