COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Freshmen MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson aren’t waiting for their turn. They’re grabbing the opportunity to lead the way for undefeated South Carolina in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Fulwiley scored 20 points, Johnson had 11 and the pair combined for seven of the top-seeded Gamecocks’ nine 3-pointers in an 88-41 win Sunday against No. 8 seed North Carolina that sent South Carolina to its 10th straight Sweet 16.
“They see themselves as being integral parts of our success,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “And they didn’t back down from it.”
Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds in her return from a one-game suspension after she was ejected for fighting during the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game two weeks ago. The 6-foot-7 center missed her team’s March Madness opener Friday against Presbyterian.
Fulwiley, the SEC Tournament MVP, and Johnson fueled a first-quarter surge for South Carolina (34-0) that quickly turned the game into a runaway. Fulwiley started it with a behind-the-back layup before Johnson made consecutive rainbow 3s. Fulwiley added another 3-pointer as part of a 43-11 run that gave the Gamecocks a 56-19 lead at the break.
Fulwiley knows she’s among the most promising young players in the game along with Southern California’s JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Texas’ Madison Booker. But Fulwiley’s bigger priority is blending in with her talented Gamecocks teammates.
“I think this team, we do a great job of just playing for each other,” she said. “I think we don’t play for the fans and all the other extra stuff. I think everything we do out on the court is for each other.”
South Carolina will carry that bond into the Sweet 16 to face No. 4 seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Friday in the Albany 1 Region.
The Gamecocks, at full strength and playing like their potent selves, were too much for the Tar Heels, who had lost by single digits in the teams’ previous two meetings, most recently Nov. 30.
Chloe Kitts, a South Carolina sophomore who hit all nine of her field goals for 21 points in the first round, scored 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the first half of this one. She finished with 12 points and has made 13 of 14 shots in the tournament.
North Carolina got no closer than 31 points in the final two quarters. Maria Gadkeng, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in Friday’s win against Michigan State, picked up three first-half fouls. Alyssa Ustby led North Carolina with 12 points.
Leading scorer Deja Kelly had two fouls and five of the Tar Heels’ 11 first-half turnovers. She was held to seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.
North Carolina was held to the fewest points in its 81-game NCAA Tournament history. The Tar Heels’ previous low was a 55-46 loss to George Washington at the old Carolina Coliseum in Columbia 27 years ago.
The Gamecocks extended their program record with their 59th straight win at home in their final game of the season at Colonial Life Arena, where they averaged an NCAA-best 16,489 fans.
ALBANY REGIONAL 1
Oregon State 61, Nebraska 51
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Talia von Oelhoffen had 19 points and eight assists to help third-seeded Oregon State advanced to the Sweet 16 with a second-round victory against No. 6 Nebraska.
Raegan Beers added 10 points for the Beavers (26-7), who will cross the country to Albany to face the winner of today’s second-round game between second-seeded Notre Dame and No. 7 Mississippi in South Bend.
Jaz Shelley had 10 points and seven assists for the Huskers (23-13), who have not advanced to the Sweet 16 since 2013. She was the lone Nebraska player in double figures.
Alexis Markowski’s layup pulled the Huskers within 35-29 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Beavers responded with three straight 3-pointers to go up 44-29. Nebraska responded with a 6-0 run to get back within single digits.
Von Oelhoffen, who wore a sleeve on her arm with the word “heart” penned in magic marker, hit a 3-pointer that made it 49-35 for Oregon State with 3:46 left.
Natalie Potts’ layup got the Huskers as close at 59-51 in the final moments but ultimately Nebraska fell short.
ALBANY REGIONAL 2
LSU 83, Middle Tenn. 56
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Angel Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds and third-seeded LSU responded to a nine-point third-quarter deficit with a dominant finish to defeat upstart No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Flau’Jae Johnson scored 21 for the Tigers (30-5) and played central role in helping LSU surge to a comfortable second-half lead that ended the Blue Raiders’ 20-game winning streak.
