CLEVELAND — There would be no early trip home from this Final Four for South Carolina. Kamilla Cardoso made sure of that.
Despite playing with a sore knee in the second half, Cardoso dominated inside. She scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Gamecocks used a third-quarter blitz to beat NC State 78-59 on Friday night and clinch their spot in the national championship game. South Carolina (37-0) is the first team since UConn in 2016 to take an undefeated record into the women’s title game.
Last season, South Carolina entered the Final Four as a heavy favorite, undefeated and on a quest to win its second straight championship. But the Gamecocks lost to Iowa in the semifinals, a heartbreaking defeat that returning South Carolina players have not forgotten. Before Friday night’s game, they repeatedly said they never want to have that feeling again and would never overlook another opponent.
They repeated that in the locker room postgame.
“I feel so happy,” said guard Raven Johnson, who finished with 13 points. “Going from last year, we didn’t make it to this level. I feel like it’s unfinished business. We’ve…
