Texas and South Carolina are familiar foes and bring stingy defenses into Final Four meeting

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Among the many things Texas coach Vic Schaefer admires about South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, her consistency stands out the most.

UConn’s Geno Auriemma has set the standard in women’s basketball with 24 Final Four appearances and 11 national titles, both records.

For Schaefer, Staley — who’s in her seventh Final Four and seeking her fourth title, all in the span of 11 seasons — is next.

“I have a great deal of respect and admiration for both of them because they have done it at an incredible level,” Schaefer said. “And they’re very consistent year in and year out. In any profession, y’all, no matter what you’re doing, that’s what you strive for. If you’re worth your salt, you’re trying to be the best.”

Schaefer’s Longhorns will meet Staley’s Gamecocks Friday night in the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament, with Texas trying to stop South Carolina from playing for a second straight title.

The teams, both No. 1 seeds, know each other well. The national semifinal will be their fourth time playing this season. South Carolina won two of three, including last month in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final.

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Staley is in the Final Four for the fifth straight season as South Carolina tries to become the first repeat champ since UConn won four straight from 2013-2016.

She’s also had plenty of success against Schaefer. When he coached at Mississippi State, his Bulldogs went 0-3 against South Carolina during the 2016-17 season, including losing to an A’ja Wilson-led Gamecocks team in the national championship game.

None of that matters to Staley.

“We’re not going to rely on our success against them to say, ‘Hey, we beat them,’” she said. “I’m looking at the loss from this year and how we can prevent that.”

The team with the rebounding edge has won each of the previous three meetings. South Carolina outrebounded Texas 42-40 on Jan 12 and won in a blowout. Texas won on the boards in the rematch, with a 42-35 advantage, and beat South Carolina by four points. When the Gamecocks blew out the Longhorns in the SEC Tournament, South Carolina pulled down 37 rebounds to Texas’ 35.

The more impressive stat from that game was how the Gamecocks dominated in the post, scoring 40 points in the paint and limiting the Longhorns — who take pride in overwhelming opponents near the basket — to 18 points in the paint.

Chloe Kitts, South Carolina’s 6-foot-2 forward, said her team is clearly at a size disadvantage against Texas, which has 6-6 center Kyla Oldacre and 6-4 forward Taylor Jones. Rebounding could come down to the Gamecocks’ guards.

“It’s kind of hard to rebound down there with those big girls, so our guard rebounding is gonna be super important for us,” Kitts said. “And then obviously boxing out is just super important. So we just need to really key in on that.”

Defensive battle

The Longhorns have the same goal in every game — hold their opponent to 60 points or fewer.

For most of the season, that hasn’t been too hard. Texas has one of the best defenses in the country, allowing around 55 points per game.

Texas bottled up one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams, TCU, in their Elite Eight matchup. The Longhorns held the Horned Frogs to 47 points on Monday, well below TCU’s season average of 76.7.

“When we’re playing our best defense and keeping the score pretty low, I think we have a better chance,” senior guard Rori Harmon said.

Harmon expects Friday’s game to be low-scoring, with both teams featuring tough defenses.

“The name of the game is just who is going to win it more on the biggest stage that we’re at right now,” Harmon said, “and who is going to be tougher and bring the most energy.”

Seatbelt gang

South Carolina players gave themselves a nickname after they saw Dijonai Carrington, who plays for the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, make a defensive play in a game then simulate fastening a seatbelt.

“She said ‘Seatbelt Gang,’” guard Raven Johnson said. “So me and Breezy (guard Bree Hall) were like, ‘We’re lock-down defenders. We need to be part of ‘Seatbelt Gang.’ ... Honestly, it means don’t come on our island when it comes to defense. When we’re in front of you, just know you’re going to have to make a tough bucket.”

Hall typically guards the opposing team’s top scorer, so she’ll draw the primary assignment against SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker, who’s averaging 18.7 points in the postseason for Texas.

Staley said Hall is ready for the challenge.

“She’s really locked in when it comes to that side because she knows that she’s got to do her part,” Staley said. “And her part is a big part that we rely on to get wins. And that’s not scoring a whole lot of points. It’s actually preventing our opponents from scoring a lot of points.

“She’s in my top five in my 25 years of coaching.”

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