south carolina 78,
North Carolina 69
CLEVELAND — Completely dominant. Nothing new for South Carolina.
All-American center Camila Cardoso scored 22 points for the Gamecocks, who continued their undefeated season and advanced to the women's NCAA Tournament championship game with a win over North Carolina State.
The talented and tenacious Gamecocks (37-0) led by just one point at halftime and gave everything they had in the third quarter. They tightened up their defense and started making three-point shots, outscoring the Wolfpack 29-6 and turning a tense matchup into another blowout loss.
“We turned up the heat,” coach Dawn Staley said.
South Carolina appears to be up to the task.
“You could tell by the look and the voice,” said Gamecocks forward Ashlyn Watkins, who had 20 rebounds. “We wanted more of it.”
Asiaha James scored 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting and third-seeded North Carolina State (31-7) defeated the first and second seeds to advance to Cleveland. Ta.
But the Wolfpack held no shots against the Gamecocks, who have been unanimously No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for most of the season and are looking to become the first undefeated national champions since UW in 2016. Ta.
They just seem invincible.
Cardoso added 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes of play.
She hurt her right leg late in the first half and returned in the third quarter wearing a black compression sleeve. Staley had the luxury of resting his primary center in the fourth quarter to prepare for Sunday.
“She's not going to like this answer, but she's a beautiful Brazilian warrior,” Shamcocks guard Tehina Paopao said of Cardoso. “She's just great. She's going to play through some pain. She'll get through it. She knows she has one more game, so she'll definitely be fine. .”
Watkins was similarly dominant inside for the Gamecocks, grabbing 15 boards and scoring eight points at the defensive end. Raven Johnson added 13 points.
Saniyah Rivers, who transferred from South Carolina to North Carolina State after winning a title as a freshman, shot just 2 of 11 and committed a turnover as her former teammates attacked her every touch. There were 5 pieces.
North Carolina State coach Wes Moore knew his team had to be at its best to have any chance of defeating bigger, stronger South Carolina.
On Thursday, he likened the semifinals to a David-versus-Goliath matchup, promising his team would “put rocks in slings and tear them apart.”
The Wolfpack needed more than stones.
“If you watched that third quarter, you probably threw up a few times,” Moore said, regretting not switching to a zone defense sooner.
The Wolfpack, who enjoys the role of underdog, was the first team in 1983 when North Carolina State, coached by Jim Valvano, shocked the hoops world by defeating heavily favored Houston in the NCAA title game. We wanted to recreate some of the magic that caused. This upset defines March Madness, which helped.
But unlike a year ago, when South Carolina reached the Final Four in Dallas with a 36-0 record before losing to Iowa State in the semifinals, the Shamcocks remained unscathed this season.
Cardoso, 6-7, made sure of that even though he wasn't as mobile as usual after the injury. South Carolina, which has won by an average of 29.6 points this season, left no doubt after halftime, proving its superiority to the capacity crowd and national television audience.
“Camilla is our strength,” Staley said. “She's 6 or 7 years old. She's agile. She can control the paint. She plays with a desire to win. She's called for the ball a few times. It means please get it.”
“That's it: “I don't want to lose, I don't want the season to end in any other way than I envisioned, and that's what winning the national championship is all about.'' And to put your play in your own line of sight. If you can, it will become a beautiful memory. ”
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-b5f55f9511ec41d8a3022f39bb8da26f.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-b5f55f9511ec41d8a3022f39bb8da26f.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-56c6b23493b94a34ab2ed924d593dd9c.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-56c6b23493b94a34ab2ed924d593dd9c.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-a7d1f42758cf4036a4004c25f7aa7a69.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-a7d1f42758cf4036a4004c25f7aa7a69.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-8bd18aa3f2db4c9fa38b6b2862868981.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-8bd18aa3f2db4c9fa38b6b2862868981.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-dfded85ea90540abab06668903ebf212.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-dfded85ea90540abab06668903ebf212.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-593052476b0c496a91d075136942ab05.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-593052476b0c496a91d075136942ab05.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-92a07792f4b0438498436619e53a6a0f.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-92a07792f4b0438498436619e53a6a0f.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-d801e31813ad4fee968e4a990803be46.jpg)
![photograph](https://wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/imports/adg/photos/206927021_206927021-d801e31813ad4fee968e4a990803be46.jpg)