ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, Camila Cardoso added 12 and undefeated South Carolina advanced to the Final Four of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 70-58 win over Oregon State on Sunday. advanced.
South Carolina went undefeated for the second straight season and advanced to the national semifinals. The Shamcocks lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in last year's Final Four. This time with a completely new starting lineup, coach Dawn Staley has the group on the brink of winning his third national championship for the school.
The Gamecocks, who have reached the Final Four for the fourth straight year, will face either Texas or North Carolina State on Friday night in Cleveland. If South Carolina wins two more games, the Gamecocks will become the 10th school to finish the season undefeated and the first since UW did it in 2016.
Top-seeded South Carolina (36-0) led by four points in the first half and built a 14-point lead before third-seeded Oregon State (27-8) opened with 3:55 remaining. The score was within 62-58 points. However, the Beavers missed their final seven shots.
Johnson responded with a 3-point play after a timeout and scored on a drive to restore the seven-point cushion. No one scored until Johnson made two free throws with 44.5 seconds left.
Regan Beers led the Beavers with 16 points.
This was the second consecutive game in Albany 1 Region where South Carolina took a double-digit lead in the second half. Just like in the regional semifinal against Indiana, the young Shumcox made the plays he needed until the end.
South Carolina led 43-41 and scored 12 straight points in the third quarter. Raven Johnson, who beat Indiana with a huge 3-pointer in the Sweet 16, connected on a corner 3 to begin a game-changing spurt. Tessa Johnson followed with five straight points, and Sania Feagin capped the outburst with four points to make it 55-41 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
The Beavers trailed 58-46 entering the fourth. They scored 12 of the first 16 points of the period on a Donovin Hunter layup and closed within 62-58.
South Carolina and Oregon State have met twice in the NCAA Tournament so far, with the Siamcocks winning both, including in 2021. This is the first time Oregon State has won this far since 2018. The Beavers only reached the Final Four in 2016.
The Siamcocks dominated the offensive line and took a 37-33 lead at the half. South Carolina grabbed 13 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Oregon State was able to stay in the game with six 3-pointers, including three by Lily Hansford in the first half.
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South Carolina is two wins away from winning its third national championship.
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