No.1seedsouthcarolina dominateshoward
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds while top-seeded South Carolina’s stifling defense held Howard to the fewest points ever in a women’s NCAA Tournament game in a 79-21 victory Friday.
It was the All-american’s 25th straight double-double.
The 21 points matched the fewest South Carolina has allowed in its history and broke the tournament record held by Kansas State, which scored 26 in a loss to Uconn in 2012. The Gamecocks (30-2) held Howard (21-10) to an NCAA Tournament record-low four points in the first half as they took a 44-4 lead.
It was a total mismatch, even for a No. 1 versus No. 16 seed. The Gamecocks had 30 offensive rebounds to just six for Howard. The Bison turned the ball over 20 times and were outscored 38 to 8 in the paint.
Iyanna Warren led Howard with eight points.
The Gamecocks play No. 8 seed Miami on Friday in the Greensboro Region.
Greensboro Region Miami 78, South Florida 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Karla Erjavec scored 14 points to lead a balanced Miami offense to victory over South Florida.
The No. 8 seeded Hurricanes (21-12) shot 54% and all 10 players who played more than a minute scored to help Miami win its ninth game in the last 11.
The Hurricanes led by as much as 19 before halftime, but ninth-seeded South Florida (24-9) kept hanging around. USF twice cut the deficit to nine in the second half but couldn’t get any closer.
Elena Tsineke led South Florida with 21 points and Elisa Pinzan added 19.
Iowa 98, Illinois State 58
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 10 assists and Monika Czinano added 18 points as Iowa defeated Illinois State.
Gabbie Marshall and Tomi Taiwo each had 13 points for the Hawkeyes (24-7), the No. 2 seed in the Greensboro Region. They’ll play No. 10 seed Creighton on Sunday in the second round.
It was the 16th doubledouble of the season for Clark, an Associated Press first-team AllAmerican who leads the nation in scoring at 27.4 points per game. Clark had a 15-minute scoreless stretch in the second and third quarters, but had six assists in the span during which Iowa extended its lead from nine points to 20.
Juju Redmond led Illinois State (19-14), the No. 15 seed, with 25 points. Mary Crompton had 11.
Georgia 70, Dayton 54
AMES, Iowa — Jenna Staiti scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds as sixth-seeded Georgia defeated No. 11 Dayton in the first round.
Que Morrison added 16 points for the Bulldogs (21-9) and also collected eight rebounds, while Jillian Hollingshead scored 15 points.
Makira Cook led the Flyers (26-6) with 21 points.
The first half featured six lead changes and four ties, before Georgia seized control.