South Carolina Rallies Past Indiana to Reach Sweet 16 for 11th Straight Year
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Bree Hall led with 11 points, and Chloe Kitts stepped up in the second half, scoring all 10 of her points, as top-seeded South Carolina shook off a slow start to defeat ninth-seeded Indiana 64-53 on Sunday. The win secured the Gamecocks’ spot in the Sweet 16 for the 11th consecutive year in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Now sitting at 32-3, South Carolina advances to the Birmingham 2 Regional, where they will face either No. 4 seed Maryland or No. 5 seed Alabama next week. Those two teams will clash Monday night.
Gamecocks Overcome First-Half Struggles
South Carolina’s performance in the opening half was anything but dominant, as they shot just 10-of-29 from the field and found themselves trailing 26-25 at halftime. However, the Gamecocks erupted in the third quarter, igniting a 20-7 run by hitting nine of their first 10 shots, seizing control of the game.
Head coach Dawn Staley revealed that halftime was anything but quiet, as her players were actively vocal about what needed to change.
“It’s not like a board meeting where there’s one person talking at a time,” Staley said with a smile. “It is chaos.”
Whatever the method, it worked. South Carolina came out firing in the second half. Kitts’ three-pointer pushed the Gamecocks ahead 38-30, and she lifted her arms in celebration as the home crowd roared. Moments later, Hall’s clutch three-pointer capped off the surge, solidifying the lead.
Kitts: “We Turned It Around”
Reflecting on the sluggish start, Kitts admitted the team struggled early.
“We were all just missing our easy layups, and there wasn’t really a flow in the game,” she said. “Then the second half, we turned it around.”
Indiana never found an answer, failing to cut the deficit below seven points for the remainder of the game.
Indiana Stumbles in the Third Quarter
Shay Ciezki led the Hoosiers with 12 points, while Sania Feagin added 10 for South Carolina, which improved to 18-0 in NCAA Tournament games played at home.
Indiana guard Chloe Moore-McNeil acknowledged the game slipped away in the third quarter, as her team was outscored 26-14 while committing five costly turnovers.
“Obviously, they’re the No. 1 team in the country in terms of transition offense and capitalizing on people’s turnovers,” Moore-McNeil said. “I think, yeah, they did have pressure on us, but at the same time, I think we did have some careless mistakes.”
Looking Ahead
- Indiana: The Hoosiers fought hard to stay in the game early but ultimately couldn’t match South Carolina’s depth and talent over 40 minutes.
- South Carolina: The Gamecocks received a wake-up call from Indiana for the second straight year. Last season, they nearly let a big lead slip away before escaping with a 79-75 Sweet 16 victory. This time, they struggled early but finished strong—something Dawn Staley will surely use as a teaching moment moving forward.
Moren Calls for Change in Tournament Format
Indiana head coach Teri Moren believes it’s time to reconsider hosting tournament games at home venues, advocating for neutral sites, similar to the men’s tournament.
“I think we’ve got to get to a point where we sort of mirror what the guys do and have neutral sites because matchups matter,” Moren said. “But home-court advantage matters. Again, I’ve been a recipient.”
She added that discussions about potential changes in women’s college basketball will likely continue in the coming years.
