Final Four bound! Gamecocks top Texas to move one step closer to national title
They’re back.
For the third time in six tries — and for the first time since their national championship in 2017 — the South Carolina Gamecocks are going to the Final Four.
USC clinched the national semifinal berth Tuesday, racing out to a commanding lead early and crushing No. 6 seed Texas, 62-34, exactly 383 days after the NCAA canceled the 2020 tournament and denied last year’s team a shot at glory.
“We’re going to enjoy this. We’re going to enjoy it, because you never know when things will be taken away from you,” coach Dawn Staley said. “Last year, things were taken away. I’m glad our players fought to be in this position.”
The Gamecocks match up with fellow No. 1 seed Stanford on Friday in the Final Four.
“It feels great. It’s still a surreal feeling for me,” said sophomore guard Zia Cooke, who led the team with 16 points. “It takes me a while to process things, so when I get back to my (hotel) room, I might shed a tear or something. Because it’s a dream for me, and I think it’s a dream for any young girl. I’ve been working hard my whole life, my teammates have been working hard our whole lives. And like (Staley) said, she feels like we deserve it, and we feel like we deserve it as well.”
Five different players scored in double figures for the No. 1 seed Gamecocks, who never trailed for a second of the Elite Eight matchup against Vic Schaefer, USC’s former SEC rival and current Longhorns coach.
“They were really special today. And they’re really a tremendous basketball team,” Schaefer said. “Always well-coached — Dawn and her staff do a tremendous job.”
All the hallmarks of South Carolina’s best performances this year were there — a 38-20 edge in points in the paint, a 10-2 lead on fast-break points and a suffocating defensive effort highlighted by 14 blocked shots. And yet Cooke said the Gamecocks still have yet to play their best basketball.
“That’s why it’s even scarier, because it’s not there yet,” Cooke said. “We’re getting closer and closer to the goal that we want to get to, and the pieces are falling into place. It’s coming though.”
For anyone looking to nitpick, there were a few occasions where Texas put together runs, cutting the lead to seven points in the second quarter and 10 in the third.
But each time, South Carolina gathered itself and responded. In the second quarter, it was Cooke who drilled a contested jumper as part of an 11-point outburst to steady the ship. In the third, it was junior guard Destanni Henderson who knocked down a 3-pointer, part of her 12 points and team-high seven assists.
“We just played with our guard up. We knew that Texas was a good defensive team,” Cooke said. “Can’t take any team lightly. ... We just made sure we put our foot on the gas, kept our guard up and did what we needed to do.”
In the frontcourt, forwards Aliyah Boston, Victaria Saxton and Laeticia Amihere each recorded at least 10 points and eight rebounds.
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3 OBSERVATIONS
1. Collier vs. Boston ... and Saxton
Texas features a big interior presence in 6-foot-5 Charli Collier. Outside of her, though, the Longhorns didn’t have a starter taller than 5-foot-11. That created an advantage for the junior Saxton, South Carolina’s other forward alongside All-American Aliyah Boston. From the get-go, she exploited that, scoring the game’s first eight points on layups inside. She finished the contest with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Boston, meanwhile, finished 2 of 11 with 10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Collier, an All-American as well, was 2 of 10 for four points and four rebounds.
“Honestly, I thought Aliyah came in, her eyes were wide open. And I think the moment may have gotten the best of her early on,” Staley said. “It took a while for her to settle in, to be the Aliyah that we need her to be at every game. But Aliyah does so many other great things for us. She didn’t score the ball today, but she rebounded, she defended. She was there, she was present, you gotta guard her. ... She afforded us opportunities.”
2. Defensive lockdown
Defense was the buzzword behind Texas’ stunning upset of No. 2 seed Maryland in the Sweet 16. But on Tuesday, it was the Gamecocks, not the Longhorns, who dominated that facet of the game, holding UT to just 23% shooting from the field — and no points in the fourth quarter to drive home the rout.
It marked the first time in tournament history that a team has been held scoreless for an entire quarter, and it was the fewest points scored in an NCAA tournament game in the Elite Eight. It was also the second-lowest shooting percentage South Carolina has allowed this season, ahead of only the season opener against College of Charleston.
3. Amihere block-fest
Sophomore forward Laeticia Amihere picked up two fouls early and had to spend most of the first half on the bench. In the third quarter, however, she came out huge, blocking five shots and scoring four points to help make up for a rough third quarter in which the Gamecocks shot 31.3% from the field. She finished with 10 points, nine blocks and eight rebounds — just shy of a triple-double — in only 17 minutes of play.
NEXT USC BASKETBALL GAME
What: NCAA tournament Final Four
Who: No. 1 seed South Carolina vs. No. 1 seed Stanford
When: 6 p.m. Friday
Where: Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
Watch: ESPN
South Carolina history in the Final Four
▪ 2015: No. 1 seed, Greensboro Region. Lost Final Four game to Notre Dame 66-65 in Tampa.
▪ 2017: No. 1 seed, Stockton Region. Won national championship over Mississippi State 67-55.
▪ 2021: No. 1 seed, Hemisfair Region. Facing Stanford in a Final Four game.
This story was originally published March 30, 2021 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Final Four bound! Gamecocks top Texas to move one step closer to national title."
