With a historial final match ahead, the Gamecocks and the Huskies proved they were always the teams to be beat in the Final Four stage
South Carolina is one win away from becoming the first team in nine years to claim back-to-back NCAA Division I women’s basketball championships. Standing in the way: Paige Bueckers and a resurgent UConn squad aiming to make history as the first non-No. 1 seed to win the tournament.
The championship clash on April 6 brings no shortage of storylines. Both teams cruised past their Final Four matchups, setting the stage for a rematch of the 2022 title game that ended with South Carolina claiming the crown.
But for the Gamecock’s head coach Dawn Staley, history does not guarantee a victory next: “Nothing that happened prior to here is gonna help us on Sunday.»Gamecocks Overcome First Quarter Slump To Reach Back-To-Back NCAA Final
For a moment, it looked like Texas was on the verge of halting South Carolina’s title defense as the Longhorns started the matchup between the SEC rivals on a 12-4 run. The Gamecocks’ reserves, however, showed up big towards the end of the first quarter and paved the way for a commanding 74-57 win and a spot in the big game.
“We’ve been in those situations before, slow starts. We knew how to bounce back. We’re a resilient team. Especially in the tournament, we had a lot of close games,” said Joyce Edwards, during the postgame press conference. “It wasn’t a pressure to do anything out of the ordinary. We just knew we just had to keep going.”
Edwards led the effort in the opening frame coming off the bench to drop six points, which paired up with MiLaysia Fulwiley’s five propelled South Carolina’s 21-5 run spanning through the second period to claim the team’s first lead (21-19) at the 8:53 mark with a three-pointer by senior Te-Hina Pao Pao.
There were seven lead changes next, but Texas’ 33% shooting from beyond-the-arc in that period against the Gamecock’s 67% helped the reigning champions to a 38-35 edge at the half.
