In its biggest game of the year, top-seeded South Carolina turned to junior shooting guard Tiffany Mitchell, the two-time SEC player of the year, for the biggest bucket of the night to defeat fourth-seeded North Carolina 67-65 in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
She delivered.
With the score tied as the final buzzer approached, Mitchell found a way to get to the basket and her uncontested layup with five seconds left won the game for the Gamecocks as a final heave by North Carolina couldn’t fall.
“We drew up the play to put the ball in her hands and for her to put the “S” on her chest and be our Superwoman,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said.
South Carolina now advances to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2002 and the win allowed the Gamecocks to get some revenge against the Tar Heels, a team that defeated Staley’s group twice last year.
“They ended our season last year, so it’s a huge win that we get to go the Elite Eight and I think it’s even better and a program win for us, being that we lost the past few times we played them,” Mitchell said.
In a game of twists and turns, intense defense and aggressiveness on offense along with clutch outside shooting helped South Carolina survive against North Carolina.
Mitchell and sophomore center Alaina Coates each scored 18 points, while unsuspecting players like junior guard Tina Roy and senior guard Olivia Gaines each delivered big-time performances, too.
Down 60-57 with just over one minute remaining, South Carolina desperately needed a score and Gaines, who averages just 1.6 points per game, delivered with a three-pointer that didn’t look destined to fall, but somehow did.
“I never shot a three that was for that moment, but I was just ready when my number was called like always and I just knocked it down,” Gaines said.
The clutch shot came after several minutes of dominance by the Tar Heels. Once down by eight points early on in the second half, North Carolina fought and battled to lead in the final minutes.
While North Carolina was able to do several things well in the second half, the one thing it could not accomplish was stopping Coates.
Coates shot just four of 10 from the field, but was a perfect 10 for 10 at the free throw line, while bringing down a team-high 10 rebounds.
“That’s a good feeling just knowing that I was able to stay in my rhythm and knock down the shots,” Coates said.
When Coates wasn’t hitting shots or getting to the free throw line, Roy was saving South Carolina with her three-point shooting. Roy scored 12 points off of the bench, nine of which came in the second half.
Early on in the second half, it looked like South Carolina would cruise to a double-digit win, but North Carolina got back in the game by forcing the Gamecocks into tougher shots, while capitalizing off of easy looks at the basket.
Senior guard Latifah Coleman led the Tar heels with 15 points, but South Carolina made a commitment to limiting North Carolina sophomore guard Allisha Gray and sophomore forward Stephanie Mavunga, which it did for the most part.
The duo combined for only 22 points on seven of 20 shooting from the field.
“We knew if we could limit their touches, North Carolina was going to have a hard time putting points on the board,” Mitchell said.
As a team, North Carolina shot only 37 percent.
Despite the ups and downs that were experienced Friday night, South Carolina’s season is still alive, which is all the Gamecocks can ask for.
“At this point of the season, you just want to survive and advance and that’s what our team put ourselves in a position to do,” Staley said.
South Carolina will face the winner between second-seeded Florida State and third-seeded Arizona State on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.