The decisive victory came one day after LSU coach Kim Mulkey railed against the Washington Post -- and threatened potential legal action -- for what she described as an impending “hit piece” against her and promised it would not derail her team’s preparation for NCAA Tournament games.
MTSU (30-5) led 41-32 and looked primed to widen the gap when Reese tripped over a teammate on an attempted layup and crashed to the court, sending the Blue Raiders on a 5-on-4 fast break the other way.
But Jalynn Gregory’s open 3 bounced off the back rim to LSU guard Last-Tear Poa, who fired the ball down court, where Reese had just gotten to her feet and made an uncontested layup.
That play spawned a 10-0 run, fueled in part by Mikaylah Williams’ pull-up jumper in transition and her left corner 3, which put the Tigers back in front, 42-41.
Colorado 63, Kansas State 50
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- 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 today’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.
The Wildcats (26-8) had multiple chances to trim the deficit to three in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get the shots to fall.
PORTLAND REGIONAL 3
Duke 75, Ohio State 63
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Reigan Richardson scored 28 points and added seven rebounds as No. 7 seed Duke rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat No. 2 seed Ohio State 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 (22-11) 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, who move on to Portland, Ore., to play next weekend against the winner of Syracuse and UConn.
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.
Baylor 75, Virginia Tech 72
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Jada Walker scored 26 of her career-high 28 points in the second half to lead Baylor to a victory against Virginia Tech in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-seeded Bears (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021. Playing in her home state, Walker connected on 9-of-16 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the foul line.
Matilda Ekh paced fourth-seeded Virginia Tech (25-8) with 19 points, while Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack each finished with 18.
Walker made the big plays down the stretch for the Bears, who won for the eighth time in the past nine games. She scored the team’s final nine points, and none were bigger than her three-point play with 19.1 seconds left that gave Baylor a 73-69 lead.
Following a 3-pointer by Amoore with 16 seconds remaining, Virginia Tech fouled Walker, who hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining that gave the Bears a 75-72 lead. Virginia Tech was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds.
PORTLAND REGIONAL 4
Texas 65, Alabama 54
AUSTIN, Texas -- Aaliyah Moore matched her career best with 21 points, had 10 rebounds and made a timely defensive play in the fourth quarter to help No. 1 seed Texas beat Alabama.
Freshman Madison Booker also scored 21 for Texas, which will face the Utah-Gonzaga winner Friday in the Sweet 16 in Portland, Ore. Booker wears No. 35 in honor of Kevin Durant, who was at the game.
Texas (32-4) has its most victories since finishing 32-3 in 1987-88.
DeYona Gaston had seven of her nine points, and six of her seven rebounds, in the second half. Taylor Jones had four of the Longhorns’ 11 blocked shots.
Jones left the game midway through the first quarter after falling and hitting the back of her head on the court while contesting a rebound. She went to the locker room but returned in the second quarter.
Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 17 for Alabama (24-10), a No. 8 seed, and Aaliyah Nye added 14.
Stanford 87, Iowa State 81, OT
STANFORD, Calif. -- Brooke Demetre hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in overtime and Kiki Iriafen scored 11 of her career-high 41 points in OT, securing No. 2 Stanford a place in the Portland Regional with a thrilling win against seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Addy Brown knocked down a 3 from the top of the arc with 31 seconds left in OT to put Iowa State ahead, only for Demetre to answer from nearly the same spot moments later -- and six of her eight total points came on timely 3s. She also hit two free throws with 11.7 seconds left to help seal it.
Iriafen converted a three-point play with 3:41 left in overtime after drawing the fifth foul on star Iowa State freshman Audi Crooks and also contributed 16 rebounds and three blocks. Talana Lepolo added a 3 in the extra period and Iriafen had a go-ahead baseline jumper with 1:59 to go before scoring again the next time down.
The Cyclones' Emily Ryan hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:45 to play, another 3 in overtime and tying free throws with 1:03 left in OT to finish with 36 points in her gutsy, spectacular finale.