Top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks advance to Final Four - ESPN

ALBANY, N.Y. — Coach Dawn Staley and her staff had a group hug on the sideline as the final seconds ticked away Sunday and her South Carolina Gamecocks got ready to celebrate what has become a tradition for them.

For the fourth year in a row, South Carolina is in the women's Final Four. And for the second consecutive season, the Gamecocks go into the last weekend of the basketball season undefeated.

South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women's tournament, defeated No. 3 seedOregon State 70-58 in the Albany 1 Regional final. The Gamecocks are 36-0 and head to Cleveland hoping to win the program's third national championship.

The Gamecocks, who previously won the NCAA title in 2017 and 2022, were big favorites to win it all last season, too, but were upset in the national semifinals by Iowa. Sunday, the halftime score was a little too close for comfort, with South Carolina leading just 37-33 after struggling from behind the 3-point line (2-12) in the first half.

But South Carolina's depth has been one of its best assets, and that helped Sunday: Coming off the bench, freshman Tessa Johnson had a team-high 15 points, while sophomore Ashlyn Watkins had 8 points and a team-best 14 rebounds.

In the third quarter, the Gamecocks mixed success going inside to 6-foot-7 starting center Kamilla Cardoso — who was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player — with better perimeter shooting from their guards and built up a 58-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

But Oregon State got to within 62-58 with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left. Then Johnson's 3-point play at 3:29 gave the Gamecocks a little breathing room. Cardoso finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while starting guard Bree Hall had 10 points.

For Oregon