TAMPA, Fla. — Te-Hina Paopao led South Carolina women's basketball to its second consecutive national title game with a powerful all-around performance in the 74-57 Final Four victory over Texas.
Paopao stifled the Longhorns with her relentless ball pressure, resulting in two timely steals to go with a team-high 14 points. The senior forced a turnover less than two minutes into the contest and scored her team’s first bucket of the night in what was otherwise a slow start from the defending national champions.
Paopao went 5-of-6 from the floor, with three of those makes coming from behind the arc, but her defensive prowess is what stood out.
“Her defense has come a long way,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said after the game. “She chose to come to South Carolina for these moments, but also she knew that defensively, there was a hole in her defensive game, and she knew we were going to force her to play defense.”
And play defense she did. Paopao’s second steal of the night, which led to an easy layup, was one she felt she owed her team.
“I went to go get the steal just because I also missed my other free throw,” Paopao said. “I wanted to, you know, redeem myself, and that’s what I did.”
The steal took place in a definitively defensive quarter for South Carolina. After bringing just a three-point lead to the halftime break, the Gamecocks stretched their lead to 14 by holding Texas to nine third-quarter points.
Defense has been an area of emphasis for the Gamecocks, so much so that their elite defenders — Bree Hall and Raven Johnson — have a nickname.
“So me and Breezy, we were like, 'We're lock-down defenders. We need to be part of Seatbelt Gang,'" Raven Johnson said Thursday. “Honestly, it means don't come on our island when it comes to defense. When we're in front of you, just know you're going to have to make a tough bucket."
After an exceptional defensive performance against Indiana in the second round of the tournament, when Paopao recorded more blocks than three-pointers, the founders of the Seatbelt Gang inducted their newest member.
Defense will continue to be a focus in Paopao’s final game of her career with the Gamecocks. In Sunday's 3 p.m. ET final, they'll face the winner of the Friday night contest between UCLA and UConn.
Makenzy Wolford is a student in the University of Georgia's Sports Media Certificate program.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Te-Hina Paopao's improved defense leads South Carolina to NCAA final
