The South Carolina women's basketball team is one step closer to being back in the National Championship game as it defeated Virginia 66-56 in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The second round matchup was fast-paced, had multiple lead changes and was close during the first half. The largest lead for South Carolina after 20 minutes was nine points — the lead was just three points during the first quarter.
While game one of the tournament for South Carolina had a strong start but a sloppy second half, this game was much different. The Gamecocks didn't have a comfortable lead at the half, leading by just five, but came out of the locker room firing, as Wilson jumped out first to score almost immediately after the tip and the team just clicked from there. South Carolina would go on to lead by as much as 12 during the third.
Head coach Dawn Staley gave credit to the fans for coming out to the late game and giving the Gamecocks the energy they needed to push forward.
"It was a great game. Obviously I thought our fans were great considering it was a 9 p.m. start time," Staley said. "They were loud, they had good pajamas on, they were giving us the boost of energy we needed to sustain playing at a high level and beating a very good Virginia team."
Virginia tried to close the gap and was able to make it a six-point game by the time the third quarter ended, and then the Cavaliers made a quick layup and a free throw to trail by just three. Senior A'ja Wilson said they never got too scared by Virginia trying to catch up and knew they just had to stay the course.
"Basketball is a game of runs so we knew they had a run in them, of course, but at the same time we had a run in us as well," Wilson said. "So we really just kept the positive energy in the huddles and talked about just staying focused. We can't let the run get past us because that's the game of basketball. So I mean, when you have a great point guard like Ty [Harris], she really rallies us all together and we get the job done."
Turnovers were a huge issue for the Gamecocks in their first round win on Friday, as they had 19 which allowed North Carolina A&T to score 22 points. Staley said a big key for them going into Sunday was taking those turnovers and creating opportunities for her team to score and put them in a much better position. The Gamecocks had 10 turnovers on the night and the Cavaliers were able to score just eight points off of it.
Both teams struggled at the start, as the two shot under 35 percent at one point during the second quarter. The Gamecocks slowly started to find their momentum and took the game away. South Carolina was able to grab a lead with 1:31 left in the first half and Virginia was never able to completely catch up.
Staley said even though it took the Gamecocks to really take a lead and run with it, that's just how the game works, and credited Virginia for never quitting.
"It's going to take more than a quarter or sometimes two quarters to put teams away and just gain some separation," Staley said. "Virginia's a very good team, they've got some great guards, got some great post players and they're young, they haven't been in this situation before and the pressure was all on us so I think they were playing a lot freer than we were."
A'ja Wilson was disappointed in her play in Friday's game and said she had a lot she knew she had to work on, because she wanted to play so much better for her final home game. She definitely put the work in, as she recorded her 23rd double-double of the year and led the team with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Sunday was her final game at Colonial Life Arena and she definitely felt all of the emotions.
"I think the importance of the game really kept me tight and focused really kept me tight and focused. I knew it was survive to advance and that was the job," she said. "At the end of the game, when I got subbed out, I think that's when it kind of sinked in that this is really my last time here. This is my last time here in this uniform, playing in front of a great crowd like that. I appreciate everything ... this has been a great few years here."
Alexis Jennings, Bianca Jackson and Harris all finished the night in double-digits, which marked the first time four Gamecocks recorded double-digits since Nov. 19 against Wofford. Staley said having multiple players step up and make big plays will be huge moving forward.
The Gamecocks now head to Albany, New York, for the Sweet 16, and their opponent is yet to be determined. This will be South Carolina's fifth straight appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.