South Carolina's season ends in heartbreaking fashion in Final Four
Boston's putback rolled out as time expired in their one-point loss to Stanford
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Updated: 9:14 PM EDT Apr 2, 2021
Boston's putback rolled out as time expired in their one-point loss to Stanford
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Updated: 9:14 PM EDT Apr 2, 2021
Two looks at the rim in the waning seconds couldn't drop, and South Carolina's season ended in the Final Four in a heartbreaking 66-65 loss to overall No. 1 seed Stanford.Down one with eight seconds remaining, South Carolina forced a turnover at midcourt, Brea Beal picked up the ball and raced toward the rim, but her would-be game-winning layup rolled off the rim, and Aliyah Boston's putback clanked out as time expired.The Gamecocks end the year 26-5, while the Cardinal improved to 30-2 as they advanced to their fifth championship game, and first since 2010.Zia Cooke led the Gamecocks with 25 points, including 5-8 from three-point range, while Destanni Henderson scored 18, including nine straight points in a two minute span late in the fourth quarter to push the Gamecocks ahead 65-64 with 39 seconds left.But after Stanford's Lexie Hull missed a go-ahead layup on the other end, Haley Jones grabbed the rebound and hit a pull-up jumper that would prove the difference. Jones, the top ranked recruit in the Class of 2019, scored a team-best 24 points on 11-14 shooting. Hull finished with 18.For South Carolina, Boston battled foul trouble, picking up her fourth with more than eight minutes remaining in the game, but finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Laeticia Amihere added 6 points and 6 rebounds and Beal had 5 points and 7 boards.