If there were any doubts about UConn’s status as championship contenders this season, they were just put to bed. The Huskies stunned all women’s basketball fans in dismantling Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team in a marquee matchup Sunday. Geno Auriemma’s squad got off to an early lead in the showdown and never looked back, winning the contest by a score of 87-58.

This was a huge win for UConn given they had previously dropped three high-profile games earlier in the season to Notre Dame, USC, and Tennessee respectively. But the victory over the Gamecocks was quite a bounce back, as South Carolina came into the contest as one of the NCAA’s early ranked number one seeds.

However, when it came time to take the court in the matchup between powerhouse programs, the difference was staggering. Paige Bueckers may have passed Rebecca Lobo on UConn’s all-time scoring list in the midst of the contest, but the Huskies didn’t even need a big scoring performance from its biggest star to dominate the game. Bueckers finished with 12 points but she was successful orchestrating in dishing out 10 assists as well.

The rest of the UConn team did plenty of work to shoulder the scoring load, with Azzi Fudd catching fire in what could be her signature performance in a Huskies uniform. In addition, star freshman Sarah Strong made her presence felt across the board, proving in the process that UConn will enter March with several players capable of taking over a game.

As a result, Staley’s team suffered its second loss in a week. While Auriemma and company appear poised to peak at the right time. Since there is no reason to believe UConn doesn’t have a chance to add to its illustrious trophy case after outclassing South Carolina.