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Sania Feagin scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in South Carolina's 54-50 over Duke in an NCAA tournament regional final in Birmingham, Alabama. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Carmen Mandato via Getty Images
South Carolina advanced to its fifth consecutive Final Four with a victory over Duke on Sunday, but it wasn't easy for the defending national champions in a 54-50 win. The Blue Devils dominated the third quarter and took a 38-32 lead with 2:27 remaining in the frame before the Gamecocks composed themselves and took control.
Duke's Ashlon Jackson missed a 3-pointer with seven seconds left in regulation that would have given the Blue Devils the lead. Chloe Kitts clinched the victory by knocking down two free throws for the final margin.
Kitts finished with 14 points to lead the Gamecocks, while Sania Feagin followed with 12 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. South Carolina has advanced to seven Final Fours during head coach Dawn Staley's tenure in Columbia.
Grinding out a win over the No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 regional shouldn't have been surprising. But the No. 1 seed's inability to generate much offense for a 16-minute stretch from the second quarter until the fourth was unexpected.
Offensive rebounding made a significant impact for the Blue Devils, who grabbed 19 of their own misses and got 12 second-chance points. That was part of a major rebounding advantage for Duke, who beat South Carolina 41-30 in that category.
South Carolina finally regained the lead on a Te-Hina Paopao baseline drive at the 6:47 mark of the fourth quarter, going ahead 44-42. Kitts followed with a shot in the paint off a pick-and-roll to extend the margin to four points.
Duke came back to tie the score at 46-46 on baskets by Reigan Richardson and Toby Fournier with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. But South Carolina answered with a jumper by Feagin and two free throws from Kitts.
Fournier led all scorers with 18 points, in addition to six rebounds (five on the offensive end) and three blocks. Jackson finished with 13 points. Duke hung tough with the defending champions despite shooting only 32% from the floor.
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