No. 1 South Carolina is still undefeated and advancing to the NCAA tournament championship game after a 78-59 win over No. 3 NC State Friday.
Projected WNBA lottery pick Kamilla Cardoso led the Gamecocks with 22 points and 11 rebounds despite an injury scare in the second quarter.
NC State’s story this season has been all about exceeding expectations, and that trend continued through the first half of the team’s Final Four matchup with the Gamecocks. 20 minutes into Friday’s game, the Wolfpack showcased how it was able to upset No. 2 seed Stanford and No. 1 seed Texas in the tournament.
The Wolfpack was able to capitalize on South Carolina’s mistake early, ending the first quarter tied 16-16. While South Carolina’s Te-Hina Pao Pao opened the contest with a jumper to kickstart a 5-0 run, the first quarter featured a few uncharacteristic plays for the Gamecocks. One off those moments included a turnover by junior Sania Feagin that turned into a layup for Wolfpack guard Aziaha James and 16-13 lead for NC state. James led the Wolfpack with 10 points and a rebound through the quarter.
South Carolina had 10 turnovers to NC State’s seven through the second quarter, scraping out a 32-31 lead entering halftime. But protecting the ball wasn’t the biggest concern during the break, as Cardoso hit the hardwood after an attempted spin move late in the second. Limping heavily, she had to commit a foul so that she could exit the game.
As Cardoso cried while a trainer escorted her back into the locker room, teammate Raven Johnson told ESPN’s Holly Rowe she was confident the 6-foot-7 center would return to the game. Once the third quarter began, there Cardoso was, with a newly added black sleeve protecting her leg.
It didn’t take long for Cardoso to prove that she was okay. NC State had to call at timeout with six minutes and 28 seconds remaining in the third as the Gamecocks’ strong opening to the quarter was underlined by back-to-back layups from Cardoso to give the Gamecocks a 48-36 lead.
NC State didn’t find their footing through the remainder of the third, and South Carolina outscored them by 29-6 points by the end of period. The Gamecocks didn’t need to rely on Cardoso’s power in the paint once they broke open the lead, as Bree Hall and Pao Pao recorded back-to-back 3-pointers to end the quarter.
This story will be updated.
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