GREENSBORO, N.C. — Creighton took down a No. 6 seed, Colorado. It defeated second-seeded Iowa. Now it has develop into the uncommon No. 10 seed to succeed in the spherical of 8.
Creighton delivered its third consecutive upset by beating the No. 4 seed Iowa State, 76-68, on Friday evening within the N.C.A.A. ladies’s event. The Bluejays will play South Carolina on Sunday for a spot within the Last 4.
Iowa State left path after path open for Creighton, and the Bluejays’ younger, sharp offense moved proper in. On protection, Creighton denied inside baskets for Iowa State.
This was already Creighton’s first journey to the spherical of 16 in program historical past. Creighton was one in every of two No. 10 seeds nonetheless within the discipline within the spherical of 16 after an upset win over second-seeded Iowa within the second spherical. The opposite No. 10 seed, South Dakota, performs No. 3 Michigan on Saturday within the Wichita area.
The Cyclones and Bluejays relied closely on their outdoors shooters: Mixed, the 2 groups tried 50 3-pointers.
Creighton pulled away within the third quarter and led by as many as 13 factors within the fourth. Guard Morgan Maly led the Bluejays with 21 factors.
Ashley Joens, a senior guard for Iowa State who was a second workforce all-American, sat out a lot of the primary half after committing two fouls. Emily Ryan as an alternative led the Cyclones with 22 factors.
The Bluejays let the clock run out and greeted a small however ecstatic group of Creighton followers, sealing their win with a ceremonial spritz of bubbles on the court docket.
“This workforce continues to amaze me,” Coach Jim Flanery stated. “We’re so pleased with how they’ve grown, what sort of battle they’ve and the way they play for one another.”
The group was a lot diminished after the Greensboro Coliseum drew native followers for the South Carolina vs. North Carolina sport. An brisk Iowa State band had distractions prepared for Creighton at each drive.
Dive Deeper Into the N.C.A.A. Tournaments
However one fan favourite caught round: Daybreak Staley, South Carolina’s coach, greeted followers within the stands earlier than taking a seat courtside to measure up the workforce that her Gamecocks can be going through on Sunday.
— Remy Tumin
Aliyah Boston dominates for the Gamecocks.
There might be just one winner within the battle of the Carolinas.
South Carolina, hungry for its first nationwide championship title in 5 years, edged North Carolina within the spherical of 16 within the N.C.A.A. ladies’s event, defeating the Tar Heels, 69-61, on Friday evening.
Whereas the Tar Heels have been on a disruptive path within the Greensboro area, sending fourth-seeded Arizona packing on its residence court docket within the second spherical, the younger workforce was no match for the depth of the Gamecocks. Aliyah Boston, the star junior ahead who has been the centerpiece of her workforce, secured her twenty seventh consecutive double-double with 28 factors and 22 rebounds, and the senior ahead Victaria Saxton delivered when her workforce wanted her most with 14 rebounds and two key blocks.
Boston secured all 13 factors for South Carolina within the fourth quarter.
However the win didn’t come simply. South Carolina struggled to maintain up with the speedy Tar Heels within the first half as they repeatedly drove downcourt, staying low and quick down the lane. The Gamecocks allowed 23 factors within the first quarter. Deja Kelly, North Carolina’s sophomore guard, danced round South Carolina’s protection to steer her workforce with 23 factors.
However Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke responded with the pace and scoring the Gamecocks wanted to remain afloat. Henderson completed with 13 factors and Cooke scored 15, ending the second quarter on her again after a profitable leap shot. After they missed a basket, Boston got here in and completed it off with two, three, typically 4 Tar Heels practically hanging off her.
“That was a tricky sport — hats off to North Carolina for taking part in a particularly environment friendly basketball sport,” Coach Daybreak Staley stated. “They pushed us to the restrict.”
The sport was the third Candy 16 matchup between the applications since 2014, and North Carolina’s first look within the third spherical since 2015, when it misplaced to South Carolina. The Gamecocks will subsequent face Creighton.
Gamecock and Tar Heel followers alike crammed the Greensboro Coliseum, only a three-hour drive from Columbia, S.C., and an hour’s drive from Chapel Hill, N.C., making a sea of sunshine blue and pink towards South Carolina’s neon inexperienced and pink sneakers.
The Gamecocks have been on the lookout for redemption after dropping to Stanford final 12 months within the semifinals by two factors. However coming into Friday’s sport, a Gamecock win was removed from a certain wager. Whereas their ferocious protection, the most effective within the event, has denied its competitors repeatedly, the Gamecocks’ offense has struggled to transform drives to factors.
