South Carolina reaches Sweet 16 with rout of South Florida
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. 2 MARYLAND 77, No. 7 ARIZONA 64
Diamond Miller scored 13 of her 24 points in the third quarter to help Maryland to a victory over Arizona.
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 (22-10) 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.
Cate Reese led Arizona with 19 points.
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.
SEATTLE 3 REGION No. 1 VIRGINIA TECH 72, No. 9 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 60
Georgia Amoore scored 21 points and Virginia Tech held off South Dakota State.
Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies (29-4), who won their 13th consecutive game, to advance to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. They will play the winner of Monday’s matchup between
No. 12 seed Toledo and No. 4 seed Tennessee.
Virginia Tech also set a school record with its 29th win, breaking the mark of 28 set by the 1998-99 squad — the only other team in school history to advance to the Sweet 16.
Myah Selland led South Dakota State (29-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds.
SEATTLE 4 REGION No. 2 IOWA 74, No. 10 GEORGIA 66
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 10thseeded Lady Bulldogs (2212). 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 6866 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.
Diamond Battles led Georgia with 21 points. Brittney Smith and Javyn Nicholson each had 12 points.