The scene at Rocket Mortgage Arena was familiar: undefeated and top-seeded South Carolina simply dominated. The third-seeded Wolfpack kept it close for the first 20 minutes, but the Gamecocks won 78-59 after the final 40 minutes, returning to their second NCAA Tournament championship game in three seasons.
“It wasn't magic,” Staley said. “It was just simple basketball. We just started getting stops and getting easy buckets.”
Mysticism aside, Staley has led South Carolina to four consecutive Final Four appearances and six of the past nine. Sunday was the third title game, with the Shamcocks winning the other two matches. Staley and her defense-first mentality remain the same year after year, and this week she earned her second AP Coach of the Year award on a team that lost five starters from last season, including four WNBA draft picks. did.
South Carolina (37-0) has fine-tuned its style of play, capitalized on improved perimeter shooting and added depth to its new lineup, and has cruised to the next championship game without giving up a point.
“We felt like this was a South Carolina team,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore said. “Because, obviously, it's hard to counter Cardoso's presence on the block. And they have a lot of guys who are capable of making 3-point shots. Unfortunately, it was in the third period, actually That's kind of what happened in the second half.”
The Gumcocks outscored the Wolfpack 29-6 in the third quarter, and their 29 points tied for the most points scored in a single quarter in a national semifinal. North Carolina State (31-7) made 1-of-11 field goals in the quarter, and its six points tied for the fifth-fewest single-quarter points in program history. Seven different players scored for South Carolina during this period, and four of them hit at least one three.
“I like the fact that we turned up the heat,” Staley said. “So we put more pressure on them to go deeper on offense. We put more pressure on the basketball, especially on the point guard who starts the offense.
“So if you let them play a little bit outside of their comfort zone, it's going to confuse and dictate. In the third quarter, we were able to run a lot more, so we made some easy moves. I think we've made a great bucket.”
The Gamecocks led 32-31 at halftime, but the biggest concern was Cardoso, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 center was unstoppable in the second quarter, scoring 12 straight points for South Carolina and pushing the Gamecocks' lead to six points, but suffered injuries to his lower legs after missing a layup and falling to the ground. was injured and went down. She immediately started limping and had trouble getting up and down her coat. At the next stoppage of play, Cardoso came on as a substitute and headed straight up the tunnel to the locker room. North Carolina State took advantage of its star's absence, going on a 7-2 run to end the second quarter and cut the deficit to just one point at halftime.
“Camila is a warrior,” said South Carolina forward Ashlyn Watkins, who had a career-high 20 rebounds off the bench. “She's not going to let an injury like that affect her.”
There were no fiery speeches to energize the team at halftime. Just re-evaluate the flooring details based on the facts. Moments later came a game-changing third quarter that included an 11-0 run that wiped out the Wolfpack. Eight different gamefowl scored in his 40 minutes, seven of which he scored at least six points. That rich roster seemed to hit opponents in waves, with the South Carolina bench outscoring the North Carolina State bench 30-12. That depth comes with size, which led to a 46-32 rebounding advantage and a 44-20 edge in scoring in the paint.
Asiaha James led North Carolina State with 20 points.
“Coach says it might not happen in the first half, but it's going to happen to teams in the third and fourth quarter,” South Carolina guard Raven Johnson said. “We can sub in and we don't miss a beat. So I think it's going to be in the third or fourth quarter when we start bringing in subs and they start to get tired. I think we'll see.”
Afterwards, the celebration actually felt subdued considering many of the Shamcocks' key players would be heading to the championship game for the first time as key contributors. There wasn't much to do on center court. Instead, the gamecocks smiled and shook hands and hugged, as if they had been there before. They're doing it, but they're not leading the way. Some of his former teammates were in the building. WNBA Rookie of the Year and All-Star Aliyah Boston and Gia Cook were both waiting for South Carolina as they left the court.
All claimed they were still not satisfied. That will only happen after another win on Sunday.
“We don't actually know what we're doing,” Johnson said with a smile. “How real is this?” “History? … I don't think we actually know. We're just playing here. All we want is to win a national championship.”