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ESPN Senior Writer- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
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ESPN Senior Writer- ACC reporter.
- Joined ESPN.com in 2010.
- Graduate of the University of Florida.
South Carolina trailed by four points heading into the fourth quarter against Duke in the Elite Eight. The Gamecocks had 10 minutes left to keep their season alive.
Te-Hina Paopao told her teammates to start off fast in the first five minutes so they could reclaim the lead. MiLaysia Fulwiley urged the upperclassmen not to get baited into taking bad shots, to remember they are the reigning national champions, the team that knows how to win when it matters most.
Bree Hall thought back to a text message she received earlier in the day from former teammate Aliyah Boston, telling her to remain calm in the big moments, to let the plays come to her.
The huddle broke, and the Gamecocks starters took the floor. Sania Feagin started the scoring on a turnaround jumper. Raven Johnson hit two free throws. By the time Paopao made a driving layup and Chloe Kitts followed with a layup in the paint, the pro-South Carolina crowd was in a frenzy.
South Carolina had its first lead since the start of the third quarter. Duke pushed the Gamecocks to the finish before Hall's defensive stop sealed a 54-50 win and a spot in the Final Four.
But for the third consecutive game, the Gamecocks needed a comeback to win. For the second game in a row, they needed a fourth-quarter rally.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley admitted afterward it was not always going to look pretty, and the nerve-wracking four-point victories in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight left some questioning whether South Carolina can run it back. The Gamecocks have looked disjointed at times, taken poor shots and made uncharacteristic mistakes. And their bench, which leads the nation in scoring, has not been nearly as consistent as it was in the regular season as freshman Joyce Edwards has been neutralized and Fulwiley has been up and down.
The Gamecocks don't think what happened in Birmingham indicates they are vulnerable in Tampa.
"These teams are really good," Hall said in the locker room after the win over Duke. "I don't know why everybody expects us to just blow everybody out. These teams are coming to play. It's not going to be easy. Every team is going to be ready for us, so I think having a few wins like this under our belts is definitely going to keep helping us throughout the tournament."
But does South Carolina have big things to worry about in trying to repeat and win its third championship in four years -- especially Friday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Texas, the one team that might be able to find a weakness since they've already played each other three times this season?
What can we take away from how the Gamecocks have performed so far in the NCAA tournament, and how it might impact results in Tampa?
Dawn Staley joins the SEC Now crew to talk about what makes this year's South Carolina squad unique and the preparation plans for their fifth-straight Final Four appearance.
The bench must step up
One of the biggest strengths for South Carolina this season is that its reserves have not just been good, but dynamic. Edwards -- who had 22 points in the first round but a combined 15 in the three games since -- was a first-team All-SEC pick. Fulwiley was the league's sixth woman of the year, but after scoring 23 points against Maryland she had just five against Duke. Fellow sophomore Tessa Johnson is another player who would start for most programs but comes off the bench for South Carolina.
Depth has made the Gamecocks a nightmare to guard most of the time. However, against Duke, Staley had to rely on her experienced starters because the bench didn't contribute much.
Starters Kitts, Feagin, Johnson, Paopao and Hall played virtually all of the fourth quarter vs. the Blue Devils and scored all but nine points.
Edwards is the Gamecocks' leading scorer this season, and Staley said they will need her in Tampa.
"It's a gift and a curse that you are our leading scorer, so people are going to zero in on that and scheme to cut her production in half," Staley said of Edwards. "And because of that, there is a short gap between us winning and losing basketball games.
"[We've] just got to talk her through things. We're just really simplifying things for her. Things are coming fast at her, so it's hard. I know she wants to play well. Hopefully we can show her some film where she can be effective. But we need her. [If we're] going to win a national championship, we need better production from Joyce."
Carolyn Peck joins NBA Today to preview the Final Four matchup between South Carolina and Texas.
South Carolina's offense must improve vs. Texas
The Gamecocks and Longhorns are strong defensive teams. Watching how well Texas shut down TCU in its 58-47 Elite Eight win over the Horned Frogs has to raise some concerns for South Carolina.
"I just hope that we can get our offense going a little bit," Staley said after the Duke victory. "We can't seem to just play a little more fluidly. But I thought that we played with a lot better pace than we did [in the Sweet 16]."
The Gamecocks are 2-1 against the Longhorns this year. South Carolina won 67-50 at home on Jan. 12. On Feb. 9, the Longhorns won 66-62 at home. In the SEC tournament final in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 9, the Gamecocks won 64-45.
Texas forward Taylor Jones said the teams know each other so well, there won't be any surprises.
"It's going to come down to toughness and grit," Jones said. "The other times we've played them, it was decided by who was the toughest team that night. And unfortunately, we weren't in two of them."
It's important to maintain patience and not get rattled
The pressure was on the Gamecocks the past two games, but they didn't panic. That's an important part of trying to win two more games for another title.
South Carolina has been through this before. Even last season, when the Gamecocks finished undefeated, they were pushed in both regional games. They beat Indiana 79-75 in a nail-biter and then Oregon State 70-58 in a game that was close until South Carolina took over in the final three minutes.
Then they went to the Final Four and defeated NC State by 19 and Iowa by 12 for the program's third NCAA title.
Staley said this year's team addresses issues right away.
"We've handled things in real-time," she said. "I really don't think I've had a team that has been able to communicate as early -- when we see something, we act. They don't wait until a week later.
"They really want to be the best that they can be and they're unafraid to be vulnerable and discuss shortcomings. They just want to know how [they] can hurdle that."