Gamecocks leave no doubt
Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting as No. 1 overall seed South Carolina easily overcame the absence of starters Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall to beat No. 16 seed Presbyterian 91-39 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Gamecocks (33-0) moved five wins away from the 10th perfect championship season by overwhelming the Blue Hose (21-15) of the Big South Conference for a second time this season. Next comes another rematch against No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday. The Tar Heels gave up almost all of a 16-point lead before holding on to defeat No. 9 seed Michigan State earlier Friday.
Kitts also had a gamehigh 13 rebounds for her fifth double-double this season. Te-Hina Paopao had 18 points and freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 17 for South Carolina, which moved to 12-0 in NCAA openers under coach Dawn Staley.
South Carolina played without Cardoso, its leading scorer, while she served a one-game suspension for her ejection for fighting last time out at the SEC Tournament finals on March 10. Hall, who started the previous 32 games, came out in street clothes on the bench. A team spokeswoman texted that Hall was out for “precautionary reasons.”
The 6-foot-7 Cardoso, tossed in the SEC finals for shoving LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the ground late in the Gamecocks 79-72 victory, is expected to be back against the Tar Heels.
MTSU erases 18-point hole to beat Louisville:
Savannah Wheeler scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half, and No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee overcame an 18-point, second quarter deficit to defeat sixth-seeded Louisville 71-69 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Jalynn Gregory scored 24 for MTSU (30-4), which won its 20th straight game and has not lost since falling to Grand Canyon on Dec. 30. The Blue Raiders matched the third largest comeback in the opening rounds in tournament history. Center Anastasiia Boldyreva had 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Blue Raiders, who advanced to the second round of the tournament for the fifth time and first since 2007.
Olivia Cochran had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Nina Rickards scored 12 points for Louisville (24-10), which nearly came back from an eightpoint deficit in the final two minutes. The Cardinals had advance to five straight regional finals before this season.
Sydney Taylor’s 3 with 5 seconds left made it 71-69, and MTSU’s Ta’Mia Scott missed two free throws. That allowed Merissah Russell to try a half-court shot for the win that hit the backboard and rim before bouncing out.
Louisville built a big early lead in part by hitting four of its first five 3-point attempts, with a different player making each one.
The Blue Raiders appeared unnerved early, missing 10 of their first 13 shots. The first period ended with Russell stealing the ball from Boldyreva and converted a breakaway layup just before the final horn to give the Cardinals a 28-12 lead.