Chloe Kitts scored 14 points and defending national champion South Carolina reached the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year, beating Duke 54-50 on Sunday.
Coach Dawn Staley’s top-seeded Gamecocks are two wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as champions since UConn won four straight from 2013-16. South Carolina will play the winner of the Texas-TCU game that takes place Monday night.
The Final Four is Friday night in Tampa, Florida.
South Carolina (34-3) was stymied for most of the game by Duke’s stingy defence. The Gamecocks came in averaging 80.5 points, but points were difficult to come by Sunday.
The game was tied at 46-all when Sania Feagin, who finished with 12 points, hit a jumper to put the Gamecocks ahead with 4:21 left. Kitts added two free throws 42 seconds later to make it 50-46.
Fournier buoys Blue Devils
Toronto native Toby Fournier, who led Duke with 18 points, scored with 3:21 left to get the Blue Devils (29-8) back within two.
The Blue Devils trailed 52-50 with 29.8 seconds left when South Carolina’s Bree Hall was called for an offensive foul on an inbound play, giving Duke a chance to tie the game.
Duke worked the clocked down before Ashlon Jackson airballed a 3-pointer from the wing with 7 seconds left. Hall got the rebound and South Carolina called timeout.
Duke turned over the ball on the ensuing inbound play and the Gamecocks ran out the clock.
The Blue Devils trailed 26-22 at the half before starting the third quarter with a 16-6 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes. Fournier’s layup with 2:27 left made it 38-32. The Gamecocks trailed 42-38 heading into the fourth.
This was the first time the teams had met in the postseason.
WATCH | Canada’s Fournier on showcasing her dunking ability:
Toby Fournier is a 17-year-old basketball player on the Canadian women’s basketball team. She spoke to CBC Sports about showcasing her dunking abilities and representing Canada on the world stage.
