DALLAS — South Carolina women's basketball will not be able to defend its NCAA title in 2022 after falling 77-73 to Iowa, the second-seeded team, in the Final Four on Friday at the American Airlines Center. This was the team's only loss of the season.
The No. 1 In the first quarter, the Gamecocks (36-1) fell behind Iowa (31-6) immediately and never fully recovered. South Carolina only led for two minutes and never led by more than one point, despite eight lead changes. The Gamecocks were never able to completely close the gap, even though it reduced Iowa's advantage to as little as two points in the final ten seconds.
The Hawkeyes face 3-seed LSU (33-2) in the public title game on Sunday (3:30, ESPN).
After the first undefeated regular season in program history and 42 consecutive victories dating back to March 2022, South Carolina's season came to an end. The Gamecocks' seniors end their professions with a general record of 129-9 and three sequential Last Four appearances.
The Gamecocks' offense was unable to overcome a disastrous first quarter against one of the nation's worst defenses, and Zia Cooke was the only reason South Carolina remained within striking distance. She scored nine first-quarter points for the Gamecocks on 4-of-8 shooting, while the rest of the team combined for four points on 2-of-10 shooting. Cooke wrapped up with 24 places and eight bounce back.
In the first half, South Carolina attempted 12 3-pointers, but Bree Hall only made one. Raven Johnson, a redshirt freshman, shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome Iowa's seven-team 3-pointers.
After picking up two early fouls, Gamecocks star Aliyah Boston had to sit out the entire second quarter, but bench forwards Laeticia Amihere and Kamilla Cardoso took up the slack in her absence. Amihere was the group's second-most noteworthy scorer at halftime with eight focuses in addition to six bounces back and two helps.
Cardoso had a big impact wherever he played on the floor. She finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season, shooting an impressive 7 of 9 from the field. Additionally, she added three blocks.
0 Comments