CLEVELAND — South Carolina is going back to the national championship.
The top-ranked and undefeated Gamecocks defeated third-seeded NC State 78-59 in the first Final Four game Friday night. The win sends South Carolina back to the national championship for the second time in three years, after winning it all in 2022.
The Gamecocks were led by star post player Kamilla Cardoso, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds despite missing the last 1:39 of the first half with an apparent leg injury.
South Carolina led by five before Cardoso went down, but that lead was cut to just one point at halftime. Cardoso returned after halftime and South Carolina took control of the game right away, jumping out to a 10-1 run in the third quarter. South Carolina outscored NC State 29-6 in the third quarter to break the game open.
NC State reached the Final Four on the back of its stellar guard play led by the duo of Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers. They combined for 157 points in the previous four games, but had just 25 Friday. James had 20 points on 6-of-17 shooting. Rivers struggled, finishing with just five points.
South Carolina will await the winner of one-seed Iowa and third-seed UConn. If the Gamecocks play UConn it will be a rematch of the teams’ Feb. 11 matchup, which South Carolina won 83-65….
