Gamecocks' Mistakes Prove Insurmountable In Stunning Final Four Loss To Iowa
In what was viewed as the most highly anticipated matchup in the recent history of women's college basketball, it was the South Carolina Gamecocks who found themselves exiting the floor as the defeated, not the victor, as Caitlin Clark proved to be too much to handle.
In the first quarter, the Gamecocks got off to a slow start offensively, missing each of their first five shots from the floor, and not reaching ten points as a team until the 2:44 mark in the first quarter. This was then compounded with an extremely questionable call on Aliyah Boston on an attempt to chase a loose ball with 1:38 left in the period, which was her second foul and relinquished her to the bench for the rest of the half. Zia Cooke, however, would pick up the slack for her superstar teammate, who got things going with midrange shooting and her tenacity on the fast break, which lead to her scoring 18 points in the first half.
Defensively, Clark ate up South Carolina's defenders no matter who guarded her in the first half, using her quickness off the dribble to get to the basket while also using some slip screens near the top of the key to draw Kamilla Cardoso and other frontcourt players away from the paint and opening the door for her teammate in Monika Czinano to get multiple easy layups. All of these factors lead to the Gamecocks carrying a one point deficit into the half, just the fourth halftime deficit for South Carolina all season long.
In the third quarter, a period that usually has gone the Gamecocks way all season, it was the Hawkeyes that started off hot, hitting each of their first three shots and giving themselves a seven point cushion, stunning the Carolina faithful in the American Airlines Center. South Carolina's Kamilla Cardoso would come into the game with the Gamecocks down nine four minutes into the quarter, and quickly went to work in the paint scoring eight of the Gamecocks next twelve points and cutting the lead all the way down to two.
Clark, however, seemingly hit clutch shot after clutch shot to keep the Gamecocks out of reach, and this theme would carry over to fourth quarter, as the Hawkeyes would hang on in the end and win 77-73, pulling off the most shocking upset that very few, if any, South Carolina fans expected.
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