BIRMINGHAM — For three quarters on Monday night, TCU refused to follow the script. South Carolina had spent the first three rounds of this NCAA Tournament building comfortable leads before opponents could settle in, but the Horned Frogs had other ideas from the opening tip.
It did not matter. When the fourth quarter arrived, the Gamecocks reminded everyone why they have been to six consecutive Final Fours.
South Carolina pulled away from a tight game with a devastating 15-0 run to open the final period, turning a close contest into a 78-52 Elite Eight victory and punching their ticket to the Final Four once again.
TCU Disrupts the Pattern — Briefly
The Horned Frogs came in with a plan, and early on, it worked. TCU scored the game’s first six points and built a 12-4 lead midway through the first quarter, shooting 4-of-6 from the field while South Carolina missed its first five shot attempts. For a program accustomed to setting the tone from the opening minute, the Gamecocks found themselves chasing.
They adjusted. South Carolina closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run, and Joyce Edwards capped it with a long jumper just before the buzzer to give the Gamecocks their first lead of the game.
TCU responded immediately in the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to retake the advantage. But that was the Horned Frogs’ last real moment of control. Freshman Agot Makeer answered with a three-pointer of her own, Edwards added six more points, and a 9-0 run gave South Carolina a lead it would never relinquish.
The Gamecocks pushed it to 35-27 at halftime on an 8-1 closing run, and that eight-point margin held through three quarters — just enough cushion for what was coming.
The Fourth Quarter Belonged to South Carolina
TCU had kept it competitive for thirty minutes. The fourth quarter took four.
Makeer and Edwards traded baskets in a sequence of six consecutive makes between them to open the period, and Tessa Johnson added a three-pointer to complete a 15-0 run before the Horned Frogs could respond. TCU missed its first seven shot attempts of the fourth quarter and committed three turnovers in that same stretch, and the game was effectively over before it had barely resumed.
What had been a manageable deficit became an insurmountable one in a matter of minutes — which is precisely what South Carolina does.
Edwards and Makeer Carry the Offense
Joyce Edwards has been one of the most consistent players in this tournament, and Monday was her best performance yet. The sophomore finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks — a complete game on both ends — and was named to the All-Region team alongside Makeer.
The freshman has been a revelation in this postseason run, and she delivered a career-high 18 points against TCU to go with four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The stolen possessions were emblematic of how disruptive she was all night — not just scoring, but attacking the game in multiple ways.
Together, Edwards and Makeer were the engine of a South Carolina offense that looked shaky early and dominant late.
Raven Johnson, As Advertised
With the scoring handled, Raven Johnson did what Raven Johnson does. The senior guard finished with 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and was named the Region Most Outstanding Player — recognition that reflects something beyond a single box score line.
Johnson’s influence on how this team functions rarely shows up cleanly in statistics. She is the connector, the pressure release valve, the player who finds the right person at the right moment. On a night when Makeer and Edwards needed space to operate, Johnson created it.
Six Straight
South Carolina is headed back to the Final Four for the sixth consecutive season — a run of sustained excellence that has no peer in the current women’s college basketball landscape. The Gamecocks were tested early Monday night, fell behind, and had to grind through three quarters before the decisive moment arrived.
When it did, they were ready. That readiness — the ability to absorb a punch, stay composed, and then deliver a response that ends the conversation — may be the defining trait of this program under Dawn Staley.
The opposition changes every year. The result, so far, does not.
