THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2015
PAGE 7
South Carolina center Alaina Coates shoots against Notre Dame forward Brianna Turner during the first half of the NCAA Women's Final Four game Sunday in Tampa, Fla.
Notre Dame edges South Carolina in Final Four
FRED GOODALL
CHRIS O'MEARA/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla.: — Notre Dame is heading back to the women's national championship game thanks to a timely putback from an unlikely source.
Madison Cable's only basket of the game lifted Notre Dame to a 66-65 victory against Final Four newcomer South Carolina in the national semifinals Sunday night.
All-American Jewell Loyd scored 22 points as the Irish (36-2) advanced to the NCAA championship game for the fourth time in five years, surviving a scoring drought that lasted more than seven minutes down the stretch.
"We didn't rebound, missed a bunch of shots," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "Just a great basketball game. We went to Jewell. She had to do everything. Everyone contributed."
The Irish have not been able to win it all since McGraw led them to their only national title in 2001.
Loyd said no one boxed out Cable on her game-winning basket, adding. "She's done it all year. She's the MVP."
South Carolina (34-3) overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and did it again in the closing minutes. The feisty Gamecocks used a 13-0 run to take their only lead on Aleighsa Welch's offensive stickback with 1:12
remaining.
Brianna Turner scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out for Notre Dame. Taya Reimer had 16 points for Notre Dame.
Freshman Aja Wilson came off the bench to lead South Carolina with 20 points. She scored 10 straight for the Gamecocks at one point in the second half to keep her resilient team within striking distance.
Notre Dame led 64-52 with 7:51 to go. The Irish missed eight straight shots before Coates wiped out South Carolina's short-lived lead. South Carolina All-American Tiffany Mitchell's off-balance three-point attempt bounced
"it's surreal right now, can't believe that we're here," Loyd said of advancing to Tuesday night's title game. "Glad we played the early game and can get some rest."
Notre Dame lost to Connecticut in a matchup of unbeaten teams in last year's title game. The Irish came up short against Texas A&M in 2011 and Baylor in 2012.
South Carolina looked like a Final Four newcomer early, falling behind 15-3 in the first five minutes of the game. The Gamecocks settled down and got a pair of layups from Alaina Coates during a 12-4 surge helped them get back in
high off the backboard as time ran out on the best season in school history.
the game.
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has spent the past seven seasons transforming South Carolina from a struggling program into a national contender that spent much of this season ranked No.1 in the country. The former Virginia star, who played in the national semifinals three times as a player, joined Kim Mulkey as the only women to play and coach in the Final Four, and she drew on personal experience to try to prepare her team for what to encounter during its trip.
The Gamecocks began to solve the multiple defensive looks Notre Dame threw at them, with Coates inflicting damage inside and Mitchell
and Bianca Cuevas picking up the pace of the game once Irish guard Lindsay Allen left the game with two fouls. Wilson's jumper trimmed South Carolina deficit to 25-24, but Notre Dame wouldn't crack.
Loyd delivered a three-point play during a quick seven-point spurt that helped the Irish stay in front 32-28 at halftime, then made a difficult jumper over Mitchell while drawing a foul during the 10-0 burst Notre Dame put together after Coates missed two free throws, either of which would have given South Carolina its first lead.
Coates finished with 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Pacers use Paul George's return to spur 112-89 victory against Heat
MICHAEL MAROT
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George's season debut provided a needed boost Sunday as the Pacers put themselves back in the playoff contention with a 112-89 rout against Miami.
George finished with 13 points in 15 minutes — his first action since breaking his right leg Aug.1.
Luis Scola scored a season-high 23 points to lead Indiana (34-43) to its second straight win. The Pacers moved into a tie with Miami (34-43) for the No. 9 spot in the East. Both teams trail Boston by one game for the conference's eighth and final playoff spot.
The Heat took a 58-57 lead midway through the third, but the Pacers finished the quarter on a 20-8 run to make it 77-66. Back-to-back three-pointers from George early in the fourth sealed it.
Miami was led by Dwyane Wade with 27 points but lost its fourth in a row.
George finished 5 of 12 from the field with three three-pointers, two rebounds and two assists. And even though he missed a breakaway layup in the first half — a play he normally would have dunked — nobody was complaining inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
So when George replaced Solomon Hill with 5:34 left in the first quarter, the fans gave him a standing ovation as they waved yellow "Welcome Back PG" signs. The reaction continued all night.
When the gruesome injury occurred during a Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas, most thought his season was over.
Fans booed when George was called for his first foul. They roared every time he touched the ball. They gave him a rousing ovation when he made his first shot, a 12-foot fadeaway to his right, grimaced when he missed that layup and erupted again when he made the two threes.
But the Pacers needed the win more than they actually needed George.
They scored the first nine points, gave up the next eight and then pushed the lead back to 32-23 early in the second quarter. Indiana still led 51-47 at the half.
Miami took advantage of Indiana's sluggish second-half start to pull ahead on Goran Dragic's three-pointer, Miami's first of the game, with 5:58 left in the third.
HEAT: Miami played small because centers Chris Andersen (bruised left foot) and Hassan Whiteside (cut right hand) both sat out. But the Heat went just 2-for-20 from three. The Heat have lost two of their past four games by more than 20 points.
Indiana answered with a 15-4 spurt, extended the lead to 11 after three and started pulling away again after George made the threes in the fourth.
PACERS: Indiana, meanwhile, thrived on threes. C.J. Miles had five, two short of a season.' The Pacers were 14 of 30 overall from beyond the arc and improved to 21-18 at home.
TIP-INS
HEAT: Host Charlotte on Tuesday
UP NEXT
PACERS: Visit New York Knicks on Wednesday
R BRENT SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
R BRENT SMITH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Indiana Pacers guard George Hill keeps the ball away from Miami Heat guard
Goran Dragic in Sunday's game.
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