“This reveals it’s solely going to get harder and harder,” Cooke stated after the sport. “We’ve got preserve our foot on the fuel the entire time.”
— Remy Tumin
Texas elbows previous Ohio State in a bodily sport.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Texas superior to the spherical of 8 for the second straight event with a 66-63 victory over Ohio State on Friday, aided by decisive play from its senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor and the workforce’s go-to publish gamers, Lauren Ebo and Aaliyah Moore.
The Buckeyes’ finest two scorers all season, Jacy Sheldon and Taylor Mikesell, mixed for 36 factors, not sufficient to beat the Longhorns’ bodily protection.
The Longhorns took an early lead, staying forward till Texas’ level guard, the freshman Rori Harmon, picked up two fouls within the first quarter when a cost and a blocking name didn’t go her means in fast succession.
From that time, it began to look as if Ohio State may beat Texas at its personal sport, urgent the Longhorns from baseline to baseline each time they inbounded the ball. Texas Coach Vic Schaefer stated that the press “is simply who we’re” earlier than the sport, nevertheless it was the Buckeyes who threatened turnovers each time the Longhorns needed to take the ball throughout halfcourt.
The Buckeyes ended the primary quarter with a 4-point lead thanks largely to Sheldon, who saved discovering methods to attain even when alternatives to shoot have been exhausting to return by.
Allen-Taylor, who completed the primary half with 13 factors and added 4 within the second, allowed Texas to enter the locker room with a lead by muscling to the basket with simply three seconds left and coming away with the bucket and the foul. That she was in a position to escape the primary half with out a single private foul was notably notable, given how bodily the sport was to that time. The groups mixed for only one profitable 3-pointer within the first half, and gamers needed to battle for each try whether or not it was past the arc or inside it.
The Longhorns discovered a little bit momentum halfway by means of the third quarter, forcing turnovers and scoring off them whereas getting second-chance factors. However Ohio State’s senior guard Braxtin Miller hit all however one shot she tried that quarter, scoring 8 factors and retaining Texas from getting comfy.
Nonetheless, the Buckeyes began to look rather less energized and started to put off their full-court press. Getting into the ultimate body, Texas had stretched its result in 5 factors.
Texas would lead by as many as 10 factors, till Ohio State compelled a collection of turnovers that introduced the sport proper again inside attain with simply 4 minutes remaining. The Longhorns’ lead shrank to 1 level as the sport clock wound down, and the Buckeyes had the ball. However Texas was ready to make use of the protection that has been its calling card all season lengthy, power a turnover and make its free throws to seal the win.
— Natalie Weiner
Stanford cruises previous Maryland.
No. 1-seeded Stanford regarded higher than ever on Friday evening because it cruised to its twenty third straight victory, lengthening the longest energetic successful streak in Division I.
Stanford, the defending nationwide champion, beat fourth-seeded Maryland 72-66 to earn a visit to the Spokane regional closing. For the second consecutive 12 months, the Terrapins will head residence after the Candy 16.
Stanford guard Haley Jones proved to be an issue early on for the Terrapins, sinking a 3-pointer for the sport’s first basket and scoring 8 factors within the first quarter. The Cardinal regarded so accountable for each ends of the ground that Fran Belibi virtually replicated her dunk from Stanford’s first-round sport, blocking Chloe Bibby’s 3-point shot and racing to the opposite finish to put in a finger roll.
Maryland was in a position to stifle Stanford’s offensive output considerably within the second quarter, however couldn’t translate its stops into profitable possessions. Then Stanford would discover a option to get the ball to its 6-foot-4 sophomore Cameron Brink miles away from the basket, and he or she would nonetheless make a 3-point shot — and Maryland’s exhausting work on protection would out of the blue appear meaningless.
Stanford’s Hull twins, Lexie and Lacie, grew up in Spokane. After they hit their first pictures of the sport inside a 30-second span late within the first half, the world erupted. Stanford took its largest lead of the sport to that time, cementing the sense that the Cardinal have been already staunchly accountable for the end result. They led 39-23 at halftime.
The Terrapins have been combating to get again within the sport early within the third quarter, when guard Diamond Miller picked up her fourth private foul as she was combating for a leap ball. From that time the sport began to get out of hand, with Stanford’s lead stretching to 26 factors late within the third.
Although Maryland pulled inside 6 factors down the stretch, it solely served to make the dominating Stanford win look a little bit nearer on paper than it was. Jones completed with 17 factors and 10 rebounds, and Lexie Hull accomplished the hometown tour as Stanford’s main scorer with 19 factors.
— Natalie Weiner
