University of South Carolina’s Sania Feagin (20) drives the Balla round Indiana University’s Lilly Meister (52) during the first half of action in the Second Round game of the NCAA Tournament at the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Tracy Glantz [email protected]
South Carolina women’s basketball will live to see another day.
The No. 1 seeded Gamecocks fought off a pesky No. 9 Indiana team for a 64-53 win. The No. 9 Hoosiers refused to be eliminated quietly and put up a strong fight.
South Carolina (32-3) overcame a halftime deficit, courtesy of a strong third-quarter performance, and held off a late push from the Hoosiers (20-13) in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
“I’m proud of our team the way they gutted up and didn’t flinch,” coach Dawn Staley said. “It wasn’t pretty, but at this time it doesn’t have to be. You just have to score more points.”
Something sweet
South Carolina punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 with Sunday’s victory.
The Gamecocks advance to play the winner of No. 4 Maryland and No. 5 Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday. Maryland and Alabama play at 4 p.m. Monday, and the time and date for USC’s Sweet 16 matchup won’t be set until after then.
This will be the 15th appearance in the Sweet 16 in school history and the 12th trip under Staley. The last time the Gamecocks didn’t make at least the Sweet 16 was 2013 (excluding 2020, when there was no tournament).
“The expectation is for us to advance out of the first and second round,” Staley said. “The expectation is for us to advance out the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. … National championship teams usually are challenged on their journey up to winning it. So I think we are well in character with what happened today and being challenged.”
Brutal first half
The Gamecocks flat out struggled in the first half of Sunday’s matchup.
South Carolina shot 34.5% from the field and scored just 25 points. That marked the third-least amount of points the Gamecocks have scored in the first half this season.
“It’s a little unnerving because it’s not how you envision execution,” Staley said. “I thought we were getting great looks. They just wouldn’t fall.”
USC’s nine points in the first quarter tied for a season low previously set against UConn in February.
Indiana led for nine minutes of the first half and took a 26-25 lead into halftime.
University of South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson (5) shoots as Indiana University’s Julianna LaMendola (20) and Indiana University’s Shay Ciezki (10) pressure during the first half of action in the Second Round game of the NCAA Tournament at the Colonial Life Arena on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Tracy Glantz [email protected]
Third quarter magic
South Carolina got back in the swing of things after halftime.
The Gamecocks opened the third quarter on a 13-7 run, largely thanks to Chloe Kitts.
Kitts was held scoreless in the first half by the Indiana defense on 0 for 4 shooting. She scored seven points in the first three minutes of the third quarter, punctuated by a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Kitts finished 10 points and 11 rebounds.
“Offensively, she helped us a lot,” Sania Feagin said. “That’s what we were missing at the beginning of the game. She got in early foul trouble but she shook it off, she didn’t let it stick to her. She went out there, she played her game and she ended up with a double-double.”
South Carolina also got into rhythm on defense. The Gamecocks forced four early turnovers in the quarter. One steal from Raven Johnson that followed a 3-pointer from Bree Hall caused a nearly deafening roar from the rowdy crowd at Colonial Life Arena. Hall led South Carolina with 11 points in the game.
The Gamecocks’ 26 points in the third quarter were more than they scored in the entire first half. South Carolina outscored Indiana 26-14 in the period and led 51-40 going into the fourth quarter.
South Carolina’s momentum slowed in the final quarter, but the cushion it had built was ultimately enough.
“I think we settled in,” Staley said. “I think our defense got a lot better in the third quarter and afforded us a lead to the point where we just held on and got the win.”
South Carolina’s next NCAA game
- Who: South Carolina vs. Alabama/Maryland
- When: 2:30 or 5 p.m. Friday
- TV: TBD
- Stream: ESPN app
This story was originally published March 23, 2025 at 4:58 PM.
