SAN ANTONIO — The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team is back in the Final Four, after a commanding 62-34 win over Texas in the Elite 8 Monday night.
The Gamecocks (26-4) now advance to the penultimate round of the women's tournament for the third time in program history and the first time since 2017. USC is hoping that bodes well: the last time they made it this far, they won the national championship. Oddly enough, the team they beat to win that year was coached by Vic Schaefer, who now coaches Texas.
The team next faces the winner of Louisville and Stanford, who were set to play later in the evening. That Final Four game will be played Friday, April 2.
"'m really here we're really going to the Final Four," said USC star Zia Cooke. "I feel like our work isn't done yet."
Led by stars Victoria Saxton and Cooke, the team started off hot and never let up on the Longhorns. South Carolina began the game with a 14-2 that put Texas on its heels. Forward Victoria Saxton had 8 of those points to set the tone early.
A combination of good defense by the Gamecocks and poor shooting by the Longhorns gave the Gamecocks a 57-18 percent shooting percentage advantage at the end of the first quarter.
In the second, it was time for guard Zia Cooke to take over, as she had 11 points in that quarter alone. After closing South Carolina's advantage to 7 points early in the quarter, the Gamecocks continued to press eventually getting the lead up to 18 points.
A three pointer by Texas' Audrey Warren right before halftime closed the gap to 15 points, 37-22, as the teams went into the locker room. The three, however, was Texas' first after going 0-for-6 on their previous long-range attempts.
Things didn't change much after the half, as USC would used a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 18 by the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, it got worse for the Longhorns, as they were held to no points.
USC's Dawn Staley moves to 13-3 all time versus Schaefer in her coaching career.
Arizona and UConn will play Friday as well in the other national semifinal game.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the entire women's NCAA Tournament is being played at venues in one city, San Antonio, which had already been picked to host the Final Four.
