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March Madness: No. 1 South Carolina holds off No. 2 Maryland for 3rd straight Final Four

South Carolina's Brea Beal drives to the basket against Maryland during the fourth quarter in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA women's tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 27, 2023. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
South Carolina's Brea Beal drives to the basket against Maryland during the fourth quarter in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA women's tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 27, 2023. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) (Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images)

South Carolina is heading to a third straight Final Four, with a chance at a second straight national championship, and is feeling as inevitable as ever.

The top-ranked Gamecocks defeated No. 2 seed Maryland 86-75 in the Elite Eight on Monday, winning the Greenville 1 regional and setting up a clash with Iowa on Friday in the Final Four in Dallas. Their undefeated streak now sits at 41 games.

The 11-point margin was South Carolina's closest win since its regular season finale against Georgia on Feb. 26.

The win was faithful to the South Carolina brand. Likely WNBA Draft No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston led the way with 22 points. The Gamecocks dominated the boards, outrebounding the Terrapins 48-26 and hauling in 25 of their 38 misses. Their defense, facing a strong Maryland attack, held the opponent to 51% shooting on layups.

Even with South Carolina shooting only 45.7%, it didn't matter. Its size almost always creates an insurmountable math problem for other teams — how do you outscore an elite defensive team that, entering Monday, has recovered 48.8% of its misses? — and Maryland didn't have the answer.

For much of the first half, Maryland at least looked like it had a chance, clearing the paint on offense to prevent South Carolina's interior defenders from clogging the lane, but the Gamecocks were up by 8 points by the end of halftime and grabbed a double-digit lead early in the third quarter.

The writing was on the wall by then, especially when Maryland's Abby Meyers picked up her third and fourth fouls on back-to-back plays. Meyers had been having a great game, but eventually fouled out with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Next up will be Caitlin Clark, in a matchup between a 40-point triple-double force and a seemingly immovable object.