The Gamecocks are still dancing. 

South Carolina advanced to its fifth straight Final Four and seventh in program history after two gritty wins in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight against Maryland and Duke. 

The Gamecocks trailed in the second half during both of those games. But in both, the team found a way to overcome its struggles and outscored the competition in the closing minutes to clinch a win.  

“At this point, it's not going to look pretty,” head coach Dawn Staley said after the Duke game. “You certainly have to get down and play the kind of game that's presented in front of you, and we'll do that. … It is that type of year that, for us, there are not any blowouts. We have to grind for every single win that we can get.”

Against Maryland in the Sweet 16, the Gamecocks and Terrapins traded blows until halftime. Maryland led by two at the break thanks to its ability to get to the foul line and capitalize better off of mistakes. 

Maryland got to the foul line 10 more times than the Gamecocks in the half and made 11 free throws. As neither team shot well from the floor, those free points gave Maryland enough momentum early. 

The second half was very similar, as the teams went back and forth. The Gamecocks flipped the score in the third quarter and went into the fourth up two. 

It wasn’t until late in the game when one team took the lead and kept it. South Carolina’s Milaysia Fulwiley made the go-ahead layup to put South Carolina ahead 61-60. The team followed that up with a 6-0 scoring run that lasted until the final minute of the game. 

By then, it was too late for Maryland, who had no choice but to play the foul game. South Carolina hit its free throws late, going seven for eight from the foul stripe in the final minute. 

“Coach talked to us and relaxed us. We needed to relax and get more in the flow on offense,” South Carolina’s Chloe Kitts said after the game. “Lay had great moves to the basket and was making her layups for us, and that was really good.” 

Fulwiley finished the game with 23 points, including 16 in the second half. Kitts added a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. 

The following game against Duke was another back-and-forth affair that was not decided until the final buzzer. 

South Carolina avoided going into halftime trailing for the third game in a row, thanks to a solid opening period. The team outscored Duke 16-10 to start the game and eventually built an 11-point lead in the second quarter. 

The Blue Devils fought back and cut the deficit to four at halftime before dominating the third quarter and taking the lead. Duke started the third quarter on an 8-2 run and led by as many as six points by the end of the period. 

“The message was basically we’ve got to operate. One, it was the offensive rebounds were killing us. Two, we have to operate in broken plays. Because they blew up some of our sets, and when they blow them up, we have to stay calm, and we have to get a shot at the basket,” Staley said. “It was just about runs. It was their run, and we just talked about going on one of our runs.”

South Carolina adjusted and doubled Duke’s scoring total in the fourth quarter. While it was a better quarter for the Gamecocks, Duke was still close behind and in the game until the end. 

The Blue Devils trailed by two but got the ball back with 30 seconds to go after Bree Hall was called for an offensive foul. Duke drained the clock down but settled for a contested, which Ashlon Jackson air-balled. 

Kitts nailed the free throws on South Carolina’s next possession and Duke failed to score, clinching the Gamecocks’ win. 

South Carolina will now prepare for its fifth consecutive Final Four game. The team is looking to be crowned back-to-back national champions and win its third title in four years. 

“We've done it with great parents. We've done it with a roster full of players that you can give real talk to,” Staley said. 

The rest of the field is full of familiar faces.  All three of the remaining teams in South Carolina’s path have beaten the Gamecocks once this season. 

The Gamecocks will play a fellow conference opponent in the national semifinal. With Texas’ win over TCU Monday night, the Longhorns and Gamecocks are prepared to meet for the fourth time this season. South Carolina won two of the previous three games by an average margin of 18 points. The lone loss came at Texas in a 66-62 thriller. 

The winner of that game will play the winner of UCLA and UConn in the national title game. South Carolina lost big to both of those teams earlier this season, but that does not guarantee repeated success. 

The national semifinal game between the Gamecocks and Longhorns is set for Friday at 7 p.m. The national championship game is on April 6 at 3 p.m.