CLEVELAND — It was at halftime of the season opener in Paris when Bree Hall made the realization that South Carolina was good. Like, good good. Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins had the same feeling.
For years, the Gamecocks have been good. Actually, they’ve been great, a modern NCAA powerhouse in the footsteps of Southern Cal, Tennessee and Connecticut. They have competed in the past three Final Fours and six of the past nine, and they won the 2022 national title led by Dawn Staley, winner of four of the past five Naismith Coach of the Year awards.