UConn’s bid for perfection is over. On Friday, the Huskies’ 54-game winning streak came to a screeching halt with a 62-48 loss to South Carolina in the Final Four. After winning 35 of 36 games by 10+ points this season, UConn fell by double-digits in the national semifinal.

The Huskies were outplayed and outcoached across the board. No single issue sankx them.

In a team meeting earlier this season, Geno Auriemma laid out his expectations for Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd.

“We need these two guys here to play great every night,” he told them.

On Friday night, neither did. Strong finished with 12 points on 4-16 shooting while Fudd totaled just eight points on 3-15 shooting. Their 20 combined points tied a season-low. Under the bright lights of the Final Four, UConn’s two stars faded.

“Sometimes we do forget she’s a sophomore. She’s carried a huge load for this team. An awful lot falls on her,” Auriemma said about Strong. “Tonight, she’ll be the first to tell you that she is not proud of how her game went today. A lot of shots that you’ve seen her make for two years so easily didn’t go in.”

“I feel like I let the team down today,” Fudd said.

Strong at least helped out with 12 rebounds, three steals and two blocks, but she just couldn’t find the basket against South Carolina’s Raven Johnson. The sophomore grew increasingly frustrated as the game went on and ripped her jersey following a missed shot at the end of the third quarter. She had to wear No. 55 the rest of the way.

“It was an accident,” Strong said. “I missed my shot, ripped it by accident.”

Meanwhile, Fudd’s NCAA Tournament struggles continued. While she exploded for a 34-point night in the second round versus Syracuse, she only had 38 points in the other four games combined. Eight of Fudd’s 13 triples during the big dance came in that contest as well.

Perhaps UConn could’ve survived if either Strong or Fudd had even an average night. But without them, the Huskies never stood a chance.