Cooke provides a steady diet of 3s
Sophomore guard catches fire to lead Gamecocks by Jackets; Stanford rolls
SAN ANTONIO — 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 76-65 win over fifth-seeded Georgia Tech on Sunday.
“Our offense carried us today with our ability to hit layups and stretch the floor and hit some 3s,” Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said. “Hope it continues to get better. Yougotsomegreat programs here that can put a lot of points on the scoreboard.”
It’s the third time in the past four women’s NCAA Tournamentsthat 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. Thatlengthened a four-point halftime lead to double digits. TheAll-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.”
The Yellow Jackets (17-9) made a run in the fourth quarter to get within 69-63, but five consecutive points — the last comingona3-pointer from Cooke with 3 minutes left — sealed the win.
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 20 points to lead Georgia Tech.
Stanford 89, Missouri State 62: 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 LadyBears 89-62 to earn a spot in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAATournament 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. Jumpled the way Sunday with five.
Evans leads Louisville: DanaEvans scored 29 points and No. 2 seed Louisville advanced to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAATournament with a 60-42 win over sixth-seeded Oregon on Sunday night.
TheCardinals will face top seed Stanford on Tuesday night in the Alamo Region final.
Louisville (26-3) continued its stellar defensive play, holding Oregon (15-9) to 14 points in the first half, including six in the second quarter.