ALBANY, N.Y. – South Carolina women's basketball is headed back to the Final Four.

The No. 1-seeded Gamecocks (36-0) fought off No. 3 seed Oregon State (27-8) in a 70-58 victory on Sunday at MVP Arena earning a trip to Cleveland for their fourth-straight Final Four. South Carolina will play No. 3-seeded NC State (31-6) on Friday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

South Carolina made the difference in a 12-0 run in the third quarter, taking a two-point advantage and ballooning it into a 14-point lead. After struggling to shoot in the first half, the Gamecocks' shooting evened back out to normal.

Freshman guard Tessa Johnson scored 15 points, including five points during a game-changing third quarter run, and senior center Kamilla Cardoso paced the way early for the Gamecocks, scoring 12 points with nine rebounds, all in the first three quarters.

The Beavers faced a critical juncture in the last five minutes of the first half when sophomore forward Raegan Beers picked up a third foul. Sophomore forward Timea Gardiner was already on the bench with three fouls, opening up the paint for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina shot twice as many field goals as Oregon State in the first quarter, allowing it to build a four-point lead despite shooting 32% from the field to start the game. The Gamecocks forced four turnovers without giving it away themselves, keeping the Beavers' scoring opportunities low.

Gamecocks outlast poor shooting effort

Despite one of their worst shooting performances of the season, South Carolina did just enough to advance past Oregon State. The Gamecocks shot 33% from the field, including an abysmal 4-for-20 from beyond the arc for the nation's best 3-point shooting team.

Still, the Gamecocks advanced because they shot 23 more times than Oregon State thanks to 22 offensive rebounds and 12 turnovers. The Beavers also didn't shoot much better – making only 36% of their shots, including 32% from 3-point range.

The Gamecocks matched their season-low shooting percentage, which was 33% against Tennessee in the regular season finale. They also tied a low from beyond the arc with the 20% clip matching their regular season meeting with Ole Miss.

South Carolina takes it to Oregon State's bigs

Against Oregon State, a team with as much talent in the post as South Carolina, the Gamecocks were able to win the battle in the paint, a crucial aspect to the victory. They outscored the Beavers 44-14 in the paint and grabbed 22 offensive boards to Oregon State's seven.

South Carolina especially controlled the paint in the first half, outscoring Oregon State 24-6 and grabbing 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second chance points.

While South Carolina's 3-point shooting lagged, the Gamecocks were able to attack the rim for scoring early. They also earned a boost when both of Oregon State's starting forwards, Gardiner and Beers, picked up three fouls in the first half.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina women's basketball, Dawn Staley headed to Final Four