COLUMBIA – Even the most ruthless of Gamecock fans had to look at the outwomaned Presbyterians and think, Hate it for you.

A little?

It could not have happened any other way. The No. 1 team in the nation, South Carolina, defeated the onetime fifth seed of the Big South, Presbyterian, 91-39.

In the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament! The Blue Hose had to win a game to get there. And another tournament before it.

Friday’s game stands alone. March has never seen this particular variety of Madness.

It was the end of road for the Blue Hose, but they had a bodacious ride.

I had pregame meal at Steamers – the one burger to have if you’re just having one – and, it being in the middle of Clinton, my dread of the impending game came up.

The other fellow listened to me and said of the Blue Hose, “They’ll do all right.”

That’s so Clinton. And they did, all considered.

On the pregame show, an interview obviously revealed that it was taped before the USC player knew whether she’d be playing PC or Sacred Heart.

It was once 2-2. South Carolina led for the remaining 39 minutes, 16 seconds.

An old movie, Mister Smith Goes to Washington, holds that a hopeless cause is the only one worth fighting for. That view hasn’t aged well, but PC’s women showed nobility. They were outsized, outmuscled, outquicked and outnumbered, but they didn’t get shocked. They didn’t scatter in disarray.

They just got beat.

“The last two weeks have been an absolute blast and some of my favorite moments as a coach,” said PC’s, Alaura Sharp, “and I’ve done this for 18 years.”

I would call the Gamecocks a team of Amazons, but most people would just say, “Hey, man, no prob, I got Prime.”

The second quarter saw PC get hot. Momentarily, they pulled within 16 points. The Carolina spigot turned back on. PC’s Tilda Sjokvist popped a three-pointer at the first-half buzzer to make it 48-25.

Few Americans have absorbed as much from America as Sjokvist since she got here from Sweden. She is taking it all in.

“It was fun, and we were hustling and everything,” she said. “I mean, it’s not fun to lose at anything, but if you’ve got to lose, you gotta do it to the number-one seed.

“I’m so grateful for this experience. We did what we worked on, and I loved the experience of playing on this stage.”

When I was a kid, I thought PC was just like Medvale College of the Disney comedies The Absentminded Professor and Son of Flubber. They could’ve used some of Fred MacMurray’s compound on their sneakers at Colonial Life Arena.

“I didn’t love the way we started the game, but I loved the way we continued to compete,” Sharp said.

At the end of the third quarter, Carolina (33-0) led, 2-1, or, specifically, 74-37. It was about right. Both teams played well. The Gamecocks were twice as good. Presbyterian (21-15) did as best they could.

Dawn Staley – she need not be titled for the citizens of the Palmetto State to know what she does – was as gracious as a 52-point winner could be.

“We were happy to get out there and knock some rust off,” she said. “I thought Presbyterian did a great job of spacing the floor. … They really did a great job of adjusting and getting some easy buckets on us. They made us adjust.”

Adjust they did.

Staley had stopped in to welcome the Blue Hose to the Dance on Tuesday night, before they defeated Sacred Heart, 49-42.

Presbyterian shot .283 from the field. South Carolina shot .563. The Gamecocks won most every category, too. It’s said that games aren’t played on paper. This one was.

Five Carolina women scored in double figures, led by Chloe Kitts with 21 points. She hit all nine shots she tried … and missed a free throw.

Sjokvist and Paige Kindseth led the Blue Hose with nine points. Mara Neira had eight.

The Blue Hose, growing weary at last, went stone cold in the final period.

Fifty points down, the PC kids were still shouting directions and pointing as they retreated on defense. It would have been sad if not so admirable.

With just under two minutes to go, they scored their only basket of the fourth quarter.

The Blue Hose asked no quarter. The Gamecocks took no prisoners.

“The reason we were here is because we won three straight games as the five seed in a conference tournament, and we won game to get this one, and it’s because of the toughness and grit and the resilient spirit of this team,” Sharp concluded.

Perhaps something a bit more plausible next year?

Take a look at the stats here.

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