Te-Hina Paopao transferred to South Carolina on a quest for a national championship.

She ended it by holding the championship trophy on Sunday after the Gamecocks defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75 in the title game.

“I’m so proud of our team,” Paopao told ESPN after the game. “It feels great. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

The former Oregon Ducks’ star, who transferred to South Carolina before the season, played a key role in helping the Gamecocks (38-0) become just the 10th team to finish a season undefeated in women’s college basketball history.

“We’ve come a long way. It’s been a long journey,” Paopao told reporters after the game. “We’ve trusted each other so much over the season. We have so much confidence with each other, so much love. We’re going to sound like a broken record, but it’s love throughout this whole program, throughout this whole team.”

Paopao scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and she made three of four 3-point shots in 22 minutes. Her accuracy from the beyond the arc wasn’t surprising, as she led Division I in 3-point shooting at 46.8%.

The Gamecocks overcame a torrid start by the Hawkeyes, who jumped out to leads of 10-0 and 18-7 in the first quarter. The Gamecocks didn’t panic and never abandoned their game plan and slowly worked their way back into the game.

As a senior, Paopao provided a steady hand for the young Gamecocks. Coach Dawn Staley lost her entire starting five from the team that reached the Final Four last season. South Carolina lost to Iowa in a national semifinal last season in part because of their inconsistent shooting from the perimeter.

Paopao played three seasons at Oregon, where she was an All-Pac-12 first-team selection as a freshman and sophomore. Paopao was one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters, making 42.4% of her shots from beyond the arc. She averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season.

Paopao’s accuracy and the Gamecocks’ need made for a natural fit after she entered the transfer portal. Stiill, she said was shocked when her high school coach told her Staley was interested in bringing her to Columbia, South Carolina.

“She goes ‘South Carolina is calling about you,’ and I was like ‘Who?! South Carolina?!’ Like, don’t play with me,” Paopao told the Greenville News. “They just said they needed someone like me and felt like I was that piece that they were missing. Obviously, they’re going to bring in other pieces, but I feel like they really needed a player like me who’s a veteran, who’s been playing in the Pac-12 and someone who’s been been through it all.”

Pappao, who averaged 11 points, 3.8 assists per game and 2.7 rebounds per game during the season, said she loves playing for Staley and added people would “run through brick walls” for the coach.