USC women a finalist in ESPN challenge

Don’t look now, but the University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team is in the Final Four.

Well, a Final Four.

The Gamecocks were announced Monday as one of four finalists in ESPN’s HandClap Hoopla Challenge. Other finalists are Army, Florida State and Tulane.

ESPN challenged basketball teams in December to lip sync their way through Fitz and the Tantrums’ “HandClap” and send in their videos, according to a story on its web site.

The Gamecocks’ video was filmed at Colonial Life Arena, both behind the scenes and out on the court featuring Cocky, USC cheerleaders, Coach Dawn Staley, players – and of course, thousands of cheering Gamecock fans.

ESPN noted the field was narrowed to four by Debbie Antonelli, Nell Fortner, Gail Goestenkors, Andy Landers, Rebecca Lobo, Beth Mowins and Holly Rowe, along with ESPN producer Beth Chappell, who conceived the HandClap Hoopla Challenge.

USC women’s basketball fans can vote for the Gamecocks’ video on the team Twitter.

View the rest of the finalist videos here.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "USC women a finalist in ESPN challenge."