‘It was electric’: Gamecock fans celebrate women’s basketball Final Four win
Walking around Five Points Friday evening, it’s quiet. The streets are mostly empty, and it’s hours before the typical Friday night crowd will arrive to kick start the weekend in the college-adjacent nightlife district.
But on the corner of Harden Street and Devine Street, distant cheers can be heard — all coming from inside a Columbia staple.
Inside Home Team BBQ, there isn’t a single empty seat. Anticipation, nervousness and excitement fill the room. Then, just after 9 p.m., the restaurant erupts into cheers, which can mean only one thing: The South Carolina women’s basketball team is headed to another national championship game.
The No. 1-seeded Gamecocks overcame fellow No. 1 seed Texas Friday night 74-57 in the Final Four round of the women’s NCAA Tournament. This is the third time this season South Carolina has beaten the Longhorns and the team’s fifth-consecutive Final Four appearance.
Columbia locals and visitors from across South Carolina flocked to Home Team BQQ, a hot spot for fans, cheering loudly for their team. For Forest Acres resident Jean Goldberg, the game brought together old friends while they got to watch their team claim the victory.
“It’s just like a home game, even though we can’t be in the stands right there,” Goldberg said of the atmosphere in the restaurant following the win. “It’s still like a home game right here — the same energy that you feel.”
‘It’s a great day in South Carolina’
Before South Carolina won, people across the restaurant could be heard counting down the seconds.
The Gamecocks pulled away in the second half, putting even more distance between themselves and the Longhorns in the fourth quarter. The more and more South Carolina scored, the louder fans got. Goldberg said she “screamed her heart out” throughout the game.
“We always want the girls to win everything, and I love the fact that we definitely cleaned up the last game,” Goldberg said. “Very happy to see so much of a lead.”
Across the restaurant in the covered patio area, University of South Carolina alum Alec Routkowski sat with friends, watching the entire game. He came to Home Team BBQ for two reasons: the food and the Gamecock fan base.
“[I’m] just thrilled, excited,” Routkowski said. “It’s a great day in South Carolina.”
Continuing the tradition
Columbia local Sally Turner has been a lifelong Gamecock fan. She grew up listening to football games with her dad and has been an avid watcher of women’s basketball.
In 2024, she came to Home Team BBQ and watched South Carolina defeat N.C. State to move on to play in the national championship game, where the team would then go on to win their third national title.
She showed up to the same restaurant on Friday around 5:30 p.m., sitting at the same table as she did last year, ready to cheer on the Gamecocks in another Final Four round.
“We’re keeping the good juju,” Turner said.
More than 450 people walked through the restaurant’s doors from 4 p.m. to just after the game ended, staff told The State. At one point, there were 70 people on the waitlist — everyone eager to get a spot to watch the Gamecocks.
Throughout the game, Gamecock supporters could be heard chanting “GAME” and “COCKS” while other people brought white rally towels — a staple in South Carolina game day culture — to swing around while “Sandstorm” played during halftime.
Turner wasn’t the only Gamecock fan who came to Home Team BBQ to continue the tradition of watching games there. Midlands residents Nikki Sciacca and Dianne Hartness returned after watching South Carolina win the 2024 national championship at the restaurant.
On Friday, they were there with 17 friends, all supporting the Gamecocks. As season ticket holders, Sciacca and Hartness said watching the game surrounded by other fans at Home Team BBQ was a close second to being there in person.
“It was electric,” Hartness said following the win. “Everybody was so pumped. They played ‘Sandstorm’, they started the chant. Everybody’s just really excited to be here and really invested in the game.”
Looking ahead to Sunday
Turner watched South Carolina compete in the 2024 title game in the Vista.
After the win, she later made her way to USC’s campus to jump in the fountain in front of Thomas Cooper Library — a standard tradition for whenever the Gamecocks win a national championship.
On Sunday, she plans on returning to the exact same restaurant in the Vista to cheer on the Gamecocks. And if the team returns to the Final Four in 2026, you can bet you’ll see her at the same table at Home Team BBQ.
“The girls are so exciting to watch, and they have so much fun, like you can just tell that they get along so well,” Turner said. “They love each other, they have fun together, and they’re just a lot of fun to watch.”
The Gamecocks now look ahead to the title game on Sunday where the team will be eager to claim a second-consecutive national championship. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m., with ABC, ESPN and ESPN+ set to broadcast the game.
This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 8:17 AM.
