Birmingham, Alabama (AP) – Chloe Kitts scored 14 points and defending national champion South Carolina reached the final four of the Women’s NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year, beating Duke 54-50 on Sunday.
Manager Dawn Staley’s top seed Gamecocks have won two titles since 2013-16 as they become the first team to be repeated as champions since UConn won four straights. South Carolina will play the winner of the Texas-TCU game on Monday night.
The last four are Friday nights in Tampa, Florida.
Second-seed Duke was about to reach his first national semi-final since 2006. The team worked overtime in Maryland in the title game. A woman from the Blue Devils was also about to participate in the men’s program at the Final Four.
South Carolina (34-3) was stymed in most games by Duke’s stingy defense. The Gamecocks appeared on average at 80.5 points, but by Sunday it was difficult to score points.
The game tied at 46 when Sania Feagin, who finished with 12 points, hit a jumper and advanced Gamecocks with the rest of 4:21. Kitz added two free throws after 42 seconds to make it 50-46.
Toby Fournier, who led Duke with 18 points, scored with 3:21 left to bring the Blue Devils (29-8) back within two.
The Blue Devils chased 52-50 with 29.8 seconds left when South Carolina’s Brie Hall was asked to have an offensive foul on inbound play. Duke gave the game a chance to tie it together.
Duke knocked down the clock before Acheron Jackson airballed a 3-pointer from the wing with seven seconds left. Hall got a rebound and South Carolina was called a timeout.
Kitz was fouled with 5.7 seconds left, and calmly sank both free throws to seal the victory.
Duke flipped the ball over in subsequent inbound plays, and the gamecock ran out of watch.
The Blue Devils took their first lead since the starting minutes with a 16-6 run before starting the third quarter. Fournier’s layup at 2:27 left was 38-32. The GameCocks chased 42-38 and headed for fourth.
This was the first time the team met in the postseason.
Take home
Duke: Along with the young sophomore core, the Blue Devils try to build on this elite eight run.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have now won two wins as they cement their status in women’s college basketball history.
Rotating tide
South Carolina chased 42-38 and headed into the fourth quarter, then scored the first eight points of the period. After that, the Gamecocks were never chased.
Key Statistics
South Carolina has relied heavily on the bench throughout the season, but Duke’s preparations surpassed Gamecocks’ submarine 24-9.
