Written by Adrian Beecher
Tampa, FL- Jewell Lyod scored 22 points to lead the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a title game clinching win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first Final Four Semifinal matchup, 66-65 on Sunday night.
Notre Dame scored the first basket of the game and got off to a running start, opening up a 6-0 lead just 3 minutes into the game. The Gamecocks then answered with a 3-pointer and looked to be getting their jitters out of the way, but the Irish then went on a 9-0 run making it 15-3 with just under 15 minutes left to play in the half.
After the Irish opened up the double digit lead, the Gamecocks went on a 10-2 run to make it a 4 point game with just 10 minutes left to play in the 1st half. The Gamecocks were able to cut the lead to just 1 point with a jumper from freshman guard A’Ja Wilson to make it 25-24 with 3:31 left on the clock.
But the Irish would not back down and went on a 7-0 run to make it 32-24 with 1:42 left in the half, with 4 of the points from the run coming from Irish Junior Guard Jewell Loyd. South Carolina answered with two quick buckets to make it 32-28 as the teams went into the locker room at the half.
Jewell Loyd, Brianna Turner and Taya Reimer each scored 10 first half points to lead the Fighting Irish in the first half.
At the start of the seconds half the Gamecocks looked eager to strike quickly against the Irish, 2 minutes and 25 seconds into the second half, the Gamecock’s had tied the game up at 36. Unfortunately for the South Carolina contingency, the Irish went on a 10-0 run in the next 2 minutes and 40 seconds to pull out to a 46-36 lead.
With just 12:21 left to play in regulation, the gamecocks had gone on a 8-0 run with 6 of those points coming from A’Ja Wilson to make it 46-48. But it didn’t take long for the Irish to extend their lead again, going on a 10-2 run to make it 58-48 with 10:10 left to play.
The Gamecocks cut the Irish lead to just 3 points with 3:40 left to play in the game after going on a 9-0 run. After a minute of scoreless basketball, A’Ja Wilson scored off a rebound for the Gamecocks to make it just a 1 point game with 2:09 left to play.
Aleighsa Welch gave the Gamecocks their first and only lead of the night on a layup with 1:12 left to play making it 65-64 USC. However the excitement would soon end for the SEC Champions.
"We were in the game. We fought our way back. We got the lead. At that point you don't exhale and think you have the game won. Because we've been in some tight ones the last three times out. It's just they made a play. We defended pretty well. I think the shot was kind of short that Loyd missed, and I think it was Cable that got a beat on the ball and did the same thing that happened on the other end." said South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley post game.
After a missed shot was rebounded by Madison Cable, she put it back up on a jumper that hit the bottom of the net giving Notre Dame a 66-65 lead with just 16 seconds left to play. On the inbound the Gamecocks moved the ball upcourt, but Tiffany Mitchell missed a last second desperation 3 and the Fighting Irish sealed their spot in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game.
Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw took the media through the game winning play by Maddison Cable post game, "What we work on we're going to rebound and go. And if we have something we'll obviously take it. If we don't have something we'll take the timeout there. I thought Jewell had kind of a clear path. We set the high ball screen for her and it was a great shot. And Maddie came out of nowhere to get the rebound"
The Irish await the winner of UCONN and Maryland, whom of which they will play on Tuesday Night at Amalie Arena for the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.
Notre Dame scored the first basket of the game and got off to a running start, opening up a 6-0 lead just 3 minutes into the game. The Gamecocks then answered with a 3-pointer and looked to be getting their jitters out of the way, but the Irish then went on a 9-0 run making it 15-3 with just under 15 minutes left to play in the half.
After the Irish opened up the double digit lead, the Gamecocks went on a 10-2 run to make it a 4 point game with just 10 minutes left to play in the 1st half. The Gamecocks were able to cut the lead to just 1 point with a jumper from freshman guard A’Ja Wilson to make it 25-24 with 3:31 left on the clock.
But the Irish would not back down and went on a 7-0 run to make it 32-24 with 1:42 left in the half, with 4 of the points from the run coming from Irish Junior Guard Jewell Loyd. South Carolina answered with two quick buckets to make it 32-28 as the teams went into the locker room at the half.
Jewell Loyd, Brianna Turner and Taya Reimer each scored 10 first half points to lead the Fighting Irish in the first half.
At the start of the seconds half the Gamecocks looked eager to strike quickly against the Irish, 2 minutes and 25 seconds into the second half, the Gamecock’s had tied the game up at 36. Unfortunately for the South Carolina contingency, the Irish went on a 10-0 run in the next 2 minutes and 40 seconds to pull out to a 46-36 lead.
With just 12:21 left to play in regulation, the gamecocks had gone on a 8-0 run with 6 of those points coming from A’Ja Wilson to make it 46-48. But it didn’t take long for the Irish to extend their lead again, going on a 10-2 run to make it 58-48 with 10:10 left to play.
The Gamecocks cut the Irish lead to just 3 points with 3:40 left to play in the game after going on a 9-0 run. After a minute of scoreless basketball, A’Ja Wilson scored off a rebound for the Gamecocks to make it just a 1 point game with 2:09 left to play.
Aleighsa Welch gave the Gamecocks their first and only lead of the night on a layup with 1:12 left to play making it 65-64 USC. However the excitement would soon end for the SEC Champions.
"We were in the game. We fought our way back. We got the lead. At that point you don't exhale and think you have the game won. Because we've been in some tight ones the last three times out. It's just they made a play. We defended pretty well. I think the shot was kind of short that Loyd missed, and I think it was Cable that got a beat on the ball and did the same thing that happened on the other end." said South Carolina Head Coach Dawn Staley post game.
After a missed shot was rebounded by Madison Cable, she put it back up on a jumper that hit the bottom of the net giving Notre Dame a 66-65 lead with just 16 seconds left to play. On the inbound the Gamecocks moved the ball upcourt, but Tiffany Mitchell missed a last second desperation 3 and the Fighting Irish sealed their spot in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game.
Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw took the media through the game winning play by Maddison Cable post game, "What we work on we're going to rebound and go. And if we have something we'll obviously take it. If we don't have something we'll take the timeout there. I thought Jewell had kind of a clear path. We set the high ball screen for her and it was a great shot. And Maddie came out of nowhere to get the rebound"
The Irish await the winner of UCONN and Maryland, whom of which they will play on Tuesday Night at Amalie Arena for the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship.