CLEVELAND — South Carolina is 40 minutes from redemption — and perfection.
After losing its undefeated season and back-to-back title hopes in last year’s Final Four, the top-ranked Gamecocks returned to Friday’s national semifinals with a resounding statement, snuffing out N.C. State’s unlikely run with a 78-59 win at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
No. 1 South Carolina (37-0) — which will play the winner of Iowa/UConn on Sunday — is now one win from completing the sport’s first undefeated season since 2016.
Star center Kamilla Cardoso led the Gamecocks with 22 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Ashlyn Watkins added eight points and 20 rebounds.
There was no hint of the final score in a back-and-forth first half.
No. 3 N.C. State (31-7) — the self-proclaimed Final Four “party crashers” — jumped out to an early lead, led by Aziaha James (20 points).
Then, Cardoso erupted in the second quarter, scoring 12 straight points for South Carolina, before the 6-foot-7 center put a brief scare into the team’s title hopes.
After missing a layup late in the quarter, Cardoso hit the floor, hobbling off the court and to the locker room, where she would remain through halftime, with South Carolina clinging to a 32-31 lead.
When she returned, Goliath morphed into Godzilla, demolishing the Wolfpack’s dream with a 29-6 edge in the third quarter.
“Experiencing what did happen last year, we do not want to feel that feeling again,” South Carolina’s Raven Johnson said before the game. “We’re taking a different look this year. We know what it takes. We know what to do. You can’t take a team for granted here.”
Now, the nation’s best team may be remembered as such.
