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South Carolina swarms Texas in Final Four, advances to 2nd straight title game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
One side of Sunday’s national championship game is set with South Carolina storming past Texas with an emphatic 74-57 victory.
This one did not look destined for a blowout early on, at least not in favor of the Gamecocks. The Longhorns opened the game with a 12-4 run and had a 1-point lead at the end of the 1st quarter, but that was the end of the good vibes for Texas.
South Carolina took control of the action for a 3-point lead at halftime, and it was the 3rd quarter that blew things wide open. The Gamecocks rode a 20-9 stretch to cement their stake to a Final Four blowout. From the start of the 2nd quarter onward, South Carolina posted a +18 differential.
Dawn Staley’s group outshot Texas, finishing 51% from the floor and a brilliant 7-for-11 from 3-point range. When South Carolina gets that kind of balance, it is hard to beat the Gamecocks.
Te-Hina Paopao led South Carolina with 14 points while Joyce Edwards added a brilliant double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, even leading the Gamecocks with 6 assists. Bree Hall also reached double figures with 11 points.
Jordan Lee led the Longhorns with a game-high 16 points, but Texas struggled with 15 turnovers in the loss. The Longhorns end the season with a 35-4 overall record but were just 1-3 against South Carolina.
With the win, the Gamecocks have a shot to go back-to-back in Sunday’s title game when they face the winner of UCLA vs. UConn. It would be the first time a champion has repeated since UConn won 4 straight titles from 2013-16.
South Carolina enters Sunday tied with Baylor and Stanford for the 3rd most titles in the history of women’s college basketball with 3 each. A win would give the Gamecocks the 3rd place mark singlehandedly with UConn (11) and Tennessee (8) topping the list.
On an individual level, Staley is tied with Tara VanDerveer for the 4th-most national titles in a career with 3. Another victory would give Staley 4, tying her with LSU head coach Kim Mulkey for 3rd on the all-time list with UConn’s Geno Auriemma and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt leading that record.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
