» Top seeds Stanford, South Carolina advance.
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 at the Alamodome and reach the Elite Eight.
“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. You got some great programs here that can put a lot of points on the scoreboard.”
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. That lengthened a four-point halftime lead to double digits. The Allamerica 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 6963, but five consecutive points — the last coming on a 3-pointer from Cooke with 3 minutes left — sealed the win.
Lotta-maj Lahtinen scored 20 points to lead Georgia Tech.
“We scored enough points to win, they just killed us in the paint today. Good gosh, they had like 44 points in the paint,” Georgia Tech coach Nell Fortner said. “They’re big, they’re long, they’re lengthy. … South Carolina did what they needed to do. They played how they’re built.”
The Gamecocks await the winner of Maryland and Texas in the Hemisfair Region final Tuesday night.
Staley and Fortner, have a long history together going back to their days with USA Basketball.
Fortner was the head coach of the 2000 Olympic team that won gold in Sydney, Australia, and Staley was her point guard.
The Gamecocks finished the game 8-for-14 from behind the arc and the Yellow Jackets were 6for-12.
NO. 1 STANFORD 89 NO. 5 MISSOURI STATE 62
Hannah Jump scored 17 points to lead top seed Stanford over No. 5 Missouri State, sending the Cardinal to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the 21st time.
This Sweet 16 rematch from Stanford’s win in 2019 quickly turned into a blowout. The Cardinal led by 23 at halftime and by as much as 38 in the fourth quarter. Stanford kept up its postseason barrage of 3-pointers by making 15 against the Lady Bears.
Stanford (28-2) has averaged 14 made 3s over its three tournament victories. The overall No. 1 seed advances to Tuesday’s Alamo Region final against the winner of Sunday’s later game between No. 2 Louisville and 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.
Elle Ruffridge scored 18 points to lead Missouri State (23-3), a team with a history of punching above its status as a mid-major from the Missouri Valley Conference. The Lady Bears have two Final Four appearances of their own, but the last came two decades ago behind record scorer Jackie Stiles.