Chloe Kitts scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth quarter and defending national champion South Carolina came up with a critical defensive stop to outlast Duke en route to a fifth consecutive Final Four appearance with Sunday’s 54-50 win in the Birmingham Region 2 Elite Eight.
The No. 1 overall seed Gamecocks (34-3) led by a basket in the final minute after second-seeded Duke’s Oluchi Okananwa scored with 58 seconds remaining.
South Carolina looked to extend its advantage to two possessions, but on a baseline inbounds play after the ball was knocked loose from Raven Johnson, Bree Hall ran into a Blue Devils defender to pick up an offensive foul.
The resulting turnover gave Duke (29-8) the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. A ball screen to free up Ashlon Jackson gave her some space, but not enough to get off a clean 3-point look.
Jackson’s attempt failed to draw rim, and Hall made up for the turnover on the offensive foul by securing what proved to be the game-winning rebound. Kitts added a pair of free throws to seal the win and continue South Carolina’s pursuit to be the first back-to-back national champions since UConn from 2014-2016.
Sania Feagin scored 12 points for South Carolina and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Johnson finished with seven points and five rebounds for the Gamecocks.
Duke’s Toby Fournier led all scorers with 18 points off the bench. Jackson scored 13 points and doled out a game-high six assists.
The Blue Devils held a 41-30 advantage on the glass, led by Okananwa’s seven, but Duke could only convert 19 offensive boards into 12 points. Meanwhile, South Carolina forced 19 Blue Devils turnovers that the Gamecocks turned into 14 points.
Feagin’s three steals led South Carolina’s defensive effort.
–Field Level Media
