South Carolina heartbreakingly missed a trip to the women’s tournament final by inches in a crazy end sequence

The agony of defeat.

There’s nothing like the thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat. South Carolina found out firsthand the hard heartbreak of a crushing loss on Friday in the women’s NCAA Final Four against Stanford.

The Cardinal beat the Gamecocks 66-65 after a chaotic last few moments of play. While the lead changed hands a few times in the last three minutes, the Cardinal held possession — and the lead — in the final 10 seconds of the game, before turning the ball over to the Gamecocks in the midst of a scramble.

It seemed South Carolina had a clear path to daylight, with not one but two chances to sink the ball to take the lead and the last second victory. Sadly, it was not to be, as both the initial layup by Brea Beal and the putback attempt by Aliyah Boston fell just short as the buzzer sounded.

The reactions at the end, especially by Boston, really say it all as Stanford advanced to its first championship since 2009-10 at the expense of South Carolina heartbreak.

The support for the Boston and the Gamecocks came pouring in on social media mere moments after that final buzzer.

While the Gamecocks will be heading home, Boston and her teammates got some major support from their Cardinal competitors after the game, with hugs and words of support all around.

Stanford will face the winner of No. 1 UConn vs. No. 3 Arizona in the tournament final on Sunday, April 4 at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

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