The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team battled the Louisville Cardinals in the Final Four on Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Gamecocks defeated the Cardinals 72-59.
South Carolina improved to 34-2 overall with the victory and will face the winner of No. 1-seeded Stanford and No. 2-seeded Connecticut in the national championship at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, April 3.
Louisville’s season ends with the Cardinals falling to 29-5 overall with the loss.
Check out the top plays from the game below.
South Carolina 72, Louisville 59:Gamecocks cruise past Louisville in Final Four, advance to NCAA title game
Final Four reactions:Fans react to South Carolina women’s basketball beating U of L, returning to title game
Darius Rucker:Darius Rucker offers South Carolina women’s basketball ‘Free show for the Natty’ after Final Four win
Aliyah Boston:See Aliyah Boston tear up after South Carolina women’s basketball beats U of L in Final Four
South Carolina women’s basketball celebrated Final Four victory vs. Louisville
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston led all scorers with 23 points in the victory over Louisville, which was led in scoring by Emily Engstler.
South Carolina builds lead vs. Louisville with layup from Saniya Rivers
South Carolina took a 63-52 lead over Louisville in the fourth quarter on a layup from Saniya Rivers.
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston beats the buzzer with second-chance layup vs. Louisville
South Carolina took a 57-48 lead over Louisville in the final seconds of the third quarter when Aliyah Boston grabbed a rebound, banked in a layup, drew a foul on the shot and knocked down the ensuing free throw.
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston blocks shot from Louisville’s Olivia Cochran
South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston denied a driving layup attempt from Louisville’s Olivia Cochran during the final minute of the third quarter.
Louisville cuts into South Carolina’s lead with Kianna Smith’s jumper
After South Carolina built a big lead to open the third quarter, Louisville began chipping away and cut the deficit to 54-46 on a long 2-point jumper from Kianna Smith.
Louisville takes lead vs. South Carolina with Emily Engstler’s steal, fast-break layup
Louisville took a 20-19 lead over South Carolina in the second quarter when Emily Engstler stole a Gamecocks pass and finished the play at the other end of the court with a fast-break layup.
Louisville fights back vs. South Carolina when Hailey Van Lith dishes to Olivia Cochran for layup
Louisville cut South Carolina’s lead to 15-8 in the first quarter when Hailey Van Lith found Olivia Cochran open for layup. Cochran drew a foul on the shot but missed the ensuing free throw.
South Carolina’s Brea Beal blocks Louisville shot, leading to fast-break layup
South Carolina took a 7-0 lead over Louisville in the first quarter when Brea Beal blocked a shot from Hailey Van Lith and scored a fast-break layup at the other end of the court.
South Carolina women’s basketball tips off vs. Louisville in Final Four
The Gamecocks and Cardinals tipped off at 7 p.m. ET at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Louisville women’s basketball takes the court for Final Four game vs. South Carolina
The Cardinals started Hailey Van Lith, Kianna Smith, Emily Engstler, Chelsie Hall and Olivia Cochran against South Carolina.
South Carolina women’s basketball has pregame huddle before facing Louisville in the Final Four
The Gamecocks started Zia Cooke, Destanni Henderson, Brea Beal, Aliyah Boston and Victaria Saxton against Louisville.
Here’s more South Carolina women’s basketball news
Dawn Staley has been the head coach of South Carolina women’s basketball since 2008. Jeff Walz is in his 15th season as the Louisville women’s basketball head coach.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism