Defending national champion South Carolina is one win away from cutting down the nets again. To climb the ladder to the rim, the Gamecocks Sunday afternoon will have to defeat the last team to go back-to-back, Connecticut. The Gamecocks and Huskies square off in Tampa with tipoff set for shortly after 3:00 PM on ABC.
This will be a rematch of a February 16th game in Columbia in which the Huskies embarrassed the Gamecocks 87-58. South Carolina has not lost since. UConn has won ten of 15 meetings with the Gamecocks, but USC has won four of the last five including the 2022 National Championship Game. That’s the only time UConn coach Geno Auriemma has lost in the title game. He has 11 wins.
South Carolina reached the championship game by putting away Texas Friday night 74-57. After falling behind by eight points in the first quarter, the Gamecocks caught and then put the game away in the third quarter by outscoring the Longhorns 20-9. TeHina Paopao hit three three-pointers and led the balanced Gamecocks with 14 points. Joyce Edwards broke out of her mini-slump with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go along with six assists…