South Carolina WBB routs Texas, advances to national championship
The Final Four is here.
Coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina women’s basketball team is playing Texas on Friday night in Tampa for a spot in Sunday’s national championship game.
The State’s Michael Sauls and Chapel Fowler are on site providing live updates as USC tries to get one step closer to a second straight national title. Along with this story, you can follow along via Sauls’ X account and the GoGamecocks X account.
Final: South Carolina 74, Texas 57
Over and done.
The Gamecocks are headed to the national championship game.
USC beats Texas handily, by 17 points, with a big second half and advances to Sunday’s title game against either UCLA or UConn.
South Carolina also finishes 3-1 against Texas this season, with wins on the two biggest stages: The 2025 SEC championship game and the Final Four on Friday night.
Freshman forward Joyce Edwards had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, becoming the first player to record that statline off the bench in at least 25 seasons.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley moved to 16-4 in head-to-head coaching matchups with UT’s Vic Schaefer and 8-0 against Schaefer in postseason games.
End Q3: South Carolina 58, Texas 44
The Gamecocks are pulling away. They outscore Texas 20-9 in the third quarter, lead by as many as 17 and take a 14-point lead into the final period. That’s the sort of effort that can get you to the national title.
Joyce Edwards leads USC with 12, and Te-Hina Paopao has 11.
Texas’ field goal percentage has dropped down to 42% (17-40).
Halftime: South Carolina 38, Texas 35
The Gamecocks outscored Texas 20-16 in the second quarter to take a slim lead into halftime. USC went up five points late on Te-Hina Paopao’s three and Sania Feagin’s layup before two late UT free throws.
Both teams are shooting over 50% from the field. Reserve guard Jordan Lee has a game high 10 for Texas; Paopao has 8 for USC and MiLaysia Fulwiley (7) and Joyce Edwards (8) have been strong off the bench after struggling in the Elite Eight.
UT star Madison Booker has 3 fouls, which will majorly impact her second-half minutes. She put her hands to her head in dismay after the most recent one.
End Q1: Texas 19, South Carolina 18
The Longhorns led by as many as eight points in the opening quarter (12-4) before things evened out. South Carolina, though, has not held a lead yet.
Texas is 7-14 (50%) from the field. The Gamecocks have mixed things up and played nine players already, including reserve forward Maryam Dauda. Freshman Joyce Edwards leads USC with 6 points.
Of note: Texas star Madison Booker already has 2 fouls.
Alums on site
Per South Carolina, a number of Gamecocks WBB alums are here in Tampa to support the team: Laeticia Amihere, Aliyah Boston, Ashley Bruner, Kamilla Cardoso, Kaela Davis, Asia Dozier, Olivia Gaines, Markeshia Grant, Ty Harris, CJ Pace, Tina Roy, Lindsay Spann, Olivia Thompson, Ieasha Walker and Cynthia Jordan (staffer)
USC team sendoff
South Carolina is en route to Amalie Arena:
Gamecocks making history
By getting here in the first place, USC set a notable record.
The Gamecocks’ five consecutive NCAA Final Fours dating back to 2021 are the longest active streak in the country and the second longest streak in Division I history, only trailing UConn’s 12 straight from 2008-22.
There’s a strong chance that Final Four streak would be at six years in a row, too, had the 2020 NCAA Tournament not been canceled because of COVID-19.
Texas is making its fourth ever Final Four and first since 2003.
A coaching trend
Dawn Staley and Vic Schaefer have been coaching a long time.
That means plenty of crossover ... and a stellar record for Staley.
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between Staley and Schaefer in a postseason game (conference tournament or NCAA Tournament).
In the previous seven meetings, Staley is 7-0, per the Post & Courier.
South Carolina has defeated Schaefer-led Mississippi State and Texas teams five teams in SEC tournament championship games, as well as Mississippi State in the 2017 national championship game and Texas in the 2021 Final Four.
Final betting line
South Carolina is favored by 5.5 points vs. Texas, per ESPN BET.
ESPN’s analytics also give USC a 62.4% chance of winning the matchup of No. 1 seeds from the SEC.
As for the other game: The market is even higher on UConn, the only No. 2 seed in the Final Four, to beat UCLA in the second game of the night Friday. The Huskies are favored by 7.5 points vs. the No. 1 Bruins.
UConn has a 71.7% chance of winning, per ESPN analytics.
South Carolina vs. Texas game, TV info
- Who: No. 1 South Carolina (34-3) vs. No. 1 Texas (35-3)
- When: 7 p.m. Friday
- Where: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: 107.5 The Game locally (see full list of affiliates here)
- Stream: Via watchespn.com or the ESPN app
- Next up: The winner of the South Carolina-Texas game plays either No. 1 UCLA or No. 2 UConn in the 2025 national championship game on Sunday (3 p.m., ABC)
This story was originally published April 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM.
