South Carolina Basketball: 3 thumbs up, 3 thumbs down from Gamecocks' Final Four win over NC State
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina basketball entered the Final Four contest against NC State undefeated, and they left the Final Four contest against NC State undefeated after beating the Wolfpack 78-59.
The game was tight until halftime as the Gamecocks had double-digit turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but a 29-6 onslaught from Dawn Staley's team essentially ended the game in the 3rd quarter.
Kamilla Cardoso, despite rolling her ankle and banging knees with an NC State player, was dominant. She had 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 23 minutes. She shot 10-12 from the field and was one-half of USC's utterly dominant post presence on Friday night.
The other half was Ashlyn Watkins. The Columbia native had just 8 points off of the bench, but she swatted 2 shots and pulled down an astounding 20 rebounds, an NCAA Tournament record for a bench player.
The paint dominance and 2nd half defense was the difference in the game. Dawn Staley's Gamecocks won the rebounding battle 46-32 and outscored the Wolfpack by 24 in the paint. They also came out of halftime with impressive defensive effort, holding NC State to just one made field goal in the 3rd quarter and just 7 total makes in the 2nd half.
For their efforts, South Carolina basketball earned a spot in the National Championship where they will play against Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes. The game will be played at 3:00 PM EST and will be broadcast on ABC and the ESPN app.