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Despite being the top overall seed, the only undefeated women's college basketball team, and a deep roster, No. 1 South Carolina seemed to fly under the radar throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Perhaps things will change on Sunday.
The Shamcocks advanced to the national championship game by defeating No. 3 North Carolina State University, 78-59, in the Final Four at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
South Carolina, currently 37-0, will play either Caitlin Clark's No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes or Paige Bueckers' No. 3 University Huskies in Sunday's title game. Iowa and UW will meet in Game 2 of the semifinals, which will be broadcast on ESPN.
South Carolina's Camila Cardoso, who announced Monday that she will enter the WNBA Draft, had 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 center started 6-for-6 from the field and scored the team's first 10 points in the second quarter. She led all scorers with 16 points in the first half.
However, with just over two minutes left until halftime, there was cause for concern. Cardoso showed up limping trying to drive to the basket and limped to the locker room with 1:39 left in the quarter. South Carolina entered the break leading 32-31.
However, once Cardoso returned at the start of the second half, South Carolina continued to thrive, outscoring the Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter and ending the period on a 17-1 run.
With the game trailing 61-37 at that point, head coach Dawn Staley benched Cardoso until the fourth quarter.
“So you're playing to your strengths,” Staley told reporters. “Camila is a strength for us. She's 6 feet 7 inches tall. She's agile. She can command the paint. She plays with a desire to win.”
Staley later said of Cardoso: And I think she's still in the early stages of greatness. I think you can see her play better when she's with professional players. ”
Ashlyn Watkins had 20 rebounds and eight points, and Raven Johnson had 13 points and five assists. Tehina Paopao added 10 points and six assists.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
South Carolina's Camila Cardoso shoots the ball in the first half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
This was an NCAA Tournament filled with star power, including Clark of Iowa, Buccaneers of UW, Angel Reese of LSU, and JuJu Watkins of the University of Southern California, to name a few. Meanwhile, South Carolina continues to win.
The University of South Carolina, 108-3 over the past three seasons, is back in the national championship game for the first time since 2022, when it won its second national title in program history. This is Shamcock's fourth consecutive Final Four appearance and a chance to win his third national title in seven years.
A dream season for North Carolina State ends with a record of 31 wins and 7 losses. This is the Wolfpack's second trip to the Final Four, and first since 1998.
Asiaha James led North Carolina State with 20 points.
In Game 2 of the semifinals, it looks like it's all about Clark, but the UW Buccaneers may disagree.
After a historic regular season, Clark almost single-handedly propelled Iowa State into March Madness, culminating with a 41-point performance against LSU in the Elite Eight.
This dominant performance not only exorcised the demons of last year's title game, but also led University Huskies coach Geno Auriemma to state, “We're not going to stop her,'' and is one of the best women's college basketball players at the moment. This cemented Clark's position as the most powerful player in the league. Because she tried calling all the other coaches who stopped her and no one answered the phone. Therefore, they will need to find another way to win other than stopping Caitlin Clark. ”
Perhaps the last honor Clark has left before heading to the WNBA is winning a national championship.
After falling at the final hurdle last time out, the three-point specialist is just two games away from college basketball's most prestigious trophy and once again has a golden opportunity to capture the title that has eluded him. I made it. She is great for the state of Iowa and great for herself.
“There are still two more. [games] We’re there to get there,” she said Monday. “That's what makes the Final Four so fun. It's open to everyone. Anyone can win.
“I think we have the ability to make that happen.”
Clark will be on the court against the Huskies in the Final Four. The Huskies are the team she's wanted to play for since she was a kid.
Clark admitted last month that he admired former college star Maya Moore and wanted to follow in her footsteps.
“I wanted to be like her too. I thought I would go to college when I grew up, but obviously that wasn't the case,” Clark told reporters last month.
“Caitlyn is obviously a generational great player. But if Caitlyn really wanted to come to UW, she would have called me and said, 'Coach, I really want to come to UW.' ” Auriemma told reporters on Tuesday.
“So I don't think either of us lost. I think she made the best decision for herself, and it worked out. We made the decisions we thought were necessary,” he said. added.
“I'm trying to find people that fit us, trying to find them early on. That's what happened with us and Paige. We felt really, really comfortable with it and that has been adopted.”
The game is filled with uncertainty about what could have happened, but the Huskies are a formidable team looking for a record-extending 12th national championship with their own star guard.
Bueckers has been one of the standout players in March Madness so far, helping his team to its 23rd Final Four appearance.
The 22-year-old is working towards a comeback after missing last year's season due to a serious knee injury, and is improving as the tournament progresses.
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Bueckers and Nika Muhl embrace after UConn's win over USC in the Elite 8 round.
She played every minute of UConn's final three games in March Madness, scoring 32, 24 and 28 points in an impressive performance.
Perhaps her most impressive performance came in UConn's Elite Eight matchup against the No. 1 USC Trojans, where she had 28 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, helping the Huskies advance to the semifinals.
Although she has already announced that she will not declare for the WNBA Draft and will return to UConn next season, Bueckers is one of the stars of the Final Four and will be a tough hurdle for Iowa State to overcome. Dew.
