CLEVELAND — Kamilla Cardoso scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting and collected 11 rebounds and No. 1 South Carolina earned a spot in the national title game with a 78-59 rout of No. 3 North Carolina State on Friday night.
Ashlyn Watkins grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds for the Gamecocks (37-0), who are 73-1 over the past two seasons. Raven Johnson scored 13 points and Te-Hina Paopao added 10 points and six assists for South Carolina.
The Gamecocks, who outscored North Carolina State 29-6 in the decisive third quarter, will play in the championship game for the third time in the past seven NCAA Tournaments. They won the national crown in 2017 and 2022.
South Carolina will face either No. 1 Iowa or No. 3 UConn in Sunday’s championship contest.
Aziaha James scored 20 points for North Carolina State (31-7), which was part of the Final Four for just the second time. River Baldwin recorded 12 points and nine rebounds and Zoe Brooks added 10 points for the Wolfpack, who shot just 32 percent from the field and 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from 3-point range.
The Gamecocks held a 46-32 rebounding edge and shot 50 percent from the field, including 8 of 19 (42.1 percent) from behind the arc.
South Carolina led 32-31 at halftime before delivering a fierce knockout punch in the third quarter.
Paopao and Johnson hit 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the quarter as the Gamecocks took a 42-32 lead.
Baldwin made two free throws as the Wolfpack crept within 44-36 with 7:08 left before South Carolina closed the period with a 17-1 burst. Paopao and Bree Hall sank treys in the final minute of the quarter to make it 61-37.
The Gamecocks made 12 of 20 shots in the period, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range. NC State was 1 of 11 and missed all four of its shots from behind the arc.
The fourth quarter was a mere formality and Cardoso sat out the entire 10 minutes.
Cardoso scored 12 of her 16 first-half points in the second quarter, but NC State hung tough.
The Wolfpack led 16-13 late in the first quarter before MiLaysia Fulwiley drained a tying 3-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.
Cardoso then scored South Carolina’s first 12 points of the second quarter. The Gamecocks led by six before NC State rallied to tie it at 30 on a 3-pointer by Mimi Collins with 1:04 to go before the break.
–Field Level Media