South Carolina seniors use experience, confidence to advance to the Final Four

South Carolina faced its second straight fourth-quarter deficit against Duke in the Birmingham 2 Regional final to win 54-50. In fact, the team entered the final stanza trailing for the third time this season, a scenario the Gamecocks hadn’t won in all season.

Part of what led to South Carolina being in a position to win heading into the fourth was Te-Hina Paopao’s clutch mid-range shooting in the third. Paopao scored 6 of the team’s 12 third-quarter points.

“She was really big, every time I passed it to her I said, ‘Don’t be afraid to shoot that mid-range. They send two to you or to me, don’t be afraid to shoot that mid-range,'” Sania Feagin said.

When the time came to start the quarter, Dawn Staley entrusted her four seniors — and Chloe Kitts — to lead the team to Tampa.

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“We told each other that this could be our last game,” Feagin said. “We told each other that if we want to make the Final Four, we have to work hard (and) we had to play the defense South Carolina plays.”

Feagin described “South Carolina defense” as communication and staying aggressive.

The message heading into the quarter was to operate, Staley said.

“One, it was the offensive rebounds (that) were killing us, okay,” Staley said. “Two, we have to operate in broken plays. Because they blew up some of our sets, and when they blow them up, we have to stay calm and we have to get (a) shot at the basket to give ourselves an opportunity to make a basket or get an offensive rebound.”

The Gamecocks tied the game two minutes into the half at 42. From there, both teams exchanged baskets as South Carolina alternated between a tie and a four-point lead.

With just under four minutes to go in the fourth, the Gamecocks up 48-46, Staley pulled Johnson aside to have a heart-to-heart while Kitts shot free throws that stretched South Carolina’s lead to four.

“She said, ‘Bring it on home,'” Johnson said. “She said, ‘Find a way to win.’ And I think that’s what, this core, we do. I think all the people that talks bad about all this stuff about our team, we do we find a way to win.”

Less than two minutes later, Johnson grabbed a clutch steal. 35 seconds after that, a defensive rebound turned into a Kitts layup that became South Carolina’s final made field goal.

Staley’s confidence among her seniors is something she’s instilled in them, Paopao said.

“And Chloe as well, she plays like a senior,” Paopao said. “It just speaks to how much she has trust in us.”

Staley also said Kitts plays on the level of a senior.

“I wanted her there a lot sooner than this year but, you know, people’s process is their process,” Staley said. We try to fast-track it, but some of them just have to go through it.”

Before the free throws, Kitts had a conversation with Paopao about getting the ball with Staley drawing a play for Kitts.

“And Pao was like, ‘Girl, what? Go get the ball,'” Kitts said. “So I got the ball and I went to the line and I was just taking a deep breath, and I told myself that my coach wanted me to have the ball at the end of the game because she knew I could make my free throws, and I told myself that I’m really good at basketball and I made both of them.”

Bree Hall chimed in saying she was screaming at Kitts was “unshakeable.” Feagin wanted her to take a deep breath.

Paopao said Staley’s decision to go with her starters shows her trust in her seniors.

“I feel like in March, in order to keep moving on and advancing, you got to have experience,” Paopao said. “And Feagin and Breezy have been to four Final Fours … For her to have us out there in that time, I’m gonna cherish that for sure.”

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