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GREENSBORO, North Carolina – The women’s top seeded team, South Carolina, is heading to its fourth Final Four after beating Creighton 80-50 on Sunday.
Gamecocks put on a show in one of the best games of the year. The 10-seeded Bluejays, one of the few big underdogs in the men’s and women’s tournaments this year, could not match the Gamecocks’ 19-point star Aliyah Boston.
But just as great movies can’t count on a single star, Boston has relied on a sidekick guard Brea Beal, forward Victaria Saxton and guard Destanni Henderson to stop Creighton’s impressive defense. Downside of South Carolina’s skillful shooting game: Boston gave up early, ending a streak of 27 consecutive double-doubles.
South Carolina will play either Number 1 Louisville or Number 3 Michigan in Minneapolis on Friday.
The Gamecocks are hoping to secure a national championship for the first time since 2017. South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley, a Hall of Fame player and Olympic gold medalist as both player and coach, studied a mantra “Control what you can control,” a maxim that players have locked into throughout the season.
South Carolina immediately had a height advantage on Sunday night: The average height on the Gamecocks’ roster is 6 feet-1, while Creighton’s averages 5 feet-10 (no one on the Bluejays is taller than 6 feet). Creighton sought to limit the 6-foot Boston’s second-chance points by throwing four players at a time and forcing him to work double-time on the perimeter.
Gamecocks had the overconfidence of returning players with their large bodies and faces; it was confidence that took the program to six games in the eighth round, five of which were under Staley.
They have entered the tournament with only two losses this season, including Kentucky’s upset in the Southeast Conference championship game in early March. But their dominance all season didn’t translate into easy wins in the first rounds of the NCAA tournament. They struggled to keep up with smaller, faster teams like Creighton and were expected to be a #1 seed overall with missed shots on offense.
But throughout the tournament, South Carolina found new and unexpected ways to win. On Sunday, the Gamecocks did their best: They attacked the basket and used their size to their advantage. At the end of the first quarter, 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso caught a pass to the head of 6-foot-1 Morgan Maly, a sophomore guard, and easily scored a basket.
When Creighton’s Payton Brotzki tried to get an offensive rebound in the fourth quarter, Boston quickly intervened and gave him the sideways glance of an unwelcome visitor.
If South Carolina’s casual play is based on experience, the Bluejays looked tense even as they passed South Carolina’s towering defense on Friday’s missing layup, which they easily achieved against Iowa State. Their play was loose and shaky, their reliable 3-pointer unpredictable.
The Gamecocks are now seeking to right the wrongs of the 2021 semifinals, where they lost 1 point to eventual champions Stanford.
Creighton kept his opponents on their toes throughout the competition. Bluejays are #7 Colorado, #2 Iowa, and #No. They knocked out #3 Iowa State, becoming the rare #10 seed to reach the 8th round for the first time in program history. They made up for the Bluejays’ lack of stature with consistent defense and fluidity, taking an all-inclusive approach across the court and frequently sending their biggest players to the 3-point line. The bluejays were led by sophomore guard Lauren Jensen. with 12 points.
A relatively young team, the Bluejays played every game as if it were their last, eager to prove themselves with every shot, dribble, false start and drive. But their “We’ve come this far, why shouldn’t we?” Mindset, as Warden Carly Bachelor described on Saturday, could only get them so far.
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