COLUMBIA, S.C. — Bree Hall contributed 11 points, and Chloe Kitts added 10, all in the second half, as the top-seeded South Carolina team surged past ninth-seeded Indiana with a 64-53 victory on Sunday. This win, part of the women’s NCAA Tournament, secured South Carolina’s place in the Sweet 16 for the 11th consecutive time.
South Carolina (32-3) will face off against either fourth-seeded Maryland or fifth-seeded Alabama in the upcoming Birmingham 2 Regional next week. The outcome will be determined after their game on Monday night.
Despite a rocky start in the first half where they shot a mere 10 of 29, the Gamecocks trailed Indiana 26-25 by halftime. However, they returned revitalized in the third quarter, executing a 20-7 run by making nine of their first 10 shots to seize control of the game.
Coach Dawn Staley of the Gamecocks described halftime as a chaotic but productive pause, where players voiced their observations on what was lacking and discussed strategies for improvement.
“It’s not like a board meeting where there’s one person talking at a time,” Staley commented with a grin. “It is chaos.”
The approach evidently worked, as South Carolina continuously landed shots to move ahead. Kitts celebrated her crucial 3-pointer that put them ahead 38-30 by raising her arms to the applause of the fans.
Hall’s 3-pointer finalized the Gamecocks’ dominance, helping them secure an 18-1 record across the last four NCAA Tournaments, which includes championships won in 2022 and 2024. They were halted by Iowa in the national semifinals in 2023.
“We just couldn’t make our easy lay-ups, and there was no flow the first two quarters,” Kitts stated. “The second half, we turned it around.”
Indiana managed to close the gap to within seven points at best during the remainder of the game.
Shay Ciezki led Indiana with 12 points.
Sania Feagin racked up 10 points for South Carolina, maintaining their 18-0 streak in home NCAA Tournament games.
Indiana’s guard Chloe Moore-McNeil highlighted the third quarter—it significantly swayed in South Carolina’s favor with a 26-14 score and featured five of Indiana’s 16 turnovers—as a turning point, noting the blend of South Carolina’s ramping up and her team’s uncharacteristic mistakes.
“They’re the No. 1 team in terms of transition offense and taking advantage of errors,” said Moore-McNeil. “Their pressure counted, but we also made some careless mistakes.”
Key Observations:
Indiana: The Hoosiers, determined not to be overwhelmed from the start, eventually succumbed to the depth and skill of the reigning champions over the full duration of the match.
South Carolina: Following a similar close call against Indiana last year, South Carolina again faced struggle early on but ultimately prevailed. Coach Dawn Staley will likely use the first-half slump as a critical learning point.
Neutral Discussions:
Indiana’s coach Teri Moren raised the idea of revisiting the setup of the women’s tournament to adopt full neutral sites akin to men’s basketball, reflecting on benefitting from hosting in previous years.
“I believe we need to reevaluate and mirror the men’s neutral sites because both matchups and home-court advantages matter,” Moren expressed. “It’s a potential future development for women’s basketball.”
