South Carolina routs Norfolk State
Zia Cooke scored 11 points as No. 1 South Carolina moved five wins away from a perfect season after opening the women's NCAA Tournament with a 72-40 victory over No. 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday in a first-round NCAA tournament women's game in the Greenville Regional 1.
Aliyah Boston had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (33-0), who won their 39th straight game dating back to last year's NCAA title run and moved to 11-0 in first-round games under coach Dawn Staley. They'll face No. 8 seed South Florida on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
This was a colossal mismatch from the tip like so many other games South Carolina's been a part of this season.
Norfolk State's tallest player is freshman forward Skye Robinson at 6-foot-2. South Carolina has seven players that tall or taller.
Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State with 13 points. The Spartans came in shooting almost 40% on the season, but were held to 16 of 61 (26%) by the Gamecocks.
Greenville Regional 1
MARYLAND 93, HOLY CROSS 61 >> Brinae Alexander scored over 1,100 points in her career before finally having an opportunity to play in an NCAA Tournament. She made up for lost time. Alexander scored a game-high 18 points, and the second-seeded Terrapins rolled over the 15thseeded Crusaders in the first round. Simone Foreman led Holy Cross with 13 points off the bench. Another reserve, Mary Elizabeth Donnelly, scored 10. ARIZONA 75, WEST VIRGINIA 62 >> Cate Reese scored 25 points and Esmery Martinez — with 13 points and 12 rebounds — had a doubledouble against her former team, leading the seventhseeded Wildcats over the 10th-seeded Mountianeers. The Wildcats went on a 16-3 run in the second half with Pellington on the bench. JJ Quinerly led West Virginia with 19 points. MISSISSIPPI STATE 81, CREIGHTON 66 >> Jerkaila Jordan scored 20 and led the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs (23-10) to an upset of the No. 6-seeded Bluejays. Jessika Carter, the 6-foot-5 Bulldogs center, took advantage of the Bluejays' undersized front court, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Lauren Jensen scored 22 points to lead Creighton (22-9) and Emma Ronsiek scored 21 points.
Seattle Regional 4 GEORGIA 66, FLORIDA STATE
54 >> Bulldogs coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said her first season as their head coach was an internal battle to find stars. “The star,” she said, “was our defense.” Georgia's zone defense stifled the seventhseeded Seminoles in this first-round game. Diamond Battles scored 21 points and Audrey Warren added 11 points for the 10th-seeded Bulldogs (22-11). Georgia held the Seminoles (23-10) to just 26.9% shooting from the field.
Seattle Regional 3 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 62,
USC 57 (OT) >> Destiny Littleton made a 3-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation to tie the game for the No. 8-seeded Trojans (21-11), but the No. 9-seeded Jackrabbits (30-5) were able to gather themselves and prevail in overtime. Myah Selland had a terrific game for South Dakota State with 29 points and nine rebounds.