By R.L. Bynum

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Teams have taken their shots at No. 1 South Carolina all season, but nobody has pulled off the upset.

Only three teams have come within seven points of the 33–0 and top-seeded Gamecocks: reigning national champion LSU, Tennessee and the team they face in the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament at 1 p.m. Sunday (CBS) — No. 8-seed North Carolina.

Could the Tar Heels (20–12) come up with some March magic?

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley knows this game will be tough, unlike her team’s 91–39 first-round victory over Presbyterian.

“Just a real great cohesive team that plays really physical,” Staley said of UNC. “If you beat them, you have to beat them. They’re not going to give you anything easy.”

The Tar Heels, who beat Michigan State 59–56 in their Friday first-round game, battled South Carolina well on Nov. 30 before losing 65–58. Deja Kelly scored 20 points and Alyssa Ustby added 18 for UNC, while Bree Hall paced South Carolina with 15.

“What they do they do well,” Staley said. “They get down in transition. They push the ball at you. Ustby runs incredibly well, and they get her the ball early in their offense. Deja Kelly is hard to deal with, especially in ball-screen action. She’s a seasoned guard that plays really well. [Maria] Gakdeng is a great addition to their team, and she does a great job holding serve in the paint and makes it very difficult for teams to drive that ball at them.”

Gakdeng scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and helped hold 6–7 South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso to six points.

“They do a great job at just keeping you from great scoring opportunities, high percentage scoring opportunities,” Staley said. “They make you pay. Then they have a fast pace offensively. They move down the floor from a transitional standpoint, getting easy buckets. And then in the half-court, they’re just really calculated and methodical who they want shooting the basketball, and they always seem to put their players in the right place.”

The Gamecocks have had only three closer games: wins over LSU on Jan. 25 (76–70) and March 10 in the SEC tournament championship (79–72) and a 74–73 win against Tennessee on March 9 in the SEC tournament semifinals.

South Carolina gets Cardoso back after she missed Friday’s game. She was suspended after she was ejected from the SEC win over LSU for fighting.

UNC will be without three guards who played in the first matchup. Freshman Kayla McPherson played 28 minutes, sophomore Paulina Paris played 11 and freshman Reniya Kelly played three. McPherson was getting a lot of point-guard time in that game. Ustby was playing mostly the four spot but is playing more at the three spot now.

“We’re a little bit different,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said of her roster now, compared to the first meeting. “Maybe we’re a lot different. You need competitiveness right on down the roster. You need toughness. You need to play to your strengths up and down the roster.

On the Tar Heels’ plus side, they’ll have redshirt sophomore forward Teonni Key, who didn’t play in that first game but played well on Friday.

“I think our defense kind of ignited our energy in that game,” Kelly said. “I think we outrebounded them that game. Just from the jump, I think the way we came out, we matched their intensity, we matched their aggressiveness.”

South Carolina’s much deeper bench will undoubtedly be a factor in the game. The Gamecocks’ chemistry is also different, with freshman guard MiLaysia Fulwiley getting much more playing time than the three minutes she got against UNC.

“I think what makes South Carolina a great team is that they’re really good at playing together and making good reads,” Ustby said. “That’s where we have to buckle down on our fundamentals and how we play basketball.”

UNC’s seniors and juniors were part of the 69–61 loss to South Carolina at the 2022 Sweet 16 loss in Greensboro.

“Obviously it’s fun to play a top team like that,” Kelly said. “They’re a really good team, and it’s obviously a great matchup, but so are we.”

NOTES — South Carolina is a 21½-point favorite. … Sunday’s game will be UNC’s first on a broadcast network since the Tar Heels’ 88–47 loss at UConn on Jan. 9, 2010, was on CBS. … This will be the first UNC-South Carolina game in Columbia since the Tar Heels’ 98–71 loss on Jan. 4, 1989. It’s the third meeting in Columbia, the site of the teams’ first game on Jan. 24, 1976, a 75–65 UNC win. … UNC is 3–28 all-time against No. 1 teams, with all three wins coming at home. The Tar Heels beat No. 1 Duke teams twice (56–51 on Jan. 24, 2005, and 77–65 on Feb. 25, 2006), and an unranked UNC team knocked off No. 1 Notre Dame 78–73 on Jan. 29, 2019. … North Carolina, which leads the all-time series 11–10, had won six of seven games against South Carolina before the Gamecocks won the last three meetings: two Sweet 16 matchups in Greensboro — 67–65 in 2015 and 2022 — and the loss in Chapel Hill on Nov. 30.

