South Carolina makes sixth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As expected, the South Carolina women’s basketball team are still dancing and makes their sixth consecutive Sweet 16 appearance after defeating Indiana 64-53 on their home floor.

The Lady Gamecocks cruised to a victory in their first round matchup against Tennessee Tech by scoring an NCAA Tournament school record of 108 points in a blowout. Then, came the pesky Hoosiers team that gave them problems for the second consecutive year in the big dance. Last season, the two teams faced off in the Sweet 16 and the Hoosiers nearly got the best of the Gamecocks.

This season, the Hoosiers found themselves leading at halftime, 26-25. Obviously, the depth of South Carolina was too much for Indiana in the second half. The lady Gamecocks took the lead in the third quarter, 27-26, and never looked back.

“We were all just missing our easy lay-ups, and there wasn’t really flow in game,” said Gamecocks starting forward Chloe Kitts. “Then the second half, we turned it around.”

The Sweet 16 appearance marks the sixth consecutive appearance and 11th all-time, all under head coach Dawn Staley. It is the second longest active streak in the nation, and the win against Indiana gives the South Carolina a 18-1 record in the NCAA Tournament over the past four seasons and 18-0 in home games over that same time period.

They are awaiting the winner of the five seed Alabama and four seed Maryland. That game will be played on Monday, March 24th. The Gamecocks will be off until Friday, March 28th.