An inflection point in the women’s NCAA Tournament has arrived.

All roads have led to Tampa, Florida, throughout March Madness, and now a seemingly fated fourth matchup between South Carolina and Texas will take place in the Final Four. Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks lead the season series 2-1, but what happens Friday will render the previous three results moot, with a trip to the national championship on the line for both sides.

Watch South Carolina vs Texas with Fubo (free trial)

For South Carolina, an uneven tournament has nevertheless led it to its fifth straight Final Four appearance.

The lack of a consistent scorer has led to some nail-biters for the Gamecocks, who will turn to Chloe Kitts and SEC Sixth Player of the Year MiLaysia Fulwiley to get some consistent offense against the Longhorns. Texas, meanwhile, will undoubtedly keep leaning on SEC Player of the Year Madison Booker, the 19-year-old phenom who has been a force in the Texas frontcourt for the past two seasons.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA women’s basketball scores, schedules, teams and more.

USA TODAY Sports is bringing you live updates, scores, highlights and analysis throughout the game. Follow along.

South Carolina vs Texas Final Four live score

This section will be updated.

TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4FTexas10————South Carolina4————

Texas is off to a strong start, with an early 10-4 lead a few minutes into the first quarter. The Longhorns have started much better than they were against South Carolina in the SEC championship game before the NCAA Tournament.

Texas-South Carolina gets underway

Texas gets out to an early 4-0 lead after a pair of free throws from Taylor Jones proceeds a nice bucket from Madison Booker. Much better start for the Longhorns than the SEC championship game against the Gamecocks a few weeks ago.

Texas students arrive pregame via bus

The Texas student section has arrived. 

A bus full of Texas students traveled 1,150 miles from Austin, Texas, to Tampa Bay, Florida, via charter bus to cheer on the Texas women’s basketball team in the Final Four, where they will face the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks for the fourth time this season.

Head coach Vic Schaefer revealed that he, Madison Booker and Rori Harmon covered the students’ all-expense paid trip. All three were on hand to welcome the students to Tampa Bay with high-fives.

“I’m so glad y’all are here. Thank you for enduring the ride… Hopefully you’ll stay a while,” Schaefer told the arriving students on the charter bus. “We’re so, so thankful for you guys for your loyalty, your trust and your confidence… Bring it tonight now.”

On Thursday, Schaefer revealed that Booker and Harmon spearheaded the effort to bring in the Longhorn students.

“Booker and Rori have really ramrodded this deal. Bought the tickets. Got them some hotel rooms. So we’re excited that we’re going to be able to have some University of Texas students be able to come to the Final Four and enjoy cheering on their team,” Schaefer said Thursday. “I think it’s the 17-hour bus ride.” 

– Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY Sports

Texas rocking A’Ja Wilson’s signature shoes

The Longhorns are all wearing A’Ja Wilson’s signature Nike shoes, according to the women’s NCAA Tournament account on X.

Wilson, one of the best players in the WNBA, is a South Carolina alum:

Chloe Kitts stats

Here’s a look at Kitts’ per-game averages this season:

• 2024-25: 10.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game on 52.5% shooting.

Here are Kitts’ final lines through each of South Carolina’s first four women’s NCAA Tournament games:

• vs. Tennessee Tech: 10 points, six rebounds, two assists
• vs. Indiana: 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists
• vs. Maryland: 15 points, 11 assists, one assist
• vs. Duke: 14 points, four rebounds

First look at Final Four court

With South-Carolina-Texas being the first Final Four matchup of the women’s NCAA Tournament, here’s a look at the quiet arena before the Gamecocks and Longhorns get underway:

Starting lineups for South Carolina-Texas

Here are the starting lineups for both South Carolina and Texas:

South Carolina

• G Te-Hina Paopao
• F Sania Feagin
• F Chloe Kitts
• G Bree Hall
• G Raven Johnson

Texas

• G Rori Harmon
• G Shay Holle
• G Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda
• F Madison Booker
• F Taylor Jones

South Carolina women’s basketball record

Staley’s South Carolina team enters the women’s Final Four with a record of 34-3, including a conference record of 15-1.

South Carolina vs Texas women’s basketball odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, April 4

• Spread: South Carolina (-5.5)
• Over/under: 124.5
• Moneyline: South Carolina -275 | Texas +220

South Carolina enters its Final Four matchup against Texas as the favorites by over five points, despite nailbiter wins over Maryland and Duke in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively. It will see a Texas team that was able to pull away from TCU in the third quarter of the Elite Eight after being challenged for most of its game against Tennessee.

Women’s March Madness championship odds

Here are the odds of the teams in the Final Four, with the lone 2 seed, UConn, leading the pack.

• UConn -170
• South Carolina +240
• UCLA +800
• Texas +900

South Carolina vs. Texas picks and predictions

Our experts from across the USA TODAY Network are unanimous (4-0) on who will win the Final Four game between the Gamecocks and Longhorns. Take a look at their full bracket predictions.

What time is South Carolina vs Texas today?

South Carolina and Texas are scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET from Amalie Arena in Tampa as the early leg of the Final Four. UCLA vs UConn will follow.

Where to watch South Carolina vs Texas?

• TV Channel: ESPN
• Live Stream: Fubo (free trial) | ESPN+

South Carolina and Texas’ game will air live on ESPN. Streaming options include ESPN+ and Fubo, the latter of which offers a free trial.

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