South Carolina survives a scare
And Toronto’s Edey proves to be too much for Gonzaga
With South Carolina’s perfect season on the line, coach Dawn Staley had faith Raven Johnson would make the necessary plays for her team.
Johnson did just that, hitting a huge three-pointer in the final minute to help the top-seeded Gamecocks remain unbeaten with a 7975 win over Indiana on Friday that moved them into the Albany 1 regional final of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“I saw Raven’s eyes coming down the stretch as our lead was diminishing and I knew she wasn’t going to let us lose,” Staley said. “She was going to do something. She had two big baskets.”
Johnson’s three came after South Carolina nearly blew a 22-point lead in the second half. The advantage was down to 74-72 when Staley called a timeout to set up a play that was supposed to go to Kamilla Cardoso, who led the team with 22 points. The Gamecocks’ star centre was being doubleteamed when she caught the ball, so she passed it to
Johnson for the three.
“I was open, and all I could think was, let it go. I don’t want to lose,” said Johnson, who scored 14 points.
South Carolina is three wins away from completing the 10th perfect season in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history. Next up for the Gamecocks is third-seeded Oregon State, which knocked off Notre Dame earlier Friday.
The ring’s the thing
Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo was forced to remove her nose piercing and miss time in her team’s 70-65 loss to Oregon State. It was that kind of day for the freshman Hidalgo, who scored just 10 points, well off her 22.9 average.
The first-team all-American missed about four minutes at the start of the second quarter.
“It’s tough because you know I was on a roll and having to sit out for five minutes because of a nose ring is BS,” Hidalgo said.
NCAA women’s basketball Rule 125.7 says no jewelry is permitted to be worn during games.
“No, clearly I didn’t know the jewelry rule,” Hidalgo said. “But (the official) had told me that I could cover it up. Then, she said you can’t cover it up after we were already in the second quarter.”
So Hidalgo sat at the end of the bench as the training staff feverishly tried to remove the ring using tools. Irish coach Niele Ivey said Hidalgo has had a nose ring the entire season.
Another Edey win
Purdue big man Zach Edey withstood all the abuse Gonzaga could lay on him Friday night, finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Boilermakers to an 80-68 victory and move them one win from the Final Four.
Gonzaga leaned on, swatted and grabbed at the seven-foot-four centre — even slapped him across the forehead at one point — but it wasn’t enough to stop either him or his top-seeded team. Purdue is one win from reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
Cinderella Wolfpack
DJ Horne scored 19 points and North Carolina State, the 11th seed in the South, kept its magical NCAA Tournament run alive, beating Marquette 67-58to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986.