Defending champion South Carolina returns to Final Four, beating Duke 54-50 in March Madness

By Canadian Press on March 30, 2025.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Chloe Kitts scored 14 points and defending national champion South Carolina reached the Final Four of the women’s NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight year, beating Duke 54-50 on Sunday.

The top-seeded Gamecocks are two wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as champions since UConn won four straight from 2013-16. South Carolina will play the winner of the Texas-TCU game that takes place Monday night.

The Final Four is in Tampa, Florida, on Friday night.

Second-seeded Duke was looking to get to its first national semifinals since 2006. That team lost in overtime to Maryland in the title game. The Blue Devils women were also looking to join the men’s program in the Final Four.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press

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