Creighton, Texas, NC State, S. Carolina, Stanford women all move on

Aliyah Boston had 28 points and 22 rebounds, and top-seeded South Carolina moved on to the Elite Eight with a 6961 victory over North Carolina on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament.

The Gamecocks (32-2) will take on 10th-seeded Creighton in the Greensboro Region for a spot in the Final Four on Sunday.

The Tar Heels cut South Carolina’s 13-point fourthquarter lead to five down the stretch. But each time, Boston got her team back on track with her 27th straight double-double. The All-American also scored her team’s final 13 points.

Deja Kelly led North Carolina (25-7) with 23 points. NC STATE 66, NOTRE DAME 63

» and layup with 14 seconds left lifted top-seeded N.C. State to a 66-63 win over fifth-seed Notre Dame on Saturday in the Bridgeport Region semifinals.

It’s the Wolfpack’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 1998 when they reached the Final Four.

Trailing 59-51 early in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack rallied, scoring 15 of the final 19 points capped by Perez’s layup. The Irish had one last chance, but Maddy Westbeld missed a 3-pointer from the wing and Perez hit both free throws for the final margin.

N.C. State (32-3) advanced to the regional final Monday night where it will face either second-seeded UConn or No. 3 Indiana.

Elissa Cunane scored 16 points and Kai Crutchfield added 14 for the Wolfpack, who avenged an earlier loss to the Irish on Feb. 1. That was N.C. State’s most recent loss of the season.

Olivia Miles scored 21 points and Westbeld added 13 for the Irish (24-9).

Greensboro Region

CREIGHTON 76, IOWA STATE 68 » Morgan Maly scored a career-high 21 points to help 10th-seeded Creighton beat Iowa State, becoming one of the lowest seeds to ever reach a women’s NCAA Tournament regional final.

Tatum Rembao added 19 for the Bluejays (23-9), who entered the Greensboro Region semifinals savoring the program’s first run to the Sweet 16. Creighton has joined Lamar in 1991 and Oregon in 2017 as 10-seeds that pushed to the Elite

Eight. Gonzaga in 2011 was the lowest-seeded at No. 11 to reach the Elite Eight.

Creighton shot 55% after halftime with six 3-pointers.

Emily Ryan had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead Iowa State (28-7), which shot just 38%. Ashley Joens had 14 points but made just 3 of 11 shots and got much of her production at the line (7 of 7).

Spokane Region

STANFORD 72, MARYLAND 66 » Lexie Hull scored 19 points in her hometown, Haley Jones added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and topseeded Stanford rolled into the women’s NCAA Tournament regional final with a win over No. 4 seed Maryland.

Meeting in the NCAAs for the first time since the schools played in the same building in the 2008 Elite Eight, the defending national champion Cardinal (31-3) dominated the Terrapins for the first three quarters. Maryland (23-9) trimmed the deficit to 68-59 with 1:41 left, but couldn’t get much closer.

Stanford will face No. 2 seed Texas in the regional final on Sunday night. It’s Stanford’s 21st Elite Eight under coach Tara VanDerveer.

Angel Reese led Maryland (23-9) with 25 points. Diamond Miller added 11 points but picked up two quick fouls early in the third and fouled out in the fourth.

Stanford will play No. 2 seed Texas on Sunday. TEXAS 66, OHIO STATE 63 »

Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 17 points, and Texas beat Ohio State to advance to the Elite Eight.

Aliyah Matharu added 10 points for Texas (29-6), which will make its second straight appearance in the Elite Eight. The second-seeded Longhorns have won 14 straight games since their last loss on Feb. 6 — the second-longest active streak behind Stanford.

Taylor Mikesell scored 19 points and Jacy Sheldon had 17 for sixth-seeded Ohio State (25-7), which has not advanced beyond the Sweet 16 since 1993.