South Carolina heads for the 2nd consecutive NCAA title match after beating Texas

Tampa, Florida – The South Carolina finally reached the moment when he played all season: the Gamecocks are in the national championship match, with a chance to make history.

After overcoming another slow start, the South Carolina has blitz Texas with a decisive third quarter to put the match out of reach, winning 74-57 Friday to get its place in the match for the title on Sunday.

South Carolina will now try to repeat itself as a national champion for the first time in school history. The last team to win consecutive titles was UCONN, which won four consecutive games from 2013 to 2016.

The South Carolina continued its domination over Texas, winning the 3-1 season series. The last two games in the playoff series between them – the championship of the dry tournament and the national semi -final – were not particularly close. Again, the South Carolina has found ways to break down the defense of Texas praised, using transition buckets, points in painting and a timely shot at 3 points to win comfortably.

Dawn Staley now has 8-0 all time during matches in the playoff series against the Texas coach, Vic Schaefer.

After fighting in the last three laps of the NCAA tournament, the recruit Joyce Edwards showed what made her such a dynamic player this season, making huge games again at the end of offensive and defensive.

Last week in Birmingham, Staley said that the Gamecocks would need more Edwards production to win a national championship and simplify a few things to start.

Whatever the coaches told him because Edwards had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. But it may be the senior Te-Hina Paopao who played his best match. Paopao scored 14 points and was 3 out of 4 while Texas had trouble keeping it.

The match turned in the third quarter, when the South Carolina was ahead of Texas 20-9, including an 11-0 race at the end of the quarter which mainly sealed the victory.

It could have been the turning point, but the match began to move away from Texas in the first half when the longhorns striker, Madison Booker, found himself early.

The South Carolina went out flat to start the match, but his fortune changed when Booker, the player of the dry year, resumed his second fault with 3:04 to do in the first quarter.

Texas had a five -point lead at the time, but South Carolina dominated the Longhorns to close the quarter and take the lead.

Booker returned to the match with five minutes to play in the second quarter, and Texas was able to regain the lead. But with 2:29 to go before half -time, Booker took her third fault – the first time in her career, she had three faults in the first half of a match – after Tessa Johnson landed hard on a pass. Booker and Schaefer both challenged the fault, shouting to the officials: “It’s a bad call!” Rereading has shown minimal contact between players.

It was enough, once again, so that the South Carolina rallied. The Gamecocks transformed a deficit into two points into a three-point lead at half-time.

Booker only played nine minutes and his presence was clear. With Booker in the game, Texas had a more-eight advantage; With Booker on the bench, Texas was less-11.

For Schaefer, who brought Texas back in the Final Four for the first time since 2003, another appearance ends in Heartbreak while he returned from the national semi-finals for the third time in his coach career.

For Staley and his gamecocks, however, it’s another opportunity to make history.