Top-seeded Stanford romps into Elite Eight
Longhorns, Gamecocks and Cardinals also advance to regional final
SAN ANTONIO — Missouri State had waited two years to get another crack at the Sweet 16 and Stanford, only to watch the Cardinal turn their rematch into a romp.
Hannah Jump scored 17 points off the bench and top seed Stanford strolled past the No. 5 Lady Bears 89-62 to earn a spot in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the 21st time.
Stanford led by 23 at halftime and by as much as 38 in the fourth quarter as the Cardinal kept up their postseason barrage of 3-pointers by making 15.
The Cardinal (28-2) have made at least 13 from long range in each of their three tournament games. Jump led the way Sunday with five.
“We try to ride the hot hand,” said Kiana Williams, Stanford’s career leader in 3-pointers who made four and scored 16 points. “It’s hard to guard us because you can’t just focus on one person.”
The tournament’s overall No. 1 seed advanced to Tuesday’s Alamo Region final against No. 2 Louisville, which beat No. 6 Oregon.
A win there would send Stanford to its 14th Final Four. Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer has won two national championships, but none since 1992.
“I still don’t think we’re playing our best basketball yet,” guard Anna Wilson said. “We’re playing really well. We’re clicking and in a lot of different ways than usual. But I think that each player has a lot more to give to the team. … I think that with the trajectory we’re going in, it will be good timing. We don’t want to peak too early.”
Elle Ruffridge scored 18 points to lead Missouri State (23-3), a team with a history of punching above its status as a midmajor from the Missouri Valley Conference.
TEXAS 64, MARYLAND 61: Charli Collier scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as No. 6 Texas shut down No. 2 Maryland’s high-powered offense, and the Longhorns’ win sent them to the Elite Eight as the lowest seed still alive in the tournament.
The Terrapins had the highestscoring offense in the country during the regular season and averaged 99 points in the first two rounds before running into a Texas defensive wall that slowed the pace to a grinding halt.
Texas tied it at 59-59 on Celeste Taylor’s jumper in the final minute, then took the lead when Kyra Lambert scooped up a loose ball near midcourt and coasted in for a layup with 45 seconds left.
After Maryland’s Diamond Miller missed a twisting layup, Lauren Ebo snagged the rebound and quickly fired the ball to Lambert who was fouled. She made one of two free throws before Maryland’s Katie Benzan missed a 3-pointer. Celeste Taylor then made one of two free throws for a four-point lead.
Texas (21-9) advances to Tuesday’s Hemisfair Region final against No. 1 South Carolina.
A win there would send Texas to the Final Four for the first time since 2003. And they would get there with first-year coach Vic Schaefer, who left a powerhouse program at Mississippi State to build another with the Longhorns.
Miller scored 21 points to lead Maryland (26-3).
SOUTH CAROLINA 76, GEORGIA TECH 65: Zia Cooke and her South Carolina teammates were hot from the outside and rode that solid shooting to reach the Elite Eight.
Cooke scored 17 points, hitting five of six 3-point attempts, to lead top-seed South Carolina to a win over fifth-seeded Georgia Tech.
“Our offense carried us today with our ability to hit layups and stretch the floor and hit some 3s,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said.
It’s the third time in the past four women’s NCAA Tournaments that the Gamecocks have at least reached the regional finals. South Carolina won the national championship in 2017.
After going scoreless in the first half, Aliyah Boston had the first seven points in the third quarter as South Carolina (25-4) went on a 14-6 run to start the period and stretched the lead to double digits. The All-America sophomore forward finished with nine points.
“This team is resilient and determined and focused on the task at hand,” Staley said. “We found ourselves with Aliyah Boston in foul trouble early on and this team pivoted well today. We can afford ourselves that situation when we’re hitting shots.”
LOUISVILLE 60, OREGON 42: Dana Evans broke out of a shooting slump in a big way, carrying Louisville to the Elite Eight.
The senior All-America guard matched her career high with 29 points and the No. 2 seed Cardinals advanced to the regional final for the third straight time as they beat sixth-seeded Oregon.
“I knew it would end at the right time, when I needed it to,” Evans said. “My teammates didn’t need me to do what I did tonight (in) in the other games. Everybody has been stepping up. I think everything happens for a reason. My teammates were able to get their confidence and get going and now that I feel like that I’m back to my normal self, I feel like we’re going to be just fine.”
Evans said former Louisville great Asia Durr had reached out to her over the last few days.
“She sent me a nice text just telling me to just relax, let the game come to me and don’t overthink it,” Evans said. “I took her words, and it worked.”
The Cardinals will face top seed Stanford on Tuesday night.
Louisville (26-3) continued its stellar defensive play, holding Oregon (15-9) — coached by former Lobo men’s player Kelly Graves — to 14 points in the first half.