Maybe everyone should have seen it coming. In Sunday's NCAA championship game, the player who led the charge to a national title wasn't named Paige or Aliyah or Azzi, but … Destanni.

Destanni Henderson, South Carolina's 5-7 point guard, stepped up to the biggest stage in college basketball and made her last NCAA game the best of her career. A dynamic presence on both ends of the floor, Henderson finished with a game-high 26 points, four assists and three steals in the Gamecocks' victory over UConn.

While the Huskies focused on shutting down Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston, Henderson rolled to the highest-scoring night of her college career. The senior tallied 15 of her points in the second half, including a flurry of seven in a row to halt a UConn rally. She also was the primary defender on UConn's Paige Bueckers, holding her to 14 points.

The highest-ranked point guard recruit in the class of 2018, Henderson had to wait for her star turn. Coach Dawn Staley said Henderson didn't have a great experience as a freshman, when the team went 23-10, and she did not become a full-time starter until last year. Sunday, the Florida native was the first player to grab the NCAA championship trophy, holding it over her head on the Target Center floor.

"I didn't even know it was a career high, to be honest,'' Henderson said. "It's even more of a blessing and an honor to do it in this moment, a special moment that all of us are going to remember forever.

"My teammates, I can't thank them enough. My coach just put me in the best position. These last two years have been the best.''

Before the title game, Staley — one of the greatest point guards in the game's history — said "point guards make things happen.'' Henderson grabbed that idea and ran with it, asserting herself right from the start.

She scored the game's first points on a three-pointer from the corner. In the second quarter, Henderson added two more three-pointers and a layup that ended a 9-0 UConn run. She was equally effective on defense, making things tough on Bueckers, who did not score until one minute, 25 seconds into the second quarter.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma credited South Carolina's guards with limiting Bueckers' scoring opportunities.

"They made it difficult for any of our guys to get any good looks,'' he said. "We usually don't have any problem getting Paige shots, but tonight, it was a problem.''

Henderson gave the Gamecocks a boost late in the game, when UConn cut the South Carolina lead to 43-37. She ended a 10-0 Huskies run with a free throw — which came after she stole the ball — then added a fast-break layup. Following a UConn jumper, Henderson scored four more points on a drive and a fast break.

She had another outburst in the fourth quarter, scoring six in a row.

After Henderson's freshman year, Staley said she told her if she stayed the course, she would really enjoy the next three seasons. Sunday, she ended with a trophy.

"She trusted the process,'' Staley said. "She had a different look this tournament. She was locked in. And if she wasn't, this wouldn't have happened.''