Cardoso’s 3-pointer at buzzer keeps No. 1 S. Carolina perfect
Kamilla Cardoso banked in her first-ever 3-pointer at the buzzer and rescued No. 1 South Carolina’s perfect season with a 74-73 victory over Tennessee at the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (31-0) had blown a 23-point lead and trailed the Lady Vols (19-12) 73-71 with 1.1 seconds left. But Raven Johnson’s pass found an open Cardoso at the top of the key and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder calmly shot it off glass and in.
Cardoso was playing in front of her mom and sister who came up from Brazil to celebrate senior day with her last weekend. This week was their first chance to see her play in person since she left the country at age 15.
(3) IOWA 95, MICHIGAN 68 » Caitlin Clark had 28 points to pad her all-time NCAA scoring total and matched a season high with 15 assists to lead Iowa (28-4) past Michigan (20-13)in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
(9) UCONN 86, PROVIDENCE 53 » Paige Bueckers scored 29 points and topseeded Connecticut (27-5) beat ninth-seeded Providence (13-20) in the Big East quarterfinals despite losing star center Aaliyah Edwards.
Edwards had 12 points before leaving the game in the second half with a facial injury. Her status for the rest of the tournament was unclear after the game.
(10) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 69, FLORIDA STATE 43 » Aziaha James scored 23 points, Mimi Collins added 17 points and 13 rebounds and North Carolina State (27-5) beat Florida State (26-6) to advance to the ACC championship game for the fourth time in five seasons.
(14) NOTRE DAME 82, VIRGINIA TECH 53 » Sonia Citron scored 19 points, Maddy Westbeld added 18 and Notre Dame (25-6) defeated Virginia Tech (24-7) in the first ACC semifinal.
IOWA STATE 67, (17) BAYLOR 62 » Audi Crooks scored 23 points including the go-ahead basket with 41 seconds left and Emily Ryan made all eight of her free throws in the fourth quarter to help Iowa State (19-10) wrap up a win over Baylor (24-7) in a Big 12 quarterfinal.
(19) OKLAHOMA 69, TCU 53 » Sahara Williams scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Oklahoma (22-8) advanced to its third straight Big 12 Tournament semifinal with a win over TCU (20-11). (25) FAIRFIELD 83, RIDER 54 » Karly Fischer scored a career-high 16 points, Kaety L’Amoreaux added 15 and Fairfield (28-1, 20-0) ran its winning streak to 26, closing the regular season with a win over Rider (9-20, 6-14) for a perfect Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference record.
Men
KANSAS STATE 65, (6) IOWA STATE 58 »
Arthur Kaluma scored 23 points, Cam Carter added 21 and Kansas State (18-13, 8-10 Big 12) beat Iowa State (24-7, 13-5), giving the Wildcats’ flickering NCAA Tournament hopes a big boost.
(1) HOUSTON 76, (14) KANSAS 46 »
Jamal Shead had 13 points, six rebounds and eight assists, Damian Dunn added 12 points and Houston (28-3, 15-3) routed Kansas (229, 10-8) to claim the Big 12 Conference regular-season title in its first season in the league.
The Cougars closed out their regular season by winning their ninth straight game and extending their home winning streak to 22 games.
(15) KENTUCKY 85, (4) TENNESSEE 81 »
Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard each scored 27 points as Kentucky (23-8, 13-5 SEC) spoiled Tennessee’s (24-7, 14-4) late season run.
(16) ALABAMA 92, ARKANSAS 88, OT »
Mark Sears scored 22 points and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. had 20, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go to force overtime as Alabama (21-10, 13-5 SEC) rallied past Arkansas (15-16, 6-12).
(17) SOUTH CAROLINA 93, MISSISSIPPI ST. 89, OT »
B.J. Mack had 25 points and Collin Murray-Boyles scored 19 to lead South Carolina (25-6, 13-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-12, 8-10).
TULSA 76, (24) SOUTH FLORIDA 67 »
Freshman PJ Haggerty scored 26 of his career-high 32 points in the second half and Tulsa (16-14, 7-11 American Athletic Conference) stopped South Florida’s (23-6, 162) 15 game winning streak.