Richardson scores 28 as Duke rallies from 16-point deficit to beat Ohio State
Reigan Richardson scored 28 points and added seven rebounds as No. 7 seed Duke rallied from a 16-point firsthalf deficit to beat No. 2 seed Ohio State 75-63 on Sunday and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018.
Richardson hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Duke up 59-57 with 5:21 left. That sparked a 13-2 run by the Blue Devils that began to put the game out of reach.
Ashlon Jackson scored 13 points and Taina Mair added 11 for the Blue Devils (22-11), who move on to Portland, Oregon to play next weekend against the winner of Syracuse and UConn.
“We're super proud, just how the team played today,” said Richardson, who averaged 11.9 points per game during the season. “I think we were down by 16, and we didn't let it faze us. We stayed with each other and we were able to climb back.”
Duke's upset win was only the second time in the tournament that a lower seeded team had won. The better seeds were 31-1 in the opening round.
Cotie McMahon paced the Buckeyes (26-6) with 27 points. Most of those were
in the paint. Ohio State attempted just nine 3-pointers in the game and didn't make one until there were 12.2 seconds left in the game.
Celeste Taylor, who transferred to Ohio State from Duke before the season, scored just six points before fouling out with 6:38 left in the game.
Ohio State's pressing defense caused problems for Duke early as the Buckeyes built a 16-point lead. But the Blue Devils came roaring back. A 12-2 run cut the Buckeyes lead to 36-32 at halftime.
In the first round on Friday, Ohio State routed No. 15 seed Maine 80-57. Duke rallied in the second half to
beat No. 10 seed Richmond. SOUTH CAROLINA 88, NORTH CAROLINA 41 >>
Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley had 20 points including four 3-pointers, Kamilla Cardoso had a double-double in her return from a one-game suspension and unbeaten South Carolina powered into its 10th straight Sweet 16 with a victory over eighth-seeded North Carolina.
The top overall seed Gamecocks (34-0) needed everything they had to escape with single-digit wins the past two times they faced the Tar Heels (2013). This time, South Carolina used a 15-0 first-quarter run to take control and get within four victories of a perfect championship season.
The Gamecocks will play either No. 4 seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Friday in the Albany 1 Region.
Cardoso, a 6-foot-7 center from Brazil, sat out the tournament opener Friday after her ejection for fighting at the Southeastern Conference Tournament title game two weeks ago. She finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, her 14th double-double this season. COLORADO 63, KANSAS STATE 50 >> Tameiya Sadler scored all 10 of her points in the second half to lead a balanced scoring attack and No. 5 seed Colorado beat four-seed Kansas State to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Buffaloes (24-9) will face the winner of Monday's game between No. 1 seed Iowa and No. 8 seed West Virginia Saturday in Albany, N.Y.
This was the first home sellout for Kansas State since they hosted No. 1 UConn on Dec. 11, 2016.
Colorado, which had six players with nine or more points, used an 11-2 run in the third quarter to grab its largest lead of the game at 48-41. The Buffaloes outscored K-State 19-7 in the third quarter to take a 52-42 lead into the fourth quarter.