South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks' NCAA Tournament march continues with close win over Indiana

South Carolina Basketball vs. Indiana Hoosiers
Stats, Scoring, and Observations

South Carolina basketball played one of their toughest games of the year, but the Gamecocks outlasted the Indiana Hoosiers by a score of 79-75 to advance to the Elite Eight.

Here are the stats from the game:

STATS

Indiana

Points

Leader: Sydney Parris with 21

Rebounds

Leader: Yarden Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil each with 6

Assists

Leader: Chloe Moore-McNeil with 8

Steals

Leader: Chloe Moore-McNeil with 3

Blocks

Leader: Mackenzie Holmes with 2

Team

The Hoosiers shot 45.9%/39.4%/66.7% and had 14 turnovers

South Carolina

Points

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso with 22

Rebounds

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso with 7

Assists

Leader: Raven Johnson with 6

Steals

Leader: Raven Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins each with 2

Blocks

Leader: Kamilla Cardoso with 3

Team

The Gamecocks shot 50%/50%/68.75% and had 12 turnovers

BOX SCORE

OBSERVATIONS

• Starters: Raven Johnson-Te-Hina Paopao-Bree Hall-Ashlyn Watkins-Kamilla Cardoso
• Kamilla Cardoso dominated Mackenzie Holmes in the 1st quarter, forcing her to the bench with foul trouble and scoring 5 early points. The 2nd quarter was no better for Holmes. In the 1st half, Cardoso had 13 points on 6-7 shooting and 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks while Holmes had 4 points on 1-6 shooting as she only scored when a guard was switched onto her and when she shot free throws after a guard was switched onto her.
• Indiana had a clear plan: shoot the three a lot. They took 17 shots from outside in the 1st half. They made 6.
• Carolina's hot shooting from outside continued in the Sweet Sixteen. In the 1st quarter, Dawn Staley's team went 5-7 from the perimeter.
• In the 1st half, the Gamecocks had four different runs of at least 7-0.
• Indiana owned the 3rd period as they made difficult shots and defended pretty well. The 4th started in a similar way as the Hoosiers had a 10-0 run in the 3rd and another 10-run that split the 3rd and 4th quarter.
• After halftime, Kamilla Cardoso was the team's only consistent source of offense as the Gamecocks struggled a bit on both sides of the court.
• Indiana was the better team in the 2nd half, but the Gamecocks' strong 1st half was enough for USC to hold on for the win.
• Raven Johnson went 3-3 on 3-pointers in the game.
• The Hoosiers made 13 3-pointers, the most the Gamecocks surrendered in a game all season.
• Kamilla Cardoso was the difference, going 10-12 from the floor for 22 points and 3 blocks, completely dominating the All-American vs. All-American matchup with Mackenzie Holmes.