ALBANY, N.Y. — Guard Raven Johnson stood at half court to end the game with the ball and seemed to be the only one who hadn’t started celebrating South Carolina’s 70-58 win over Oregon State.
Bree Hall and Tessa Johnson hugged and jumped in unison. The coaches hugged and huddled together on the bench. Finally, the buzzer sounded and South Carolina could finally relax, advancing to its fourth consecutive Final Four and sixth under head coach Dawn Staley.
It was another balanced performance from the Gamecocks, completely dominant in the paint — a hallmark of South Carolina’s undefeated season. Behind outstanding performances from the region’s most outstanding players, Kamilla Cardoso (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Ashlyn Watkins (14 rebounds, 8 points) , the Gamecocks outscored the Beavers 44-14 in the paint, including 28 second-chance points. OSU big men Regan Beals (6-4) and Timaea Gardner (6-3) got into foul trouble early – both committed in the first half. 3 times – The Gamecocks were able to build a strong lead from which OSU was never able to fully break away.
The game kicked off in the third quarter, with the Gamecocks going on a 14-2 run and playing tight defense to hold the Beavers scoreless for more than four minutes, extending the lead to 14 points at the end of the third quarter. . OSU’s offense early in the fourth quarter allowed the Beavers to cut South Carolina’s lead to four points, but the Gamecocks continued to respond and made multiple stops while Johnson scored a team-high 15 7 out of 10 points.
The win over the Beavers was a good test for the Gamecocks to stop their opponents’ late runs. The Gamecocks had to hold off the Hoosiers’ second-half run after leading by 22 points in their Sweet 16 game against Indiana on Friday.
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(Photo: Andy Lyon/Getty Images)
