South Carolina stays unbeaten as it returns to semifinals
Team turned over roster after having perfect season ended last year in Final Four by Iowa
ALBANY, N.Y. — Dawn Staley has South Carolina back in a familiar place — the Final Four — and she got there this time with an entirely new starting lineup.
Tessa Johnson scored 15 points and Kamilla Cardoso added 12 to help the undefeated Gamecocks to a 70-58 win over Oregon State on Sunday in the Albany 1 Regional Final of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“Proud because we beat the odds,” Staley said. “Odds said we shouldn’t make it back to the Final Four. Proud of our team for them believing in themselves. We created a certain level of chemistry and culture and they stuck with it.”
It’s the second consecutive year the Gamecocks have made it to the national semifinals undefeated. South Carolina hopes for a different conclusion this time. The Gamecocks lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four last year.
“We’re different this year. I think we can do a lot of things. We can shoot from outside, drive,” Raven Johnson said. “We can play from the inside out. This team is just a young, feisty, fierce team that’s hungry. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder.”
The Gamecocks, who have made the Final Four in four straight years, will play N.C. State on Friday night in Cleveland. The Wolfpack beat Texas later Sunday in Portland, Ore.
“Each time we get an opportunity to cut down nets is kind of special,” Staley said.
Two more wins by South Carolina would make the Gamecocks the 10th school to finish a season undefeated and the first since UConn did it in 2016.
Top-seeded South Carolina (36-0) led by four at the half and built a 14-point lead before No. 3 seed Oregon State (27-8) got within 62-58 with 3:55 left in the game.
Tessa Johnson answered after a timeout with a three-point play, scoring on a drive to restore a seven-point cushion. The Beavers then went cold from the field, missing their final seven shots.
South Carolina couldn’t score either until Johnson made two free throws with 44.5 seconds left. The Gamecocks sealed the win from the free throw line.
South Carolina led 43-41 before scoring 12 straight points in the third quarter. Raven Johnson, who hit the big 3-pointer to beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, connected on a corner 3 to start the game-changing spurt. Tessa Johnson followed with five straight points, and Sania Feagin capped the burst with the four points that made it 55-41 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
The Beavers were down 58-46 heading into the fourth. They scored 12 of the first 16 points of the period to close within 62-58 on Donovyn Hunter’s layup before S.C.’s run.