South Carolina 70, Oregon St. 58

Dawn Staley has South Carolina back in a familiar place — the Final Four — and she got there this time with an entirely new starting lineup.

Tessa Johnson scored 15 points and Kamilla Cardoso added 12 to help the undefeated Gamecocks to a win over Oregon State on Sunday in the Albany 1 Regional Final of the women's NCAA Tournament.

“Proud because we beat the odds,” Staley said. “Odds said we shouldn’t make it back to the Final Four. Proud of our team for them believing in themselves. We created a certain level of chemistry and culture and they stuck with it.”

It’s the second consecutive year the Gamecocks have made it to the national semifinals undefeated. South Carolina hopes for a different conclusion this time. The Gamecocks lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four last year.

“We’re different this year. I think we can do a lot of things. We can shoot from outside, drive,” Raven Johnson said. “We can play from the inside out. This team is just a young, feisty, fierce team that’s hungry. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder.”

The Gamecocks, who have made the Final Four in four straight years, will play N.C. State on Friday night in Cleveland.

“Each time we get an opportunity to cut down nets is kind of special,” Staley said.

Two more wins by South Carolina would make the Gamecocks the 10th school to finish a season undefeated and the first since UConn did it in 2016.

Top-seeded South Carolina (36-0) led by four at the half and built a 14-point lead before No. 3 seed Oregon State (27-8) got within 62-58 with 3:55 left in the game.

Tessa Johnson answered after a timeout with a three-point play, scoring on a drive to restore a seven-point cushion. The Beavers then went cold from the field, missing their final seven shots.

South Carolina couldn't score either until Johnson made two free throws with 44.5 seconds left. The Gamecocks sealed the win from the free throw line.

“We got every shot we wanted down the stretch of this game and they didn't fall,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “Give them credit for not giving us two. ... In this game today we had to be near flawless and we weren't quite flawless enough.”

Raegan Beers scored 16 points to lead the Beavers.

This was the second straight game in which South Carolina let a double-digit second-half lead slip away. Just like against Indiana in the regional semifinal, the young Gamecocks made the necessary plays down the stretch.

“Winning close games late in the tournament ... it shows how good we are, how hungry we are,” said Cardoso, who was honored as the region's Most Outstanding Player. “We stay hungry because we don’t want to lose. So, we’re just going to do whatever we need to do to win the games.”

South Carolina led 43-41 before scoring 12 straight points in the third quarter. Raven Johnson, who hit the big 3-pointer to beat Indiana in the Sweet 16, connected on a corner 3 to start the game-changing spurt. Tessa Johnson followed with five straight points, and Sania Feagin capped the burst with the four points that made it 55-41 with 1:36 left in the third quarter.

The Beavers were down 58-46 heading into the fourth. They scored 12 of the first 16 points of the period to close within 62-58 on Donovyn Hunter's layup.

South Carolina and Oregon State had played twice before in the NCAA Tournament and the Gamecocks won both, including in 2021. Oregon State advanced this far for the first time since 2018. The Beavers made their only trip to the Final Four in 2016.

The Gamecocks dominated the offensive boards to take a 37-33 lead at the half. South Carolina had 13 offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Oregon State was able to stay in the game by hitting six 3-pointers, including three by Lily Hansford in the opening half.

NC State 76, Texas 66

Aziaha James made a career-high seven 3-poiners and scored 27 points, and third-seeded North Carolina State earned its first trip to the Final Four since 1998, beating top-seeded Texas in a game played with 3-point lines at different distances on opposite ends of the court.

River Baldwin added 16 points for N.C. State (31-6), which will face unbeaten South Carolina in the national semifinals in Cleveland on Saturday. The Gamecocks beat Oregon State in Albany, New York, earlier Sunday.

Madison Booker, one of the top freshmen in the country along with Southern California's JuJu Watkins, finished with 17 points to lead the Longhorns (33-5), who were vying for their first Final Four since 2003.

Before the Portland 4 Region final, Texas coach Vic Schaefer and N.C. State's Wes Moore conferred with officials about a visible difference between the 3-point lines.

The NCAA acknowledged a discrepancy but said both coaches agreed to play on. Four previous games in Portland were played without anyone saying anything publicly about the issue. The court will be corrected before Monday's Elite Eight game between USC and UConn, the NCAA said.

No matter how far away the arc was, it didn't bother James, who finished 7 of 9 on 3s.

"Everybody doubted us," she said as her teammates celebrated. "We weren't even ranked before the season, and now we're going to the Final Four."

N.C. State led by 18 points in the first half, but Texas closed within 54-48 on Deyona Gaston's jumper late in the third quarter. James answered with a 3 to put the Wolfpack ahead by nine heading into the final period.

Booker's three-point play moved Texas within 63-55. The Longhorns kept up their pressure with Taylor Jones' three-point play to narrow the gap to 65-58 with 4:41 to go. Another 3 by James kept Texas at bay.

Baldwin's jumper that made it 72-62 with 1:50 left all but sealed it for the Wolfpack. With 28 seconds left, James walked into a timeout with her arms raised to elicit cheers from the fans behind the bench.

The Wolfpack's last Elite Eight appearance in 2022 ended with a double-overtime loss to UConn. N.C. State was stopped by Louisiana Tech in its only previous Final Four appearance.

Texas won its lone national title in 1986, going 34-0. But it's been 21 years since legendary coach Jody Conradt took the team to its last Final Four.

James scored 10 points in the first quarter and N.C. State took an early 19-14 lead. The Wolfpack ultimately pushed ahead 40-22.

Gisella Maul made a 3 for Texas at the halftime buzzer to close the Longhorns' deficit to 43-31.