Women’s March Madness 2024: Time for South Carolina to worry?

ALBANY, N.Y. – Just 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the third quarter of Friday's Sweet 16 game, South Carolina appeared to be heading into another NCAA women's tournament. The Gamecocks had built a 22-point lead over an Indiana team that seemed to be barely holding on.

But the Hoosiers had plenty left. They rallied and ended up giving South Carolina a scare similar to what Tennessee gave the Gamecocks in the SEC Tournament semifinals when the Lady Vols erased a 23-point deficit.

Indiana outscored South Carolina by 13 points in the second half and cut the deficit to two with 1:08 left. Raven Johnson made a 3-pointer and a free throw in the final minute, just enough for the Gamecocks to win 79-75, remain undefeated and advance to the Elite Eight for the fourth straight year.

But has the disappearance of another big lead left the Gamecocks with more questions than answers?

Andrea Adelson, Charlie Creme and Michael Voepel examine what the future might now hold for No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.

South Carolina moves on, but the game wasn't decided until the last minute. What vulnerabilities did Indiana help expose on Friday?

Adelson: In her postgame comments, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley mentioned she still has a relatively young team that sometimes makes rash decisions. And some of those decisions helped Indiana get back into the game. Staley said players began taking ill-advised shots. Instead of continuing to send the ball inside to Kamilla Cardoso, who could then step out to set up a much better shot, players were throwing long-range jumpers that constantly missed. “When we build a lead, they think any shot is a good shot,” Staley said. “We made some bad shots that gave them easy baskets.”

Cream: Most importantly, this South Carolina team doesn't have the same closing skills as many of Staley's best teams, primarily on defense. While this version of the Gamecocks may be more competent than last year's team, it doesn't rank teams the same way. Opponents now know that even a big South Carolina lead can be overcome if they stick to the game plan, just like Indiana did by making its 3-point shooters look good, an area where South Carolina has shown it can lose focus.

Voice : Credit goes to Indiana, a veteran team that didn't give up late in the game. Guard Sydney Parrish said the Hoosiers' strategy was to take risks both offensively and defensively, and in the second half those decisions worked more often than they didn't.

As Andrea and Charlie said, we saw some differences between this year's Gamecocks and last year's in that they almost blew 20+ point leads in the SEC tournaments and NCAA. Last season, the Gamecocks lost in the Final Four, but in this game, Iowa had South Carolina on its heels for most of the night. Both of this year's near losses came when the Gamecocks didn't finish off their foes, and that's something you know Staley will hammer home before facing Oregon State.

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Raven Johnson's South Carolina big 3 seals close win over Indiana

Raven Johnson makes a 3-pointer to extend South Carolina's lead to five points over Indiana.

Is it time for South Carolina to worry?

Voice : There are reasons to worry. Oregon State is a hard-nosed defensive team, and with 264 3-pointers this season, the Beavers have made almost as many as Indiana (268). And we saw what the Hoosiers almost did on Friday thanks to their 3-point shooting.

That said, maybe that was the Gamecocks' “fear” in the tournament, and they will have even stronger performances from here on out.

“Offensively, I think we were just a little stuck, unable to keep up with the flow of things,” Bree Hall said of the Gamecocks' second-half struggles. “But we are going to take note of it and change some things.

“We'd rather not have a close game like this, of course, but I think it will be beneficial just because when the pressure is on, we have to be able to execute. We'll look back at this game and see that we We were also able to execute and defend and that was one of the key things in this match.

Cream: South Carolina is very good. Certainly, Staley has some things to tighten up. One is to focus more on getting the ball to Cardoso – who scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting – on offense. A little more defensive discipline against shooters is another, but the Gamecocks' status as a heavy favorite in this tournament is still intact.

Adelson: Indiana presents challenges that future opponents may not have, namely its ability to shoot from anywhere. The Hoosiers were always going to be tough, as the nation's best field goal shooting team and third-ranked 3-point shooting team. When they started hitting those 3s, they managed to close a significant deficit. Oregon State will provide a challenge inside, but you can bet Staley will make sure his players tighten up their 3-point D.

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South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Indiana Hoosiers – Game Highlights

Watch highlights from the South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Indiana Hoosiers game

What can Oregon State and future opponents South Carolina learn from Indiana's performance?

Adelson: Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes said afterward that the Hoosiers had watched the way Tennessee played South Carolina in the SEC Tournament semifinals and knew it would be possible to come back from a significant deficit . As Charlie mentioned earlier, the inability to shut down is something South Carolina still has to learn. But part of that conversation is that opponents aren't intimidated if they fall behind, especially at this stage where every team left has a reason to be here.

Voice : As effective and efficient as Cardoso was, she didn't shoot enough. When someone is that unstoppable, you just keep throwing the ball at them. Opponents will try to force South Carolina into fewer touches for the 6-foot-7 Cardoso, which is a difficult task. But if they do, the pressure then shifts back to a Gamecocks guard corps that is extremely good but took a few shots they shouldn't have on Friday.

South Carolina still leads, but does Friday's close call make a Gamecocks title any less inevitable?

Cream: There may be some shine in South Carolina's national title surge, but the Gamecocks are still the favorites. Their depth still remains a big advantage. Even in Friday's close game, Staley had more options to turn to and the ability to choose the players she was most comfortable with. She could go with Te-Hina Paopao or Raven Johnson on the wing on Cardoso's side of the field. She had Ashlyn Watkins or Chloe Kitts defending inside next to Cardoso. Against Indiana, Staley chose to go with Tessa Johnson to defend the Hoosiers' shooters. She also has MiLaysia Fulwiley as an option. Almost every other coach in this tournament doesn't have these choices in crunch time.

Adelson: I go back to last season, when South Carolina was undefeated at this point and it all seemed inevitable that the Gamecocks would repeat as national champions. Until they don't. The main difference, however, is that they have been tested multiple times this season. Before Indiana, it was Tennessee. Next up, it was LSU in the SEC title game. That's three times in the last five games that South Carolina has had to find a way to win a close game in the fourth quarter.

All that to say, I still think South Carolina is the favorite because of its talent and overall depth. But if, say, Iowa shoots 13 3-pointers like Indiana did… Why wouldn't the Hawkeyes have a chance if the inevitable rematch comes?

Voice : The funny thing is, a South Carolina national championship seemed even more inevitable last season. Until the buzzer sounded in the loss to Iowa, it looked like South Carolina was going to pull out a win again. This team was so experienced and talented that they didn't look like they could lose until this happened.

This is a better shooting team, but as we've made clear, these Gamecocks have been tested more. Does this make them less vulnerable to upheaval, or more? There is no doubt that they remain the clear favorites, especially with the great quality of their depth as Charlie mentioned. But that's not quite the same thing as being invincible, which is undoubtedly part of what Staley will try to convey to his team, without damaging their confidence.