South Carolina advances to Sweet 16 with rout of USF
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Zia Cooke scored 21 points and Aliyah Boston had her 81st career double double as top-seeded South Carolina shook off a slow start to power past eighth-seeded South Florida and into the Sweet 16 with a 76-45 victory Sunday.
The Gamecocks improved to 34-0 with their 40th straight win overall and moved four victories away from a second straight national title. They'll head to Greenville, where they won the Southeastern Conference Tournament two weeks ago, to play for a spot in the Final Four.
Boston, the program career record holder for double doubles, finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds, coming out of her final game at home to a huge ovation.
South Florida (27-7) entered looking for a program-record 28th win this season and its first berth in the Sweet 16, but after a feisty start, couldn't hang with the Gamecocks.
No. 3 NOTRE DAME 53, No. 11 MISSISSIPPI STATE 48
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Lauren Ebo had 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to help Notre Dame beat Mississippi State.
Maddy Westbeld added nine points and 15 rebounds for the Irish, who blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter before making the plays down the stretch for the win.
Mississippi State scored eight straight points to open the fourth quarter and tie the game at 41. Ebo scored the first Irish basket of the final period on an offensive putback with 4:38 remaining.
The Irish regained the lead for good on a pair of KK Bransford free throws with 3:49 left in the game, which gave Notre Dame a 45-43 advantage. The Irish held onto the lead the rest of the way.
No. 2 MARYLAND 77, No. 7 ARIZONA 64
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Diamond Miller scored 13 of her 24 points in the third quarter to help second-seeded Maryland to a 77-64 victory over seventh-seeded Arizona in the second around of the women's NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
The Terrapins (27-6) advance to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year and the 11th time under coach Brenda Frese. Maryland trailed by a point after two quarters but ran past the Wildcats (2210) in the second half.
Shyanne Sellers scored 15 points and Faith Masonius gave the Terps a lift with 12.
Frese was coaching against her alma mater. She played at Arizona and graduated in 1993.
The Wildcats gave Maryland a tough battle for 20 minutes but couldn't keep up offensively. Arizona was up 33-32 at the break but went almost half the third quarter without scoring. After being held to four points in the first half, Miller had five on one trip down the court — a layup while being fouled, followed by a 3-pointer after Arizona was unable to rebound her missed free throw. That put Maryland ahead 39-33.
By the time the quarter was over it was 61-42. The Terrapins shot 11 of 14 from the field in the third.
Maryland advances to face third-seeded Notre Dame in the regional semifinals Saturday. The Terps beat the Irish 74-72 at Notre Dame on Dec. 1 on a buzzer-beater by Miller.
Cate Reese led Arizona with 19 points.
SEATTLE 4 REGION No. 2 IOWA 74, No. 10 GEORGIA 66
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa beat Georgia.
The Hawkeyes (28-6) advance to the ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history.
Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock had 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season's second-round home loss to No. 10 seed Creighton.
Clark, a first-team Associated Press All-American, was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half, but scored 14 second-half points as the Hawkeyes finally shook off the 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-12). She made just 6 of 17 shots, but either scored or assisted on nearly every point by the Hawkeyes in the second half.
Georgia, a No. 10 seed, got within 68-66 on a 3-pointer from Audrey Warren with 2:17 left in the game, but the Lady Bulldogs would not score again, committing three straight turnovers and missing a layup.