Bad quarter bites Texas Longhorns again, South Carolina moves to national title game 74-57

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Like the two previous losses to South Carolina this season, one bad quarter sunk the Texas Longhorns in the Final Four.

The Gamecocks outscored the Longhorns 20-9 in the third quarter to clinch a spot in the national title game 74-57 Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. It's the third time in the past four years that South Carolina has made it to the championship game. It's also the fourth time this season the teams have played each other, twice in the Southeastern Conference regular season and in the SEC tournament championship game.

Madison Booker started hot for the Longhorns, making her first three shots to help Texas build a 12-4 lead, but then got into foul trouble and had to sit on the bench for extended periods in the first half. Booker played half of the first half, 10 minutes, picking up her second foul with 3:04 left in the first quarter and her third with 2:29 left in the second. She went to the bench for the rest of the first after her second foul and didn't return until the 5:01 mark of the second. Once she picked up her third foul, she sat out for the rest of the half.

"That's where things changed," Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer said. "The second one came pretty quick, and that was a big swing."

South Carolina (35-3) went on an 11-0 run in the third quarter to essentially put the game away, turning a 47-41 lead into 58-41. Texas freshman guard Jordan Lee broke the run with a 3-pointer with 0:35 left in the frame, and then hit another one with 8:32 left in the fourth, but Texas couldn't mount a comeback. The Longhorns didn't shoot well in the second half, making 9 of 29 shots with a scoring drought of more than four minutes in the fourth quarter.

"For whatever reason, we didn't handle some things defensively that we've been good at all year long," Schaefer said. "I wear that responsibility. Obviously, I didn't convey to them what we were doing and the importance of doing it, so I've got to be better."

Te-Hina Paopao led the Gamecocks with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and Joyce Edwards poured in a double-double off the bench with 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with a team-high six assists. Bree Hall scored 11 points and Tessa Johnson had nine. South Carolina outrebounded Texas 36-28 and outscored them in the paint 40-22.

Edwards, a freshman from Camden, South Carolina, struggled early in the tournament, scoring 15 points in the previous three games combined. She said she never "got too low," during the scoring lull and knew her teammates had her back.

"You're going to have slumps. It's part of the growth and part of the process," she said. "The people in my inner circle make sure I kept my mindset at an even keel."

The Gamecocks shot 51% from the field, 29-for-57, and Texas shot 40%, 22-for-55. The Longhorns came into the game allowing opponents to shoot 38% from the field. Texas committed 14 turnovers and South Carolina had 13.

For the Longhorns, Lee led the way with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. She went 3-for-7 from 3-point range, accounting for all but one of Texas' long distance buckets. Booker ended with 11 points and Rori Harmon chipped in eight points with seven rebounds and four assists. Harmon has an extra year of eligibility due to her season-ending knee injury last season, and when asked if she's decided on staying, she said it's a family decision.

"I have to really hone in on that, and it's not anything I want to tell to the public yet," Harmon said.

South Carolina, the defending national champs, will face UConn for the national championship at 2 p.m. CDT Sunday. The Huskies clobbered UCLA 85-51 in the other national semifinal game. The programs faced off in the 2022 championship game, won by South Carolina.

Texas ended its season with a 35-4 record and set the school record for wins in a season. Three of their losses were to the Gamecocks.

"At the end of the day, I'm really proud of these kids. I appreciate what they've brought to my life and our program," Schaefer said. "I think if you can live with an attitude of gratitude and be appreciative of your circumstance, no matter what it is ... after we broke down all the positives and negatives, one game doesn't define this team, and I want them to hang their hat on that."