Nobody panicked, but everyone knew the situation.

South Carolina women’s basketball went into halftime against No. 9 seed Indiana trailing on its home floor, a shock to the system for the players on the floor, the coaches on the bench and everyone packed into Colonial Life Arena expecting more of a “Bon Voyage” party before a trip to Birmingham than an actual dogfight.

It was the first time South Carolina has trailed at halftime of an NCAA Tournament game since the infamous Iowa loss in 2023, and the first time most of these players had experienced the tension of playing essentially a 20-minute season from behind.

“We weren’t down or anything,” freshman Adhel Tac said about the locker room atmosphere at halftime. “But we spoke to each other with a sense of urgency with what we saw on the court and what we needed to improve on. I feel like everyone bought into those things and locked in when we came back out."

South Carolina won the third quarter by a dozen points and played to a fourth quarter stalemate, winning 64-53 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 11th consecutive tournament and keeping the opportunity to repeat as National Champions alive.

There was nothing overly forceful, switch-flipping or dramatic in the second half. The play style didn’t change in one 15-minute halftime session nor did the personnel. South Carolina (32-3) took the floor with the exact same starting lineup it always does, trying to work to the same spots on offense and with the same defensive intensity as those first 31 victories.

The result was a quick 13-4 run, spurred by seven Chloe Kitts points as the junior forward found her spots and settled in after spending most of the second quarter on the bench in foul trouble.

“Chloe is experienced,” Dawn Staley said. “She wants the ball in her hands, she wants to be a big playmaker for us, and she's got the experience to prove it. She's been playing really, really good basketball.”

The specific situation of trailing at halftime was new to most of these players, but the general principle of not flinching under adversity was unmistakable. This group of seniors and coaches had been through everything imaginable at this time of year. Those who were around for the 2022 team saw a procession of blowouts to a title. The 2023 team experienced heartbreak, the 2024 one had redemption and a couple close shaves along the way.

They’ve had leads, blowouts, big leads that became close — specifically against Indiana last year — buzzer-beaters from 6-foot-7 centers, double-digit deficits in National Championship games and just about everything else.

Any surprise that they bolted out of the locker room and took care of business after a shaky opening 20 minutes?

“The urgency wasn't a desperate kind of urgency,” Tac continued. “It was just that we wanted to make sure that we had the message to get across to each other. We still were calm."

Senior Bree Hall closed out her Columbia career with arguably her best game of the season, locking up defensively and knocking down a trio of timely 3-pointers. One very early in the game, then in the second quarter to cut a six-point deficit in half and finally a critical one during the third quarter run off a Te-Hina Paopao block. Speaking of Paopao, her four steals and two blocks set the tone defensively, and her 3-pointer right at the shot clock buzzer late in the shot clock extended the lead to double-digits with under five minutes to go.

Sania Feagin scored 10 points in a nine-minute burst on either side of halftime, and Raven Johnson was sturdy defensively even without her usual offensive production.

“I know that our bench gets a lot of credit for having played consistently all season,” Staley said. “But we cannot knock our experienced players. This is the time that they usually come and play really disciplined basketball, grind it out basketball to get it done.”

No panic, just process.

On a day where Joyce Edwards was far from her usual self and admitted she saw more double-teams than ever before and MiLaysia Fulwiley only played nine minutes, South Carolina needed its upperclassmen more than ever.

They delivered, and earned an opportunity to continue their collegiate careers in the process.

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