South Carolina holds off Florida State, head to second Women’s Final Four in three seasons

The South Carolina Gamecocks are headed to the Women’s Final Four for the second time in three seasons. A 71-64 win over the Florida State Seminoles in the Stockton Regional final sets them up with a date with the Stanford Cardinal in Dallas, Texas on Friday night.

Three quick thoughts from the game:

1. The key was to see how the team responded with A’ja Wilson in foul trouble. As it turned out, they did pretty well - at least initially. Kaela Davis continued her electrifying play as one of the main catalysts for the team, while the defense kicked it up to a different gear early in the 3rd quarter to grow their lead. Seeing this team come together in Wilson’s absence - and Alaina Coates missing the tournament due to injury - has been extremely encouraging to watch, even though things got a little dicey toward the end of the third quarter despite FSU not being able to get inside single digits.
2. The Noles were able to get within three points with 3:02 left with Wilson forced to play with four fouls. That’s when Kaela Davis went to work, hitting a big bucket with just over 90 seconds left to stretch the lead to 67-62. Florida State found themselves on the end of a controversial call not long after that as Leticia Romero looked to come up with a steal and a chance at a fast break layup, but it was ruled a foul (the replay showed that she did indeed get all ball). South Carolina was able to hold the Seminoles to a multiple-possession deficit as a pair of big boards by Ty Harris (and a late steal) and two key blocks by Wilson ended up as the difference. Davis had another brilliant night, finishing with 23 points on 10-13 shooting to lead all scorers.
3. The Gamecocks hope that their latest trip to the Final Four is a little more successful than the one two years ago. They ended up losing a 66-65 heartbreaker to Notre Dame in Tampa in the national semifinal, but this time around will take on a tough Stanford Cardinal program that is in its 13th Final Four and is seeking its third national title.