South Carolina rolls to the Sweet 16
Freshman Milaysia Fulwiley had 20 points including four 3- pointers, Kamilla Cardoso had a double- double in her return from a onegame suspension and unbeaten South Carolina powered into its 10th straight Sweet 16 with an 88- 41 victory over eighth- seeded North Carolina in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
The top overall seed Gamecocks (34- 0) needed everything they had to escape with single- digit wins the past two times they faced the Tar Heels (2013). This time, South Carolina used a 15- 0 first- quarter run to take control and get within four victories of a perfect championship season.
The Gamecocks will play either No. 4 seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Friday in the Albany 1 Region.
NO. 12 OREGON STATE 61, NEBRASKA 51 >> Talia von Oelhoffen had 19 points and eight assists to help thirdseeded Oregon State advanced to the Sweet 16 with a second-round victory over No. 6 Nebraska.
Raegan Beers added 10 points for the Beavers (267), who will cross the country to Albany to face the winner of Monday’s second-round game between second-seeded Notre Dame and No. 7 Ole Miss in South Bend.
Jaz Shelley had 10 points and seven assists for the Huskers (23-13), who have not advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2013. She was the lone Nebraska player in double figures.
Alexis Markowski’s layup pulled the Huskers within 35-29 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Beavers responded with three straight 3-pointers to go up
44-29. Nebraska responded with a 6- 0 run to get back within single digits.
NO. 8 LSU 83, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 56 >> Angel Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds and third-seeded LSU responded to a ninepoint third- quarter deficit with a dominant finish to defeat upstart No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Flau’jae Johnson scored 21 for the Tigers (30-5) and played central role in helping LSU surge to a comfortable second-half lead that ended the Blue Raiders’ 20game winning streak.
The decisive victory came one day after LSU coach Kim Mulkey railed against the Washington Post — and
threatened potential legal action — for what she described as an impending “hit piece” against her and promised that it would not derail her team’s preparation for NCAA Tournament games.
MTSU (30- 5) led 41- 32 and looked primed to widen the gap when Reese tripped over a fallen teammate on an attempted layup and crashed hard to the court, sending the Blue Raiders on a 5- on- 4 fast break the other way.
NO. 17 COLORADO 63, NO. 15 KANSAS STATE 50>> Tameiya Sadler scored all 10 of her points in the second half to lead a balanced scoring attack and No. 5 seed Colorado beat four-seed Kansas State to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Buffaloes (24-9) will
face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 1 seed Iowa and No. 8 seed West Virginia Saturday in Albany, N.Y.
This was the first home sellout for Kansas State since they hosted No. 1 Uconn on Dec. 11, 2016. DUKE 75, NO. 7 OHIO STATE 63 >> Reigan Richardson scored 28 points and added seven rebounds as No. 7 seed Duke rallied from a 16-point firsthalf deficit to beat No. 2 seed Ohio State and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.
Richardson hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Duke (22-11) up 59- 57 with 5:21 left. That sparked a 13-2 run by the Blue Devils that began to put the game out of reach.
Ashlon Jackson scored
13 points and Taina Mair added 11 for the Blue Devils, who move on to Portland, Oregon to play next weekend against the winner of Syracuse and Uconn.
NO. 4 TEXAS 65, ALABAMA 54>> Aaliyah Moore matched her career best with 21 points, had 10 rebounds and made a timely defensive play in the fourth quarter to help No. 1 seed Texas beat Alabama.
Freshman Madison Booker also scored 21 for Texas, which will face the Utah- Gonzaga winner in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Portland, Oregon. Booker wears No. 35 in honor of Kevin Durant, who was at the game.
Texas (32- 4) has its most victories since finishing 32-3 in 1987-88.