On Sunday, South Carolina basketball advanced to their 4th Final Four in a row with a physical win over the Oregon State Beavers in Albany, New York. The Gamecocks got major contributions off the bench from Tessa Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins to secure the win, pushing them ever closer to history. USC is just two victories shy of becoming the 5th program in women's college basketball history to go undefeated.
The Regional (consisting of the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) included three tight games as the Gamecocks knocked off the Indiana Hoosiers by 4, and the Beavers beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by 5 before the closer-than-the-score 12-point victory by South Carolina in the Regional final.
It comes as no surprise that the All-Regional team included representatives from multiple teams as Raven Johnson (South Carolina), Sydney Parrish (Indiana), Timea Gardiner (Oregon State), Raegan Beers (Oregon State), and Kamilla Cardoso (South Carolina) were selected as the top-5 players from those three games.
Cardoso was the Regional's Most Outstanding Player as she averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1.5 blocks in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. She made 16 of her 25 shot attempts from the field, as well, despite matching up with two other All-American post players in Mackenzie Holmes and Raegan Beers. She also shut down Holmes almost completely and had Beers in foul trouble.
Johnson stuffed the stat sheet and was a defensive maestro in the two contests. Averaging 8.5 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals during the Regional, Johnson was the Gamecocks' most clutch performer against Indiana and seemingly was the only perimeter defender who stood a chance at keeping the hot-shooting Hoosiers and Beavers from firing up open looks from outside.