The No. 1 seeded South Carolina women's basketball team is heading to its sixth consecutive Final Four. The team defeated No. 3 seeded TCU 78-52 in the Elite Eight on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. Freshman guard Agot Makeer continued her tournament dominance down the stretch to aid the Gamecocks' winning effort.
Just 18 years old, Makeer entered this year's NCAA Tournament averaging 5.8 points per game. By halftime against TCU, she had posted 7 points in just 13 minutes. The step-up in play wasn't surprising given the three performances that preceded the Elite Eight, in which she notched double-figure scoring in each game.
After setting a career-high 15 points against Southern in the first round, the freshman one-upped the new personal record just two days later against Southern California with 16 points in the second round. With 10 points in the team's 94-68 win over Oklahoma on Saturday, she earned her third straight game scoring in double figures with 10 points.
"I feel like my mindset changed," Makeer said. "Starting in the SEC Tournament, I just started approaching games differently."
Makeer played 54 total minutes across the Gamecocks' three SEC Tournament games in early March. That trend of usage has continued in the NCAA Tournament, in which she has played over 26 minutes in all four outings so far.
Monday's win over the Horned Frogs might have been the best outing of her young career. Makeer posted 18 points on 57.1% (8-14) shooting, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and notched three steals on the night. Across the last four games, she's shooting 55.6% (25-45) from the field while averaging three assists and 2.8 steals per game.
Thirty-one minutes of play time tied a career-most for Makeer in the game, with her usage having increased in every round of the tournament thus far. In a game where both senior guards Raven Johnson and Ta'Niya Latson shot below 35%, the freshman was able to fill in and provide the second-most points in the game, only behind sophomore forward Joyce Edwards' 24.
"I do think she's a different player when she knows she's going to play," head coach Dawn Staley said.
By the fourth quarter of Monday's game, Makeer had 12 points. She began the fourth quarter on the floor and aided a lineup that opened the period on a 12-0 run to comfortably push the Gamecocks out in front with time winding down. Makeer played the entire fourth quarter, adding 6 points en route to the win.
"I just saw a player that has been stacking really good prep days," Staley said. "A lot of time, freshmen don't know. They think they're so good, they can come out here and just play. But the nuances of the game within the game is what the young people need to learn, and (Makeer) is learning it in a quick way, and you can see her talent on both sides of the basketball."
The last time South Carolina won a national championship, it was then-freshman guard Tessa Johnson who emerged as the unexpected contributor, posting three double-digit performances en route to the team's perfect season in 2024. Could it be Makeer who provides that extra spark to go all the way this season?
"I'm in a flow right now," Makeer said. "We're excited to go to Phoenix."