Henderson dribbled the ball with his right hand as Bookers tried to fool the ball. But Henderson burst into the void that opened, leading strongly into the lane. The 7-legged senior guard rose high with UConn Aaliyah Edwards 6-3 on her hip and turned the ball off the board and through the net. He ran back to the pitch as UConn zeroed in, his tongue raised a little, grinning. “It caught fire,” South Carolina coach Lisa Boyer said after the game. “It was her day, her night. And she took advantage of it in every way.” Henderson finished the game with 26 points, four assists and three steals in South Carolina’s 64-49 victory over UConn for the program’s second national championship in five years. She is the first player since 2000 to record a high career in a national championship match. He had a hand on 34 of the Gamecocks’ 64 points, shooting 9-for-20 from the court and 3-for-6 over the crossbar. Defensively, he helped keep the Bueckers, the national player of the year for 2021, at 14 points. Bookers shot 1-on-5 against Henderson. “I really did not even know I had a top career,” Henderson said. “It’s just an even greater blessing and honor to do it now, a special moment that we will all remember forever.” 2 About As the clock struck the Target Center, the crowd began to cheer for the Gamecocks. Even when the fans – led by the great South Carolina and Las Vegas Aces striker A’ja Wilson – roared, Henderson remained calm. When she fell out, coach Dawn Staley hugged her and slapped her on the back while celebrating. Assistant Fred Chmiel wrapped Henderson in his arms and lifted her off the ground. As the last seconds passed, Henderson stood near the bench, smiling, her head down, with tears in her eyes. When her teammates ran to the stadium in the buzzer, Henderson walked instead, pulling her blouse to her face to hide her emotions from the cameras and the crowd. “It was a journey that led me to this moment,” he said. “I had to believe and I had to fulfill my role and I feel it was worth it.” Young striker Aliyah Boston was named the Final Four Player of the Year. But as Henderson lifted the trophy as the confetti rained down from the ceiling, the moment was a reminder of what it took to get there: from the YMCA Stadiums in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida, to the bench in Southern Columbia. Caroline. This was a nightmare for the South Carolina point guard, who came off the bench two years ago. Staley pulled Henderson aside in her second season and told her she would not play a key role but would play many more minutes. Henderson would have ended up playing all 33 games, but did not start a single one that season. I’m playing 2:10 Monica McNutt and Andraya Carter analyze how the Gamecocks were able to take control of the league game against the Huskies. “He just thought, for the sake of the team, that it was better for me to come off the bench,” Henderson told ESPN in January, looking back. “And that is what I did”. Staley took the story to the Gamecocks while filming a few days after the team’s first defeat in the 2021-22 season, a 70-69 defeat in overtime from Missouri. The goal was to inspire her players to be committed and trust the process, something Henderson said succinctly. To emphasize her point, she asked a question. “What do you say, Henny?” Staley asked Henderson’s answer when he delivered the news. “It does not say much.” Henderson did not say much on Sunday night after the game. He did not shout or scream. There was just a smile and the tip of her tongue popped out between her lips. Monday through Friday, host Pablo Torre brings you an insight into the most interesting stories on ESPN, as told by the world’s top journalists and connoisseurs. I hear “She is a quiet soul,” Staley said. “And a smooth operator.” Henderson’s next stop will be the WNBA Draft. Its performance on Sunday night is the kind of moment that affects the draft stock, especially as it is a week away. “The sky is the limit for her,” said Minnesota Lynx guard Angel McCoughtry. “She will become a great professional athlete.” Henderson climbed the ladder to cut the piece of netting, as he did everything else on Sunday night, with a quiet, smooth confidence. Minimal celebration. Just a moment to love her the way he loves her. By not saying much. Her interpretation spoke quite loudly.
