Top-seeded South Carolina women overpower UCLA in Sweet 16 showdown

Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points while reigning national champion South Carolina turned in its latest overwhelming defense- and rebounding-first performance to beat UCLA, 59-43, on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.

Aaliyah Boston had eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (35-0), the top overall tournament seed and the headliner in the Greenville 1 Region. It marked South Carolina’s 41st consecutive victory, securing the program’s sixth trip to the Elite Eight under Dawn Staley.

The Gamecocks will play for their fifth trip to the Final Four in Monday’s regional final against 2-seed Maryland.

It wasn’t an easy offensive operation for South Carolina, with UCLA sagging defensively to pack the paint in hopes of negating the Gamecocks’ size advantage behind Boston. However, South Carolina dominated the glass from start to finish and used its length to turn every look into a difficult one for the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-10).

The Gamecocks entered the game ranked first in Division I in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin. They did nothing to change that, holding UCLA to 15-for-51 shooting (29.4%) — including 3-for-18 from 3-point range — while finishing with a 42-34 rebounding advantage that narrowed late after they led big.

Charisma Osborne scored 14 points to lead UCLA, which was in the Sweet 16 for the eighth time and first since 2019. The Bruins were trying to reach the regional finals for the first time since 2018 and only the third time in program history while pursuing their first Final Four appearance.

Once the game started, the Bruins tried desperately to close off the paint and dare the Gamecocks to shoot from outside.

But in a sign of what was to come, the Bruins kept missing shots that they needed to position themselves for a stunning upset. Worse, they failed to grab even a few of those misses to keep possessions alive early, with South Carolina going on to finish with a 15-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Meanwhile, the Gamecocks were able to just keep grinding and relying on their length. They led 25-15 at halftime before finally breaking this open by matching their game-long point total in the third quarter.

That included a couple of way too familiar sequences for UCLA coach Cori Close. Twice the Gamecocks managed to lob a pass inside to the 6-foot-7 Cardoso, who used her long arms to reach over 6-foot-2 fronting defender Christeen Iwuala and snag the ball for easy under-the-rim finishes in traffic.

Or there was Brea Beal (10 points) using her right hand to tap out a loose rebound over Gabriela Jaquez before securing it, then dumping it immediately inside to Victaria Saxton inside for a soft hook as the lead steadily grew.

It was all the same often demoralizing sequences that have overwhelmed teams all season, this time coming with the home-state Gamecocks as the main draw here in the new double-regional format.

They drew loud cheers from the crowd just for making their way into the locker-room tunnel during the Notre Dame-Maryland game with their game to follow. The roars returned as each player who lingered to wrap up pregame shootaround came off the court — several waving two arms high in acknowledgment — in a mostly full arena.

The cheers were louder, of course, as the Gamecocks spent the final minutes closing out a win to advance again.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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