Final Four bound! No. 1 South Carolina ousts Oregon State in NCAA Elite 8 round
Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks are headed back to the Final Four.
No. 1 South Carolina defeated 3-seed Oregon State 70-58 in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Sunday at MVP Arena. The Gamecocks are headed to their sixth Final Four as a program and fourth in a row.
“The odds said that we weren’t — we shouldn’t make it back to the Final Four,” Staley said after the game. “Just proud of our team and for them believing in themselves. They created a certain level of chemistry and culture, and they stuck with it, and then they allowed us to coach them. They trusted us to coach them, even when it didn’t feel good to them personally at different times of the season.”
USC started guards Te-Hina Paopao, Raven Johnson and Bree Hall along with forward Chloe Kitts and center Kamilla Cardoso.
Three Gamecocks scored in double figures: Cardoso (12), Tessa Johnson (15) and Hall (10).
Next up for undefeated South Carolina (36-0): a trip to Cleveland to take on 3-seed N.C. State, which defeated No. 1 Texas on Sunday in Portland.
Gamecocks start off shooting cold
South Carolina had a hard time scoring in the first half against Oregon State.
Despite getting off 15 more shots than OSU by intermission (43 to 28), USC only made three more shots than its opponent (14 to 11). The Gamecocks were 2-of-12 from 3-point range in the first two periods, with its only triples coming from Paopao and Tessa Johnson, though they shot 1-of-4 and 1-of-3, respectively.
South Carolina ended the game having shot 33% from the field, including 16-of-36 on layups and 20% from 3.
USC defense experiences highs and lows
The Gamecocks had a lot to be happy with on the defensive end of the court after one half of basketball: Four blocks (three from Ashlyn Watkins), four steals (two from Hall) and keeping the Beavers off the offensive boards (grabbing 13 defensive rebounds to OSU’s five offensive boards).
But the second quarter was tougher, as both teams scored 19 points each. The Beavers made four of their six first-half 3s and got off six more shots than they had in the first quarter (17 to 11). OSU had 28 shot attempts by halftime, which was two more than it had in the first half of its Sweet 16 victory Friday over Notre Dame .
A 4 minute, 32 second scoring drought for OSU in the third quarter gave USC its largest lead of the game with just over one minute and 30 seconds left in the period (55-41).
Oregon State cut South Carolina’s lead back to four (62-56) in the fourth quarter after hitting two big 3s in a row and trading baskets with USC. A big block from Watkins (her fourth) in the final minutes, and Hall’s defense on an OSU inbound pass with 48.2 seconds left helped USC ice the game.
South Carolina’s depth shines
USC’s bench has made a huge difference all NCAA Tournament long. And Sunday was no exception. The Gamecocks bench outscored the Beavers 31-11 after three quarters.
Watkins provided a huge boost for USC off the bench after starting multiple March Madness games. She had eight points on 50% shooting, eight rebounds (which led the team), three blocks (which led the team) and a steal in the first three periods. She also had a huge block late in the fourth quarter, which knocked the ball in position for Hall to get ahold of it and switch possession to USC.
Tessa Johnson sank a couple big-time 3-pointers, working as a spark plug for South Carolina’s 12-0 run in the third quarter. She also hit a crucial and-1 floater late in the fourth quarter to stretch USC’s lead from four to seven along with several free throws to put the game out of reach.
Women’s basketball Final Four schedule
Who: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 3 N.C. State
When: 7 p.m. Friday, April 5
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
TV channel: ESPN
USC Final Four history: 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
This story was originally published March 31, 2024 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Final Four bound! No. 1 South Carolina ousts Oregon State in NCAA Elite 8 round."
