How Dawn Staley, South Carolina beat NC State in Women’s Final Four

CLEVELAND — When MiLaysia Fulwiley first arrived on South Carolina’s campus last offseason, the last time she hadn’t started a basketball game was when she was in the seventh grade (playing for the high school varsity team). She didn’t remember what it was like to not have her name called over the PA system in the starting lineup. Couldn’t really recall a time when she had watched the tip from anywhere other than the floor.

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CLEVELAND — Just when you thought this women’s basketball season couldn’t give any more, just when you thought it had drained itself of record on-court performances, all-time viewership numbers and compelling grudge matches, it is giving us an opportunity to witness all three in one game, pitting Iowa against South Carolina in the national championship showdown most fans and every ABC executive wanted.

It had to end this way, right? Great player versus great team. The quest for the perfect ending versus the pursuit of the perfect season. An opportunity for South Carolina to avenge its only loss of the last two seasons. A way to cap a memorable season with a potentially unforgettable finale.

If the Iowa-LSU regional final drew an average of 12.3 million viewers on a Monday night on cable, it boggles the mind to think what the Iowa-South Carolina rematch of last year’s national semifinal could do Sunday on network television. You have Caitlin Clark, Iowa’s transcendent star and expected No. 1 pick of the upcoming WNBA Draft, seeking to go out on top after losing in last season’s title game. And you have South Carolina, with virtually an all-new lineup, seeking to finish what it could not a year ago.

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Te-Hina Paopao on the dominant third quarter:

"Coach told us that was a six-point quarter for them. We were just like shocked because it didn't feel like that. It felt like we were just out there being locked in on offense and defense. And we just played the game we know how to play. At some points we don't know what's going on. We just know we're having fun. And we just love being out there with each other."

A fun moment on ESPN postgame, as Aliyah Boston — whose South Carolina career ended in the Final Four last season — interviews her former coach, Dawn Staley, after the Gamecocks advanced past NC State.

Move over here for our live updates from Iowa-Connecticut.

Or, stay here for more reaction from South Carolina's 37th consecutive victory — one that puts it in the national championship game.

For the women's basketball sports viewership nerds:

You now have the team on that side of the draw for the highest viewership.

South Carolina is going back to the national championship.

The top-ranked and undefeated Gamecocks defeated third-seeded NC State 78-59 in the first Final Four game Friday night. The win sends South Carolina back to the national championship for the second time in three years, after winning it all in 2022.

The Gamecocks were led by star post player Kamilla Cardoso, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds despite missing the last 1:39 of the first half with an apparent leg injury.

South Carolina led by five before Cardoso went down, but that lead was cut to just one point at halftime. Cardoso returned after halftime and South Carolina took control of the game right away, jumping out to a 10-1 run in the third quarter. South Carolina outscored NC State 29-6 in the third quarter to break the game open.

South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins is just the fifth player to record 20 rebounds in a women's Final Four game, joining Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan (25, 2018), North Carolina's Charlotte Smith (23, 1994), Old Dominion's Tracy Claxton (20, 1985) and LSU's Sylvia Fowles (20, 2008).

Ashlyn Watkins: 19 rebounds. NC State: 22.

Kamilla Cardoso shouldn't touch the floor the rest of this game... Up 23 with 8 minutes to play, there's no reason to risk aggravating whatever injury sent her off the floor in the first half. This is a good chance to get Sania Feagin some extra minutes.

Heading into tonight, South Carolina's third-quarter margin over teams was an average of 7.1 points. The Gamecocks more than tripled that just now.

South Carolina outscored NC State 29-6 in that third quarter. Tells you everything you need to know.

Wes Moore said in his pregame news conferences that he thought this was Dawn Staley's best South Carolina team. Considering Staley has two national titles, it just goes to show you just how dominant this group has been all year. He also had a funny line this week about interviewing for the South Carolina job when Staley got it. "Can you believe they made that decision and went that direction?" he joked. "But it's worked out pretty good." South Carolina is up 18 late in the third.

Trying to decide what the point of no return will be for the Wolfpack. Was it when Aziaha James drove into a wall at the rim for the third straight possession? Or when MiLaysia Fulwiley broke out a coast-to-coast transition bucket. Whenever the moment, I do believe NC State is cooked. The loosest team in the Tournament is getting a bit snippety with one another as this lead balloons.