South Carolina’s Final Four win, by the numbers
A look at some key stats and more from South Carolina’s 72-59 win over Louisville in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Final Four game Friday in Minneapolis.
▪ 1: Hailey Van Lith’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go is Louisville’s lone 3-pointer of the game.
▪ 3: Number of 3-pointers for South Carolina senior Destanni Henderson.
▪ 5: Fouls for Louisville senior Emily Engster, who fouled out with almost five minutes left in the game.
▪ 12: Number of free throws made for USC on 17 attempts. Louisville was for 4 of 7 on the night from the foul line.
▪ 20: Minutes for USC freshman Saniya Rivers, by far the most for her all postseason.
▪ 23: Game-high points for South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston.
▪ 37:11: How long the Gamecocks led during the game.
▪ 47.4: South Carolina’s shooting percentage, their second best of the tournament.
NCAA box score: South Carolina vs. Louisville
LOUISVILLE (29-5)—Cochran 6-11 2-3 14, Engstler 8-17 2-4 18, Hall 1-3 0-0 2, Kianna Smith 7-18 0-0 14, Van Lith 4-11 0-0 9, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Parker 0-0 0-0 0, Konno 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Ahlana Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Russell 0-0 0-0 0, Verhulst 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 27-63 4-7 59
SOUTH CAROLINA (34-2)—Boston 8-12 6-7 23, Saxton 4-6 2-2 10, Beal 5-7 2-2 12, Cooke 4-8 0-0 10, Henderson 4-12 0-0 11, Amihere 0-2 1-4 1, Grissett 1-2 0-0 2, Wesolek 0-0 0-0 0, Cardoso 0-1 0-0 0, Littleton 0-0 0-0 0, Feagin 0-0 0-0 0, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Rivers 1-7 1-2 3, Totals 27-57 12-17 72
Halftime—South Carolina 34-28. 3-Point Goals—Louisville 1-8 (Engstler 0-1, Hall 0-1, K.Smith 0-2, Van Lith 1-3, A.Smith 0-1), South Carolina 6-17 (Boston 1-2, Beal 0-1, Cooke 2-5, Henderson 3-6, Rivers 0-3). Assists—Louisville 5 (Van Lith 3), South Carolina 19 (Boston 4, Henderson 4, Rivers 4). Fouled Out—Louisville Engstler. Rebounds—Louisville 33 (Engstler 9, Van Lith 9), South Carolina 36 (Boston 18). Total Fouls—Louisville 17, South Carolina 11. Technical Fouls—None. A—0.
Scoring summary
First quarter: South Carolina 17, Louisville 10
South Carolina opens a 7-0 and 11-2 lead to start the game, including two Aliyah Boston baskets. All starters have scored with a Destanni Henderson layout at 2:07 to go in the quarter. Zia Cooke leads USC scorers with 5 points in the quarter. South Carolina shoots 42.1% compared with 31.3% for Louisville, with the Gamecocks 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
Second quarter/halftime: South Carolina 34, Louisville 28
Louisville goes on a 12-0 run to lead 22-19, with Emily Engstler scoring 6 of those 12 points. USC breaks things up with a Boston bucket and a Henderson 3-pointer. The game is tied at 23 at the media timeout at the 4:17 mark. Brea Beal scores twice in a 6-0 Gamecocks run that includes and steal and score from freshman Saniya Rivers. Beal finishes with 6 points in the quarter on 3-of-3 shooting. Both teams shoot much better this quarter, with South Carolina at 53.8% and Louisville 52.9%. Each team has 19 rebounds for the game.
Third quarter: South Carolina 57, Louisville 48
South Carolina opens the second half on a 5-0 run, with Cooke scoring all 5 points. Henderson adds a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter. Boston (16), Henderson (11), and Cooke (10) are all in double figures for the game. Louisville goes on a 6-0 late to cut the lead to six points. An and-one from Boston late in the quarter ends a 2:31 scoring drought for USC and provides the nine-point cushion.
Fourth quarter/final: South Carolina 72, Louisville 59
The game slows down, with a game-low 25 field-goal attempts between the two teams. Boston (7) and Beal (4) score the bulk of the Gamecocks’ 15 points in the quarter. Louisville cuts the lead to nine twice but can’t get any closer. USC subs out its last starter with 1:05 left in the game.
