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Andrea Adelson
Tampa, Fla. – South Carolina He finally reached the moment he played all season: Gamecocks are in the National Championship, with the possibility to create a history.
After overcoming another slow start, South Carolina interlaced Texas s definitely the dominant third quarter to release the game out of reach, victory 74-57 On Friday to her place in the title game Sunday.
South Carolina will now try to repeat for the first time as national champion in the history of the school. The last team to win the Back-to-Back titles was Uconn, who won four directly in 2013-16.
South Carolina continued her dominance over Texas and won the 3-1 season. The last two games Postseason – the Sec tournament championship and the national semifinals – were not particularly close. South Carolina has once again found ways to break the praised Texas defense at speed and athletics, using transition buckets, points in color and timely 3-point shooting to conveniently win.
Dawn Staley is now 8-0 of all time against Texas coach Vic Schaefer in Postseason games. After fighting in the last three rounds of the NCAA tournament, newcomer Joyce Edwards He showed what a dynamic player made her this season, and on the offensive and defensive goals again made huge games.
Last week in Birmingham Staley said they would need more production from Edwards if they wanted to win the National Championship and went to training and simplified a few things to get.
Whatever the coaches told her because Edwards had twice as much with 13 points and 11 rebounds. But maybe it was a senior Hary refused who played her best game. Paopao scored 14 points and was 3 out of 4 out of 3 when Texas tried to protect her.
The game turned in the third quarter, when South Carolina overcame Texas 20-9-9-0 Run late in the quarter, which basically closed victory.
It could be a turning point, but the game began to slip from Texas in the first half when Madison Booker She soon found herself in unpleasant problems.
South Carolina came out to the apartment to start the game, but her wealth moved when Booker, the Sec of the Year, raised his second foul with 3:04 in the first quarter.
Texas had a five -point lead at that time, but South Carolina overcame Longhorns to close a quarter and take the lead.
Booker returned to the game with five minutes to play in the second quarter, and Texas was able to take the lead. But with 2:29 to go before half -time, Booker picked up his third foul – for the first time in her career she had three fouls in the first half of the game – then Tessa Johnson He landed hard on the passage. Booker and Schaefer both took a problem with the foul and shouted the officials, “That’s a bad call!” Replay showed minimum contact between players.
It was enough again to gather South Carolina. Gamecocks changed the two -point deficit to the three -point half -life.
Booker played only nine minutes and her presence was clear. With Booker in the game, Texas had an advantage plus eight; With the Booker on the bench was Texas minus-11.
The leadership was enough for South Carolina to build as soon as she started the third quarter. For Schaefer, who for the first time since 2003 led Texas back to Final Four, four more performances in the heart break end – when he first returns from Final Four in his career without winning the title.
For Staley and Her Gamecocks, however, this is another opportunity to make history.
