The South Carolina Gamecocks saw their race in the NCAA tournament reach a devastating and heartbreaking finish in the Final Four on Friday night, dropping 66-65 to teammate 1, Stanford, in the final seconds.
The Gamecocks and Cardinal fought for a draw for much of the game, with neither team winning a comfortable break despite Stanford’s 5-point lead at halftime. Bad problems hindered South Carolina star Aliyah Boston in the second half when the Gamecocks had to liberally subdue her after she scored her fourth goal in the third half. Boston’s absence hurt South Carolina offensively, but especially defensively, as it was unable to provide major rebounds and rim protection.
Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson, however, stepped up to keep Gamecocks in it. Cooke led all the top scorers with 25 points, putting USC on his back while fighting during Boston time on the bench, and Henderson (18 points) was hot at the perfect time, hitting several critical points of 3 in the final stages – including one that places the Gamecocks at 65-64.
However, Stanford responded in possession of the ball that followed, receiving an offensive rebound and sinking a jump to put the cardinal in 66-65. After the Gamecocks were empty, Boston stole Stanford’s internal pass with seconds diminishing in a display of his game-changing talent. But Gamecocks missed two potential shots at a game winner, with Boston bursting into tears when his comeback was a little strong and ricocheted back in the iron when the time expired.
Gamecocks end an incredibly impressive season at 26-5. It hurts a little too much to get into more now, but it was another memorable campaign from Dawn Staley’s team. A toast to do it all again next season – except without the heartbreak.