UConn alums Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird summed up first half against South Carolina perfectly

Taurasi and Bird couldn’t help but wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Coming into the Women’s National Championship Game, everyone knew UConn (three and a half-point underdogs at tip) would face a tall order to upset South Carolina.

Paige Bueckers was great, but Aliyah Boston and Co. were the top seed for a reason. They were the best team all year, and it’d be hard to see them fall short at the final step. For the most part, as the title game unfolded early, those pregame suspicions turned out to come true.

After one quarter, the Gamecocks held a staggering 22-8 lead. It was the Huskies’ lowest points scored in a quarter all year, and Bueckers was scoreless.

But the score alone didn’t tell the story of the massive discrepancy between the two squads.

How do you get just three rebounds in one quarter of a Championship Game? Oh, right, Boston and Brea Beal. But still! Three rebounds!

It wasn’t a stellar start for UConn, to say the least.

Former UConn greats, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird — hosting ESPN’s side-by-side Megacast for the second time in as many nights — summed up the Huskies’ start with one camera pan.

Arms crossed. Stoic looks. No jokes. No analysis. The UConn loyalty unsurprisingly still runs quite strong in these two.

If it’s any consolation for Taurasi, Bird, and the Huskies — they did go on a run to end the first half while cutting South Carolina’s lead to 35-27. It wasn’t all bad. We might have a close game yet.

But oh boy, was that first stanza rough on everyone in Connecticut.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

[listicle id=1015983]