NCAA Women’s Final Four Filled with Familiar Faces for South Carolina Gamecocks
The remaining teams in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament are no strangers to the South Carolina Gamecocks.
As predicted, the Lady Gamecocks are once again headed to the Final Four and are predicted by many as the favorite to win the tournament. Despite the well-documented odds as favorites, the remaining teams are all teams that the Gamecocks have run into during the regular season. If the Gamecocks want to live up to the hype and repeat as national champions, they will have to do so against a team they have already faced. Here is a recap of the anticipated rematches.
UCLA:
The Bruins were rewarded as a number one seed and will be playing UConn in the Final Four on Friday. When they played the Gamecocks early in the season, they dominated, winning 75-62. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley did not mince words and summarized the loss as “running into a buzzsaw.” Despite winning the turnover battle and shooting a higher three-point percentage, the Bruins dominated the boards and points in the paint, and proved to be too much for the Gamecocks. They also were able to convert more points off turnovers as well as scoring on the fastbreak. This was the Gamecocks’ first loss of the season, but it seemed to light a fire under the team as they went on to win 17 straight.
UConn:
As mentioned earlier, the Huskies will be playing the Bruins on Friday. When the Gamecocks met with the Huskies in February, they put on their worst performance of the season, losing 87-58. The Huskies won in nearly all major categories, but they made their biggest mark on the boards. They outrebounded the Gamecocks by 21, which included 13 offensive rebounds, compared to the Gamecocks who tallied six. The gap in possessions created by this staggering deficit was too much for the Gamecocks to overcome. They also shot 3/17 from three while the Huskies more than quadrupled their made total. The good news? The Gamecocks have not lost a game since and have proven to be one of the best teams in the country. If the two were to meet in the championship, expect a new and improved team that is ready to avenge their embarrassing loss.
Texas:
No team has seen the Gamecocks more this season than the Texas Longhorns. Their matchup Friday will be their fourth meeting of the season. The first meeting was a dominant outing for the Gamecocks, winning 67-50. However, the Longhorns handed the Gamecocks their first conference loss of the season, with a final of 66-62. Impressively, the Longhorns left as winners without hitting a single three and losing the turnover battle. However, the Gamecocks were able to turn their fortunes around and dominate the Longhorns 64-45 in the SEC Championship. There was some contention between the two, as the Gamecocks were awarded the number one seed in the conference tournament by winning a coin flip. In the end, the dominant fashion the Gamecocks won in supported they were indeed worthy of being the number one seed. On Friday, the Gamecocks will once again be ready to prove that they are truly superior to the Longhorns, who have also had a wonderful season.
The Gamecocks and Longhorns are set to tip at 7 PM eastern time on ESPN.
