South Carolina, Stanford advance to women's Final Four for 2nd year in a row

March 28 (UPI) -- Top seeds South Carolina and Stanford were the first teams to clinch spots in the Final Four of the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament after respective wins over No. 10 Creighton and No. 2 Texas.

South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, dismantled Creighton 80-50 in the first game of the night. The Gamecocks (33-2) shot 50.9% and led by as many as 35 points in the lopsided win.

Star forward Aliyah Boston scored a game-high 19 points for the Gamecocks. Destanni Henderson and Brea Beal chipped in 12 points apiece. Senior forward Victaria Saxton totaled 11 points and 11 rebounds.

"It's been a long season of workouts and stuff and we've worked hard," Boston told reporters. "Where we are at we are very excited about. We can't wait for what's next."

The Gamecocks and Bluejays exchanged the lead off the tip off. The Gamecocks then went on a 9-0 run to take a 13-5 lead with 5:29 left in the first quarter and never looked back. They took a 23-16 lead into the second and led 46-25 at halftime.

They outscored the Bluejays 34-25 in the second half of the victory.

The Gamecocks will face either No. 1 Louisville or No. 3 Michigan on Friday in the Final Four.

Later Sunday, No. 1 Stanford edged No. 2 Texas 59-50 in Spokane, Wash. The Cardinals (32-3) made just 37.3% of their shots, but out-rebounded the Longhorns (29-7) 45-28.

Senior guard Lexie Hull scored a game-high 20 points in the win. Junior guard Haley Jones chipped in 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinal.

Texas guard Joanne Allen-Taylor totaled 15 points in the loss.

"We battled," South Carolina coach Tara VanDerveer told reporters. "I think it really showed how much we've improved. ... I'm really proud of our team.

"I'm really happy for our team. We are going to Minneapolis. We are dancing."

The game started very slow, with the teams totaling just two points through the first 2:52. Stanford scored the final four points of the first quarter to tie the game at 14-14. The Cardinal then outscored the Longhorns 16-13 in the second to take a 30-27 lead at the break.

Cardinal forward Cameron Brink scored five unanswered points to start the third, but the Longhorns responded with a 10-2 run to tie the score at 37-37. The Cardinal responded once more to take a 45-40 lead into the fourth.

The Longhorns used a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to two points with 3:35 remaining, but would not get closer. The Cardinal outscored the Longhorns 9-2 over the final three minutes to seal the Final Four berth.

The Cardinal face No. 1 North Carolina State or No. 2 UConn on Friday in the Final Four.

UConn faces NC State at 7 p.m. EDT Monday on ESPN. Louisville then takes on Michigan at 9 p.m. Monday on the same network.

Stanford and South Carolina also reached the women's Final Four a year ago, with Stanford ultimately winning the national championship. UConn could also make the Final Four for the second straight year if they win Monday.