One of five teams in the regular season to keep South Carolina to a single-digit win margin, the Bruins (27-10) couldn’t conjure the same energy in the postseason duel as the Gamecocks won their 41st consecutive game.
South Carolina (35-0) will play No. 2 seed Maryland in the Elite Eight on Monday hoping to become the first repeat champion since Connecticut won four consecutive titles from 2013 to 2016.
Charisma Osborne, likely playing in her final college game, finished with a team-high 14 points but committed a season-high five turnovers as UCLA’s offense wilted in front of a packed arena filled to the top row of almost entirely South Carolina fans.
While UCLA limited South Carolina to just 25 points in the first half, the Bruins mustered only 15. They missed open jump shots and committed uncharacteristic unforced turnovers against a South Carolina defense that ranked first in the country in points allowed with 50.6.
Even Osborne seemed rattled by the stage. The team’s leading scorer dribbled the ball out of bounds and turned the ball over on a double dribble early in the first quarter. She equaled her two first-half points with two turnovers.
While the former L.A. Windward School star found her footing in the third quarter with 10 points, the Gamecocks doubled their halftime lead by shooting 64.3% from the field in the third. Fans rose to their feet going into the final quarter and filled the arena with chants of “Game-cocks! Game-cocks!”