One Final Four berth is good, but two is certainly better.
South Carolina became just the tenth school to send a men's and women's team to the Final Four in the same season with the Gamecocks' 71-64 win over Florida State in the Elite Eight.
The victory secured South Carolina's second Final Four appearance in three seasons under head coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks also defeated Florida State to get there in 2015.
South Carolina anticipated the absence of one All-SEC player, with Alaina Coates' senior season cut short prior to the NCAA Tournament due to a persisting ankle injury.
With A'ja Wilson plagued by early foul trouble, the Gamecocks were largely forced to play without their other All-SEC performer.
South Carolina closed the first quarter with a 24-17 advantage, working the ball down to the paint on offense and forcing the Seminoles to take contested shots on defense.
Wilson picked up her second foul in the middle of the second period, with the Seminoles currently on a 6-0 scoring run.
Forced to sit Wilson, Staley elected to go with a smaller rotation. South Carolina's backcourt combo of Tyasha Harris and Kaela Davis helped compensate for Wilson's void. Harris, Davis and Wilson combined for 31 of the Gamecocks' 40 first half points. South Carolina led by 11 heading to the locker room after shooting 60 percent from the field.
"Obviously with A'ja, she draws a lot of attention," Davis said. "So you know, with her being out, we had to start scoring and get buckets. We were getting stops, but they kind of went on runs here and there."
Florida State made defensive adjustments in the second half, challenging South Carolina to solve a newly unveiled zone.
Junior center Chatrice White provided the Seminoles with a formidable interior presence off the bench, shooting seven for nine from the field.
After Wilson picked up her fourth foul, Staley decided to leave the recently named John R. Wooden Award finalist on the court in the deciding minutes of the game. With 0:25 remaining in a two-possession game, Wilson disregarded her foul-trouble and remained in the paint to play aggressive defense. The junior forward swatted away a layup from the Seminole's hard-charging Brittany Brown for a critical stop. Wilson would record an additional block 13 seconds later.
Harris forced Brown into a sideline turnover with eight seconds remaining and was subsequently fouled. The freshman converted both free throw attempts to ensure the Gamecocks' win.
Davis paced all scorers with 23 points, shooting an efficient 67 percent from the field.
The Gamecocks will join UConn, Mississippi State and Stanford in the Final Four, with Stanford as their semifinal draw in Dallas.