UNC vs. South Carolina

Jan. 24, 1976 — W, 75–65, in Columbia, S.C.
Jan. 20, 1979 — L, 69–60, in Chapel Hill
Feb. 16, 1980 — L, 94–62, in Columbia, S.C.
March 9, 1981 — L, 83–77, in Chapel Hill
Dec. 14, 1985 —W, 72–71, in Chapel Hill
Jan. 28, 1987 — W, 67–46, in Columbia, S.C.
Dec. 12, 1987 — W, 77–73, in Chapel Hill
Jan. 4, 1989 — L, 98–71, in Columbia, S.C.
Jan. 6, 1991 — L, 76–69, in Conway, S.C.
Dec. 21, 2000 — W, 74–68, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 20, 2001 — L, 85–53, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 20, 2002 — W, 78–69, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 20, 2003 — W, 77–53, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 20, 2009 — W, 93–85, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 19, 2010 — W, 74–51, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 18, 2011 — L, 79–48, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 18, 2013 — W, 74–66, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
March 30, 2014 — W, 65–58, in Palo Alto, Calif. (NCAA Sweet 16)
March 27, 2015 — L, 67–65, in Greensboro (NCAA Sweet 16)
March 25, 2022 — L, 69–61, in Greensboro (NCAA Sweet 16)
Nov. 30, 2023 — L, 65–58, in Chapel Hill

Date	Day/month	Score	Opponent/event (current rank)	Record
	November
8	Wednesday	W, 102–49	vs. Gardner-Webb	1–0
12	Sunday	W, 74–70	vs. Davidson	2–0
15	Wednesday	W, 62–32	vs. Hampton	3–0
18	Saturday	W, 68–39	vs. Elon	4–0
			Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla.
24	Friday	W, 54–51	Vermont	5–0
25	Saturday	L, 63–56	No. 15 Kansas State	5–1
26	Sunday	L, 65–64	Florida Gulf Coast	5–2
			ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
30	Thursday	L, 65–58	vs. No. 1 South Carolina	5–3
	December
6	Wednesday	W, 81–66	vs. UNC Greensboro	6–3
			Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn.
10	Sunday	L, 76–64	No. 10 Connecticut	6–4
			———————
15	Friday	W, 96–36	vs. Western Carolina	7–4
			Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte
19	Tuesday	W, 61–52	No. 18 Oklahoma	8–4
			ACC season
31	Sunday	W, 82–76	vs. Clemson	9–4, 1–0 ACC
	January
4	Thursday	W, 75–51	vs. No. 22 Syracuse	10–4, 2–0 ACC
7	Sunday	W, 61–57	at No. 9 Notre Dame	11–4, 3–0 ACC
11	Thursday	L, 70–62	at Florida State	11–5, 3–1 ACC
14	Sunday	W, 81–68	vs. Virginia	12–5, 4–1 ACC
18	Thursday	W, 73–68	at Georgia Tech	13–5, 5–1 ACC
21	Sunday	W, 79–68	vs. No. 23 Louisville	14–5, 6–1 ACC
25	Thursday	W, 66–61	vs. Miami	15–5, 7–1 ACC
28	Sunday	L, 81–66	at Virginia	15–6, 7–2 ACC
	February
1	Thursday	L, 63–59	at No. 11 N.C. State	15–7, 7–3 ACC
4	Sunday	L, 70–61, OT	vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech	15–8, 7–4 ACC
11	Sunday	L, 68–60, OT	at Duke	15–9, 7–5 ACC
15	Thursday	W, 75–62	vs. Pittsburgh	16–9, 8–5 ACC
18	Sunday	W, 58–50	at Wake Forest	17–9, 9–5 ACC
22	Thursday	W, 80–70	vs. No. 11 N.C. State	18–9, 10–5 ACC
25	Sunday	L, 74–62	at No. 13 Virginia Tech	18–10, 10–6 ACC
29	Thursday	L, 78–74	at Boston College	18–11, 10–7 ACC
	March
3	Sunday	W, 63–59	vs. Duke	19–11, 11–7 ACC
			ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum
7	Thursday	L, 60–59	Second round: vs. Miami	19–12
			NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C.
22	Friday	W, 59–56	First round: Michigan State	20–12
24	Sunday	L, 88–41	Second round: No. 1 South Carolina	20–13