Top-seeded South Carolina handily defeated No. 6-seed Texas 62-34 in the latest chapter of the rivalry between head coaches Dawn Staley and Vic Schaefer. As impressive as the final scoreline is for the Gamecocks, what’s even more impressive was the defensive effort in the final quarter.
The fourth quarter featured Staley’s squad holding the Longhorns to zero — that’s right, zero — points in the final frame. Texas missed 20 straight shots to end the game, a streak that began in the final couple minutes of the third quarter.
It was a tale of two great programs in two different stages of the cycle of success. Texas was in its first Elite Eight since 2016, while South Carolina was looking to make — and eventually succeeding in doing so — its third Final Four of the Staley era. The last two were in 2015 and in 2017.
But you hardly needed to know the recent history of each to figure all of that out. The Longhorns were held to shooting just 23 percent from the field, giving up 15 turnovers and getting blocked 14 times. The Gamecocks, meanwhile, shot 57 percent in the first half and made some defensive history.
South Carolina will now go on to face Stanford on Friday in the Final Four.