A dominant third quarter helped defending national champion South Carolina keep its ambitions of back-to-back titles alive, as the top-seeded Gamecocks rallied from a halftime deficit to top No. 9 seed Indiana 64-53 on Sunday in Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks (32-3) went into intermission trailing their Birmingham Region 2 second-round matchup 26-25 after shooting just 10 of 29 from the floor.
South Carolina scored more in the third quarter with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting than in the entire first half — in the process building a double-digit cushion it maintained for much of the fourth quarter. Chloe Kitts recorded a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), while Bree Hall scored a team-high 11 points and Sania Feagin added 10.
Shay Ciezki led Indiana (20-13) with 12 points. The Hoosiers shot 10 of 24 in the second half and committed eight turnovers, which South Carolina converted into nine points.
No. 2 Duke 59, No. 10 Oregon 53
Ashlon Jackson scored all 20 of her points in the second half to lead the Blue Devils past the Ducks in Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils (28-7) overcame a 38.2-percent shooting performance from the floor by forcing the Ducks into 17 turnovers. Duke, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season, converted those takeaways into 18 points.
Reigan Richardson had 13 points and six rebounds for Duke. Deja Kelly led the Ducks (20-12) with 20 points. Phillipina Kyei recorded a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Birmingham Region 3
No. 2 TCU 85, No. 7 Louisville 70
Hailey Van Lith recorded 16 points and 10 assists, leading the Horned Frogs to a rout of the Cardinals, her former team, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Van Lith, who played at Louisville from 2020 through 2023, was one of four TCU scorers with at least 16 points. Agnes Emma-Nnopu posted a team-high 23 points on 8-of-12 field-goal shooting, Sedona Prince scored 19 points and Donovyn Hunter shot 6 of 6 from the floor on the way to 18 points.
Texas Tech (33-3) shot 63 percent from the field (29 of 46), including a just-as-torrid 61.1 percent (11 of 18) from 3-point range. TCU’s red-hot start of 70.4 percent in the first half opened up a 47-26 lead.
The Cardinals (22-11) leaned on Jayda Curry, who delivered the highest-scoring performance of the women’s tournament so with 41 points. She shot 6 of 12 from 3-point range in the loss and added five assists and three steals.
TCU advances to the program’s first-ever Sweet 16 and will face No. 3 Notre Dame on Saturday.
No. 3 Notre Dame 76, No. 6 Michigan 55
Liatu King shot 7 of 7 from the floor en route to 18 points, and the Fighting Irish’s game-opening 11-2 run set the tone in a romp over the Wolverines in South Bend, Ind.
The Fighting Irish (28-5) pounced on the Wolverines early, racing out to a 32-12 lead through the first period. Hannah Hidalgo led Notre Dame with 21 points for the game, Sonia Citron (16 points) hit 3 of 6 shots from 3-point range and King contributed 15 rebounds.
Freshman Olivia Olson scored 20 points to lead Michigan (23-11), which shot just 36.8 percent (21 of 57) from the floor. Syla Swords added 17 points.
No. 5 Tennessee 82, No. 4 Ohio State 67
The Lady Volunteers emerged from a wild second half to top the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio.
Tennessee (24-9) went on a 14-0 run early in the third quarter, but Ohio State (26-7) then responded with a 20-2 tear to take a brief lead. Tennessee ultimately held the Buckeyes scoreless for a stretch lasting almost four minutes and advanced to its third Sweet 16 in the last four seasons.
Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper and Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points, with Cooper adding eight rebounds, seven steals and five assists.
Zee Spearman added 17 points for the Lady Volunteers on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Cotie McMahon scored 17 for Ohio State.
Tennessee capitalized on 23 Ohio State turnovers, converting them into 37 points.
-Field Level Media
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