1 of 5 | South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards (R) drives against Texas forward Madison Booker in the second half in the Final Four of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Photo by Steve Nesius/UPI | License Photo
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April 4 (UPI) — Joyce Edwards and the South Carolina Gamecocks exercised the grit of a reigning champion, recovering from an early deficit with a relentless surge to storm by Texas Longhorns in the NCAA Final Four on Friday in Tampa, Fla.
“At the end of the day, it’s not an if, it’s a when,” Edwards said on the ESPN broadcast. “When I’m going to turn the page and when I’m going to get over it.
“Today I did. I just handled the pressure and we won.”
The Gamecocks, who trailed by eight in the first quarter, outscored the Longhorns 56-39 over the final three frames for the 74-57 triumph at Amalie Arena. They will attempt to win their third title in four years against the second-seeded UConn Huskies or the No. 1 overall seed UCLA Bruins on Sunday in Tampa.
“We’ll take the momentum,” Edwards said. “We’ll go into the next game and try to win. We’ve gotta scout and just turn the page.”
Edwards totaled 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. The freshman forward became the first player in 25 years to record at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists off the bench in a Final Four game in 25 years.
“I know it had to feel good for her to see that ball go in,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said of Edwards. “I’m so proud of her defense, her passing. “We got to her skillset.”
The Gamecocks (35-3) outshot the Longhorns (35-4) 50.9% to 39.3%, including a 63.6% clip from 3-point range, compared to their foes’ 40% rate. They also held advantages of 17-10 in assists, 40-22 in points in the paint and 15-3 in fast break points and led by as many as 20 points.
All-American forward Madison Booker and the Longhorns went on a 10-2 run off the opening tip-off. The Gamecocks struggled to find a rhythm, with more turnovers (five) than points (four) through the first six minutes.
The Gamecocks then came alive, dominating in the paint and outscoring the Longhorns 14-7 over the final four minutes of the first quarter to cut deficit to 19-18 to start the second.
The lead changed hands seven times over the next 10 minutes. The Gamecocks ended frame with a 7-2 surge and led 37-35 at break.
They scored the first five points of the second half for a seven point advantage and never looked back. The Gamecocks broke the game open later in the third quarter, using a 13-3 run to increase their lead to 17.
They carried a 58-44 edge into the final frame and outscored the Longhorns 16-13 over the final 10 minutes to claim their ticket to the title game.
Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao led the Gamecocks with 14 points. Senior guard Bree Hall chipped in 11 points. Booker scored 11 points for the Longhorns. Freshman guard Jordan Lee scored a game-high 16 points off the Longhorns bench.
The Gamecocks will face the Huskies (35-3) or Bruins (34-2) in the finale of the 2025 NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday in Tampa. The matchup will air on ABC.
“I’m just happy,” Staley said. “We work hard for it. We know. When you’ve been to a national championship game. When you’ve been to a Final Four, when you’ve won a national championship, you know what it takes to get back there, to put yourself here.
“Our players know what it takes and we were just very fortunate to hang in there, to persevere.”
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