Women's Final 4

South Carolina beat Louisville, and UConn beat Stanford on Friday in the women's Final Four. Here's how the Gamecocks and Huskies did it.

Van Lith couldn't really get into the paint; she couldn't get a pull-up jumper going; and she attempted three 3-point shots all game (all coming late in the fourth quarter). Van Lith competed hard until she was pulled from the game, but South Carolina successfully frustrated her early, and she never recovered. In addition to the turnovers, there were stretches when the guards just looked careless with the ball -- throwing skip passes that hung in the air or trying to thread one too many needles. The Gamecocks improved to 34-2, matching their single-season record for wins in a season. If that happens, this game will look similar to the one in November. South Carolina will have a second national championship and hand UConn its first loss in a national title game. But with the game and the season on the line, they stepped up to get the Huskies to their first national championship game since 2016. The consensus national player of the year led the Gamecocks to the national championship game a year after a heartbreaking one-point loss in the semifinals. Creme: Boston. Whenever South Carolina needs something big, it's always Boston. The Gamecocks were in complete control with a 15-point lead in the third quarter, then got loose with the ball. Creme: The Gamecocks and Huskies were supposed to play a second time this season, on Jan. 27. They will be the key against South Carolina. When the two teams met in November, the two totaled just 12 points and six rebounds, and the Huskies got pounded on the glass, 42-25. Barnes: Westbrook came off the bench in the second quarter and kept the Huskies afloat with a small lead by draining three 3s. The Huskies mixed up their defensive looks early on with a zone, and matched up with the Cardinal for most of the game. It's UConn's 12th appearance in the title game; the 11-time national champion Huskies have never lost in the championship.

MINNEAPOLIS — This time, Aliyah Boston and the South Carolina Gamecocks were smiling as they strutted off the court at the Final Four.

You’re going to have to pass the tests or you’re going to have to retake them,” said coach Dawn Staley, who will try to win her second national championship with South Carolina eight months after the Hall of Famer led the U.S. team to a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.Destanni Henderson scored 11 points with 3-for-6 shooting from three-point range for South Carolina, which had a 19-5 assists advantage and improved to 13-0 this season against AP-ranked opponents.Emily Engstler led Louisville with 18 points and nine rebounds as the Cardinals went 1 for 8 from three-point range and never found a rhythm in the halfcourt against the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament.South Carolina, which won it all in 2017, was ousted in the semifinals last season by one point to eventual champion Stanford when Boston’s putback attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer. I’m extremely proud of this team, and I’ve had an amazing time with them,” Engstler said.After putting up 28 points and 22 rebounds in the Sweet 16 against North Carolina, Boston had plenty left for the Final Four.Wearing her familiar vibrant braids in a bright-pink-and-purple combination, Boston helped the Gamecocks set a commanding tone early with an 11-2 lead. Van Lith, whose first basket came on a knifing drive for a layup with 1:43 left in the second quarter, had two jumpers blocked by Beal and three turnovers in the first half.Engstler, the tough-as-nails transfer from Syracuse, helped Louisville keep Boston from getting too comfortable in the paint while Cochran helped with the muscle. The 6-foot-5 junior from the U.S. Virgin Islands has bounced right back a year later, and the Gamecocks have followed her lead.“We knew that we’re going to be tested, and this is the hump that we need to get over,” Boston said.Kianna Smith and Olivia Cochran each scored 14 points for the Cardinals (29-5), who were the only team in this Final Four without an NCAA championship in their trophy case. MINNEAPOLIS — This time, Aliyah Boston and the South Carolina Gamecocks were smiling as they strutted off the court at the Final Four.The only crying came from relief and joy, one year after a painfully opposite finish in the national semifinals.Boston took over after halftime and finished with 23 points and 18 rebounds to back up her AP National Player of the Year award, carrying South Carolina to the NCAA championship game with a 72-59 victory over Louisville on Friday night.“You see happy tears, happy tears, right now,” Boston said in her postgame TV interview. Physical play can come with a price, though, and with 4.2 seconds left in the third quarter Boston drew Engstler’s fourth foul on a putback layup and stretched the lead to 57-48 with the and-one free throw.Engstler fouled out with 4:56 to go and had her head buried in her clenched hands on the bench as her teammates tried to console her.“I think we should all leave this arena and Minneapolis with our heads held very high. “It was just an absolute joy to coach.”The Gamecocks, who were the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the AP poll this season, squeezed their first four tournament opponents in the Greensboro Region to a bleak average of 41.2 points on their way to a fourth Final Four in the last seven years.The Cardinals, one of the three No. 1 seeds in this Final Four, made it out of the Wichita Region without any trouble. “We were able to continue to move the ball.”The entire South Carolina team stayed off the court during the national anthem, keeping with the Gamecocks’ practice all season. Van Lith, the relentless sophomore guard with the perpetually flopping blond pigtails, hit the 20-point mark in each of their first four tournament games.Van Lith met her match with Beal, who had a four-inch height advantage and shadowed her all over the court as she often does to the opponent’s most dangerous player. “I’m just thanking God we have one more game.”Brea Beal matched her season high with 12 points and helped hold Cardinals star Hailey Van Lith to nine points on 4-for-11 shooting as the Gamecocks (34-2) delivered another stifling defensive performance and advanced to meet Connecticut, a 63-58 semifinal winner over Stanford, on Sunday night.“Life in general, it’s going to throw tests at you. South Carolina's Aliyah Boston and Louisville's Olivia Cochran go after a loose ball during the first half of a college basketball game in the semifinal round of the Women's Final Four NCAA tournament Friday, April 1, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)APSigned-in readers now can bookmark stories to read later. News/COVID-19 updatesChevron that denotes content that can open up.

No. 2 UConn took down defending champions Stanford in a 63-58 win. The Huskies will face top-seeded South Carolina for the national championship title on ...

Paige Bueckers led the Huskies with 14 points, five assists and four rebounds. Evina Westbrook provided a spark off the bench with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep. Aliyah Boston led the five starters, who all averaged double-digits, by scoring 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 18 rebounds and four assists.