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If you come for the defending national champions, you best not miss.
Texas knocked off South Carolina in the regular season in February, but the Gamecocks got the last laugh in the Final Four on Friday, beating the Longhorns 74-57 to advance to their second consecutive national title game. Coaching in her fifth straight national semifinal, Dawn Staley improved to 7-3 in the Final Four.
The Gamecocks struggled offensively against the Longhorns earlier this season, but they found their groove in Tampa on Friday night, shooting 50.9% from the field and 63.6% from three. They are peaking at the perfect time after close wins in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight and will face the winner of UCLA versus UConn in the national championship.
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Here's a look at South Carolina's win over Texas in the Final Four.
South Carolina one win from back-to-back titles
The Gamecocks will go for back-to-back national titles on Sunday after beating Texas in the Final Four. This will be South Carolina's third national championship game in the last four seasons.
Te-Hina Paopao led the way for the Gamecocks on Friday with 14 points and went 3-4 from beyond the arc. Freshman Joyce Edwards had a breakout NCAA Tournament game with 13 points off the bench. South Carolina's defense held Texas' leading scorer Madison Booker to just 11 points.
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Revisiting Texas breaking South Carolina's SEC win streak
Texas beat South Carolina 66-62 in February in the team's second meeting of the regular season. The Longhorns' victory snapped the Gamecocks' 57-game regular-season winning streak in the SEC.
The Gamecocks had one of their worst offensive performances of the season in that game, shooting just 36.8% from the field and 26.3% from three. Booker went for 20 points in the game and the Longhorns won the rebounding battle 42-35.
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