South Carolina is just 40 minutes away from reaching the mountain top of women’s college basketball once again. But the task will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. The Gamecocks are in the national championship game, with a chance to make history.
The No. 1 Texas Longhorns could not have scripted a better start than they had in the Final Four against No. 1 South Carolina on Friday. But South Carolina displayed their championship metal by playing lock-down defense and clawed their way back to a convincing 17-point win, 74-57, and advanced to the National Championship on Sunday.
The postgame celebration was tempered because South Carolina understands the goal has not been accomplished. Not yet.
“We understand that this is not where we want to be,” guard MiLaysia Fulwiley said. “We want to be cutting down those nets Sunday when it matters. We can’t really get too happy about this win because we’re not there yet.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has an unblemished record, 8-0 all time in postseason games against Texas coach Vic Schaefer.
The Longhorns came out of the gate ready to go and opened the game almost perfectly, taking a 12-4 lead early with sophomore Madison Booker scoring six of those points. But Booker would quickly get into foul trouble, being saddled with three first-half fouls, leading her to sit for a large chunk of the second quarter.
With Booker on the bench, South Carolina edged its way back, taking a three-point lead, 38-35 at halftime. In Booker’s place, talented freshman Jordan Lee had her one shining moment, scoring 10 first-half points. Lee would finish the game with a team-high 16 points.
South Carolina forced the Longhorns into what they were trying to avoid, another single-digit quarter, allowing Texas to score just nine points while putting up 20 of their own. The Longhorns did not have enough fire power or depth to come back from the deficit, allowing the Gamecocks to pull away.
Booker getting into foul trouble was the undoing of the Longhorns as they were without her prolific offensive production, and even with Lee stepping up and trying to fill her shoes, the Longhorns were unable to crack the code of the Gamecocks. Senior point guard Rori Harmon scored eight points, doing everything in her power to will the Texas offense to start.
The Longhorns went ice cold, shooting just 4-14 in the third quarter and while they did not turn the ball over, they just could not throw the ball in the ocean. South Carolina, on the other hand, was red hot and could not seem to miss. The Gamecocks went 9-16 in the third quarter.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn the second half, the Longhorns made just nine of 30 attempted shots. While Texas’ usual game plan is out-working and out-shooting their opponents, South Carolina beat them at their own game. The Gamecocks made just seven more shots than Texas but made seven three-pointers.
After struggling offensively in the past three rounds of the NCAA tournament, freshman Joyce Edwards showed off what made her such a dynamic player this season, making huge plays once again on the offensive and defensive ends.
Harmon did her best to stifle South Carolina’s guards, but their sheer depth prevented her from locking them down. Te’Hina Pao-Pao finished with 14 points and freshman Edwards did a little bit of everything, adding 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Gamecocks.
“I thought she took her time,” Staley said. “She didn’t seem pressed. She uses her athleticism, her strength and her ability to direct line drive. Her game was very lean today, and we love to see that.”
In the previous three games, she had 15 points combined. Her teammates saw a more confident and aggressive player. Edwards said she felt more definitive and was not second-guessing herself as much.
“It’s comforting just knowing that I was going to bounce back and influence a win,” Edwards said. “I’m happy it was today, and I did just what the game gave me.”
While this one will sting for a while in the case of the Longhorns, they made history as the first Texas team to make the Final Four since 2003 and won a record 35 games.
South Carolina will take on the UConn Huskies in the Championship Game after they beat UCLA 85-51 on Friday. The Huskies will be going for their twelfth championship in program history.
