The South Carolina Gamecocks to the Final Four: A New History in Women’s Basketball and its First Classical Final Four, and it’s Going to be Different

A blockbuster Final Four clash against the Iowa Hawkeyes is likely, as the South Carolina Gamecocks continue their incredible run with an 86-75 win against the Maryland Terrapins.

The defending champions were not at their best throughout the opening stages of their Elite Eight matchup against the Terrapins and were surprisingly trailing after the first quarter.

The reigning female player of the year and female defensive player of the year, both of which have been awarded before, has put on another impressive display when it mattered most.

Boston tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds – her 82nd college double-double – in the victory to lead the Gamecocks to their third straight Final Four appearance.

Iowa is headed to the Final Four for the first time in 23 years. I wanted to take this program to the Final Four when I first came here, and all I have to do is dream, Clark said after Iowa’s victory over Louisville. All you need to do is believe in yourself, and work your butt off to get there.

Led by Elizabeth Kitley’s double-double and Georgia Amoore’s 24 points, the Hokies came back from a first-quarter deficit to seal victory in the Elite Eight.

It is so big. I can’t even speak right now, I can’t believe it,” Amoore told the ESPN broadcast on what it meant to advance to the first Final Four in program history.

The NCAA Division I women’s college basketball tournament was marked by historic parity before last weekend. This will be the first Final Four in 38 years with no of the teams that have been in previous Final Fours.

The women’s tournament long has been dogged by less parity than the men’s event, which is famous for its upsets and Cinderella runs — see their 2023 Final Four, which includes surprising Florida Atlantic and none of the top 12 teams.

The fresh lineup for the women’s final weekend is an opportunity to celebrate the women’s game more widely, said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley ahead of Monday night’s game.

“This is a new history that we’re venturing into, because there are so many great players and parity in our league that we need to start documenting,” she said.

The bottom seed from Louisiana State is the best seed to win a tournament in a single tournament with two tournaments before it falls to North Carolina and Tennessee

The other top seed, Virginia Tech, hasn’t lost a game since January. Their opponent, 3-seed Louisiana State, will hope to match the lowest seed ever to win the women’s tournament. That’s been done by only two teams before: North Carolina in 1994 and Tennessee in 1997.