March Madness: Top-seeded SC moves on after topping South Florida

COLUMBIA, S.C. — 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 move 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 in the Greenville Region 1 game.

Elena Tsineke, just 5-of-16 shooting in Friday’s OT win over Marquette, scored seven of the Bulls’ first 10 points on the way to a 16-12, first quarter lead in front of an edgy crowd on South Carolina’s home court.

But Boston, the All-American and two-time Southeastern Conference player of the year, took things over in the second period.

Her inside basket put South Carolina ahead to stay 21-20 as it outscored the Bulls 21-13 in the period. And Boston wasn’t just active offensively, she got after it on defense twice diving on the floor to chase free basketballs.

Late in the second quarter, the 6-foot-5 Boston stopped a drive by Maria Alvarez near the basket, then ran out to the sideline to double team Emma Johansson into a turnover.

The Gamecocks, outrebounded 10-9 the first 10 minutes, took control of the glass after that, finishing with a comfortable edge of 52-28.

South Florida made just five of its 28 shots the final 20 minutes and was held to its lowest point-total this season, 25 below its season’s average.

Tsinkeke led the Bulls with 20 points. Fankam Mendjiadeu was held to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.

(3) NOTRE DAME 53, (11) MISSISSIPPI STATE 48: Lauren Ebo had 10 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to help Notre Dame (27-5) beat Mississippi State (22-11).

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.

Kourtney Weber led Mississippi State (with 14 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.

(2) MARYLAND 77, (7) ARIZONA 64: Diamond Miller scored 13 of her 24 points in the third quarter to help Maryland (27-6) beat Arizona (22-10). The Terrapins advance to the Sweet 16 for a third straight year and the 11th time under coach Brenda Frese.

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. Cate Reese led Arizona with 19 points.

(2) UTAH 63, (10) PRINCETON 56: Alissa Pili had 28 points and 10 rebounds to lead Utah over Princeton (24-6).

Jenna Johnson added 15 points for the Utes, who made only one 3-pointer but still advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2006.

Down the stretch, the game turned into an old-fashioned rockfight. The teams combined to miss 15 consecutive field goal attempts at one point.

Kaitlyn Chen scored 19 points and Ellie Mitchell finished with 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end, for Princeton.

(3) LSU 66, (6) MICHIGAN 42: Angel Reese dismantled Michigan (23-10) on both ends of the court with 25 points, 24 rebounds, six blocks, and three steals, and LSU (30-2) advanced to the Sweet 16.

In their second season under coach Kim Mulkey, the Tigers advanced past the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2014.

LaDazhia Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for LSU, which never trailed and held Michigan to its lowest point total of the season. Laila Phelia scored 20 points for Michigan.

(1) VIRGINIA TECH 72, (9) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 60: Georgia Amoore scored 21 points and Virginia Tech (29-4) held off South Dakota State (29-6).

Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies, who won their 13th consecutive game, to advance to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history. 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 with 17 points and nine rebounds. The Jackrabbits entered the game with a 22-game winning streak.

(2) IOWA 74, (10) GEORGIA 66: Caitlin Clark had 22 points and 12 assists while Monika Czinano added 20 points to help Iowa (28-6) hold off Georgia (22-12). The Hawkeyes advanced to their ninth Sweet Sixteen in program history.

Gabbie Marshall added 15 points and McKenna Warnock added 14 for Iowa, which erased the memory of last season’s second-round loss to No. 10 seed Creighton. Clark was held scoreless for 13 minutes in the first half, but scored 14 second-half points.

Georgia 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. Diamond Battles led the Bulldogs with 21 points.

(8) OLE MISS 54, (1) STANFORD 49: Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left and Mississippi (25-8) pulled off a stunning upset of top-seeded Stanford (29-6) to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.

Behind the entire game, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal’s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.