2 days Ago
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In a season where all of the streaks ended, the most important one stayed intact. South Carolina is headed back to the Final Four.
The Gamecocks edged Duke 54-50 on March 30 to win the Birmingham 2 Regional, advancing to the national semifinals for the fifth straight season and seventh time overall, all since 2015. USC (34-3) is returning to Tampa, Fla., for the Final Four 10 years after it fell short in its first shot at a national championship, but of course then, they were wide-eyed rookies among the game’s heavyweights who thought they could win two games and walk away with a trophy.
After claiming that trophy three times since, including last season and twice in the past three seasons, the Gamecocks know they can. And clad in this year’s warmup T-shirts for the NCAA Tournament that are etched with “Doubt Us,” they feel they have something to prove. Senior Te-Hina Paopao invited her teammates to climb on her shoulders, taking charge near the end of the third quarter with Duke with Duke up 6.
With only one point before she shot a pull-up jumper, Paopao watched it nestle and decided she wasn’t quite through playing college hoops. Chloe Kitts followed her lead, scoring the vital points in the fourth quarter to keep the Gamecocks’ quest for a repeat national championship full steam ahead. Then senior Bree Hall, who had been called for charging just as USC was about to inbound the ball with less than 30 seconds to play, caught an airball 3-pointer from Duke's Ashlon Jackson.
Kitts iced the game from the free-throw line. Gone this year was USC’s 43-game winning streak. Gone was the 57-game winning streak in SEC regular-season games.
Gone was the 71-game winning streak at Colonial Life Arena. Maybe, the naysayers said, the Gamecocks just weren’t what they used to be. Yet here they are, again, two wins from another national championship.
And they don’t plan to just enjoy the Florida scenery next week. The Gamecocks will play the TCU/Texas winner at 7 or 9:30 p.m.
on April 4 at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. USC beat each already this season, twice topping the Longhorns but also losing to Texas in Austin. On the bracket’s other side, UCLA and LSU battle, while Connecticut and Southern Cal will meet on March 31.
The Bruins whipped the Gamecocks in November in Los Angeles, while UConn destroyed USC on its home court six weeks ago. The Gamecocks beat LSU this season and have never lost to the Tigers since Kim Mulkey took the job four years ago. The Gamecocks will play the (2) TCU/(1) Texas winner at 7 or 9:30 p.
m. on April 4 in Tampa, Fla., at the Final Four.
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