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Duke women's basketball eliminated by South Carolina in Elite Eight: Key observations
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- Duke women's basketball eliminated by South Carolina in Elite Eight: Key observations
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Duke women's basketball saw its season come to an end in the Elite Eight on Sunday at Legacy Arena in the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 2-seeded Blue Devils fell to No. 1 seed South Carolina , 54-50, in what was their 11th trip to the Elite 8 and their 27th appearance in the Big Dance.
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Duke was led by 18 points and six rebounds from Toby Fournier , Ashlon Jackson adding 13 points with six assists. Chloe Kitts led South Carolina with 14 points and four rebounds, Sania Feagin adding 12 points and Te-Hina Paopao 9. The Blue Devils finished the day shooting 31.7% (19-of-60) from the field, South Carolina shooting 43.2% (19-of-44).
South Carolina now advances to the Final Four, where it will take on the winner between Texas vs. TCU on April 4 in Tampa, Florida. South Carolina is making its seventh trip to the Final Four. The Gamecocks are looking to claim their third national championship in the last five years after winning the title in 2022 and 2024.
Here are takeaways and observations from Duke women's basketball (29-8) vs. South Carolina (34-3) in the Elite Eight.
Up-and-down shooting first half for Duke women's basketball vs South Carolina
South Carolina jumped out to an early lead behind a 9-0 run in the first quarter, the Gamecocks holding the 16-10 lead after one. Duke was held to just 25% (4-of-16) from the floor in the first quarter compared to South Carolina's 55% (5-of-9) from the field and 100% (2-of-2) from trey.
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The Gamecocks grabbed their lead to their biggest of the day, up 25-14, at the 6:16 mark of the second period. From there, Duke held South Carolina without a field goal for the remainder of the quarter. The Blue Devils closed the period out on a 8-1 run, entering the half trailing 26-22. At the half, Duke was shooting 25.8% (8-of-31) from the field, South Carolina 42.9% (9-of-21).
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Duke-led third quarter, South Carolina-led fourth
Duke wasted no time coming out of the break. A Jackson layup and Jadyn Donovan jumper quickly tied the game at 26, a Reigan Richardson trey on the Blue Devils' next possession giving it control of the game, up 29-26.
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It was Duke's second lead after leading for just 17 seconds in the first quarter. South Carolina did not trail long, with a Raven Johnson jumper tying the game at 30 with 6:34 to go in the third, but it never retook the lead in the period as Duke led 42-38 after three.
Duke finished the quarter shooting a much improved 53.8% (7-of-13) from the field, South Carolina shooting 41.7% (5-of-12). The Blue Devils outscored the Gamecocks 20-12 in the period.
South Carolina opened the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, going on to take its first lead since the third quarter behind a Paopao layup with 6:43 left in regulation. Duke remained within striking distance, trailing by just two with 29.8 seconds remaining, but Jackson's trey fell into the hands of Bree Hall with 6.4 seconds remaining. South Carolina outscored Duke 16-8, in the final period, holding the Blue Devils to 25% (4-of-16) shooting.
Battle of the benches
Heading into Sunday's game, South Carolina and Duke ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the NCAA for bench points scored per game, the Gamecocks averaging 41.5 and Duke 31.7. While neither team reached its average in the Elite Eight, it was the Duke bench that outscored that of South Carolina, 24-9.
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Fournier led the Duke reserves with 18 points in 30 minutes of work, followed by four points by Oluchi Okananwa in 26 minutes. MiLaysia Fulwiley led the South Carolina reserves with her five points in 11 minutes, Joyce Edwards adding four in 15 minutes.
The Athens-Banner Herald/USA Today Network's Sara Tidwell assisted with this article.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke women's basketball falls to South Carolina in Elite Eight
