Top-seeded South Carolina women knock off Duke, enter fifth-straight Final Four
South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts (21) and Duke guard Oluchi Okananwa chase a ball out of bounds during the first half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 30, 2025. in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — 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.
The 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 in Tampa, Florida, on Friday night.
Second-seeded Duke was looking to get to its first national semifinals since 2006. That team lost in overtime to Maryland in the title game. The Blue Devils women were also looking to join the men’s program in the Final Four.
SPOKANE REGIONAL 4
UCLA 72, LSU 65
SPOKANE, WASH. (AP) — Lauren Betts had 17 points and seven rebounds despite spending the entire second quarter on the bench, and top overall seed UCLA reached its first Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a win over LSU.
The 6-foot-7 Betts added six blocks for the Bruins (34-2), who will face the winner of Monday’s game between Southern California and UConn. The Final Four is Friday night in Tampa, Florida.
Gabriela Jaquez scored 18 points for the Bruins and Timea Gardiner finished with 15, helping to pick up the slack went Betts went to the bench after committing two first-quarter fouls.