Raleigh, N.C. ? It was months ago, yet Duke remembers it all so well: Losing at home to South Carolina, then watching the Gamecocks celebrate by dancing on Coach K Court.

“That was something that was really hard for us,” Duke senior Vicki Krapohl said. “It was just they way they carried themselves off the court and holding their hands up like they were No. 1. It’s definitely a motivation.”

Exactly four months after that game, Duke and South Carolina play today in the East Regional final for a Final Four berth.

Top-seeded Duke (30-3) has won 27 of 28 games since that loss, including a school-record 21 straight. The Blue Devils are looking to return to the Final Four for the first time since reaching the national championship game in 1999.

Duke is in its third regional final, while the third-seeded Gamecocks (25-6) are in their first.

South Carolina  which went 11-17 last year  beat Duke 87-81 in overtime in the Duke Women’s Basketball Classic on Nov. 25. Reserve Kelly Morrone scored 27 points and went 8-for-9 on 3-pointers, while Shaunzinski Gortman added 25 points.

“That was a big game for us,” Jocelyn Penn said. “It was a confidence-builder for us. I’m really surprised that they were upset that we danced  but, hey, we had just won. What were we supposed to do?”

Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said South Carolina outplayed Duke throughout that game and took advantage of the Blue Devils’ shaky transition defense.

“I felt like we didn’t defend our home court and that we didn’t play with more heart,” she said. “Having played them once already makes us more comfortable, and having lost to them gives us more motivation.”

Using an eight-player roster for most of the season, Duke averaged nearly 85 points by getting production from its entire lineup.

Duke’s Alana Beard averages 20 points and six rebounds, but she had her string of eight straight games of 20-plus points snapped in Saturday’s 62-46 win against Texas. She led Duke with 15 points, while Sheana Mosch added 13 off the bench.

South Carolina advanced by beating Drake, 79-65, Saturday. Despite making their first tournament appearance since 1991, the Gamecocks showed no nerves, answering every Drake charge and never letting the Bulldogs rally from a 16-point halftime deficit.