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South Carolina Uses Size to Overpower UCLA, Advances to Elite Eight
Women's Basketball  . 

South Carolina Uses Size to Overpower UCLA, Advances to Elite Eight

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points while reigning national champion South Carolina turned in its latest overwhelming defense-and-rebounding-first performance to beat UCLA 59-43 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Aliyah Boston had eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (35-0), the top overall tournament seed and the headliner in the Greenville 1 Region. It marked South Carolina’s 41st consecutive victory, securing the program’s sixth trip to the Elite Eight under Dawn Staley.

The Gamecocks will play for their fifth trip to the Final Four in Monday’s regional final against 2-seed Maryland.

It wasn’t an easy offensive operation for South Carolina, with UCLA sagging defensively to pack the paint in hopes of negating the Gamecocks’ size advantage behind Boston. But South Carolina dominated the glass from start to finish and used its length to turn every look into a difficult one for the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-10).

The Gamecocks entered the game ranked first in Division I in scoring defense, field-goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. They did nothing to change that, holding UCLA to 15-for-51 shooting (29.4%) — including 3 for 18 from 3-point range — while finishing with a 42-34 rebounding advantage that narrowed late after they led big.

Charisma Osborne scored 14 points to lead UCLA, which was in the Sweet 16 for the eighth time and first since 2019. The Bruins were trying to reach the regional finals for the first time since 2018 and only the third time in program history while pursuing their first Final Four appearance.

Once the game started, the Bruins tried desperately to close off the paint and dare the Gamecocks to shoot from outside.

But in a sign of what was to come, the Bruins kept missing shots that they needed to position themselves for a stunning upset. Worse, they failed to grab even a few of those misses to keep possessions alive early, with South Carolina going on to finish with a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks were able to just keep grinding and relying on their length. They led 25-15 at halftime before finally breaking this open by matching their game-long point total in the third quarter.

That included a couple of way-too-familiar sequences for UCLA coach Cori Close. Twice the Gamecocks managed to lob a pass inside to the 6-foot-7 Cardoso, who used her long arms to reach over 6-2 fronting defender Christeen Iwuala and snag the ball for easy under-the-rim finishes in traffic.

Or there was Brea Beal (10 points) using her right hand to tap out a loose rebound over Gabriela Jaquez before securing it, then dumping it immediately inside to Victaria Saxton inside for a soft hook as the lead steadily grew.

It was all the same often-demoralizing sequences that has overwhelmed teams all season, this time coming with the home-state Gamecocks as the main draw here in the new double-regional format.

They drew loud cheers from the crowd just for making their way into the locker-room tunnel during the Notre Dame-Maryland game with their game to follow. The roars returned as each player who lingered to wrap up pregame shootaround came off the court — several waving two arms high in acknowledgement — in a mostly full arena.

The cheers were louder, of course, as the Gamecocks spent the final minutes closing out a win to advance again.


NOTABLES

  • The Gamecocks advanced to their seventh Elite Eight in program history.
  • Carolina finished with six blocks and now have 315 on the season. That is second most all-time in Division I history, trailing UConn’s 324 from 2014.
  • South Carolina’s defense again proved stingy, holding the Bruins to a season-low 43 points, including a season-low 15 points in the first half.
  • The 43 points allowed are the fewest South Carolina has ever allowed in a Sweet 16 game. They are the eighth fewest points ever allowed by the Gamecocks in an NCAA Tournament game.
  • The 15 points allowed in the first half are the third fewest allowed by Carolina in an NCAA Tournament game and the fourth fewest in any half.
  • The seven points allowed in the second quarter were tied for the lowest this postseason by the Gamecock defense. They also allowed eight points in first quarter, marking the 37th and 38th time this season they’ve allowed single-digit points in a quarter.
  • The Gamecocks did not allow an offensive rebound in the first half. The first offensive rebound for UCLA came at 7:11 of third quarter.
  • South Carolina finished with 19 team assists, the 10th time this season they’ve combined for 19-or-more.
  • Brea Beal paced the Gamecocks in the first half, scoring all 10 of her points and grabbing five rebounds. It was the seventh time this season she finished in double figures.
  • Aliyah Boston nearly out-rebounded the Bruins in the first half, finishing with nine of her game-high 14 boards.
  • Kierra Fletcher tied a season-high with five assists and set a career-high in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Kamilla Cardoso finished with 10 points, the 17th time this season she’s finished in double-digits.
  • Bree Hall also finished with 10 points, her fourth time this season in double figures.

Next Up - Elite Eight

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