South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston shoots against North Carolina forward Alexandra Zelaya during the second half Friday in Greensboro, N.C. Gerry Broome/Associated Press
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Aliyah Boston had 28 points and 22 rebounds, and top-seeded South Carolina moved on to the Elite Eight with a 69-61 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 fourth-quarter 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.
Carlie Littlefield made a 3-pointer from the right corner to draw North Carolina within 63-59, but Boston grabbed Zia Cooke’s missed shot — her 11th offensive board — got fouled and made both free throws.
Anya Poole’s layup made it 65-61 with 2:04 left for UNC. Boston made an inside bucket a minute later, then closed things out with two foul shots with 18.4 seconds left for the final margin.
South Carolina was off to its fifth Elite Eight in the past eight NCAA Tournaments.
CREIGHTON 76, IOWA STATE 68: Morgan Maly scored a career-high 21 points to help 10th-seeded Creighton beat Iowa State, matching the lowest ever seed to reach a women’s regional final.
Tatum Rembao added 19 points for the Bluejays, who entered the Greensboro Region semifinals savoring the program’s first run to the Sweet 16. Now, Creighton has joined Lamar in 1991 and Oregon in 2017 as No. 10 seeds that reached Elite Eight.
Creighton (23-9), which upset second-seeded Iowa in the second round, shot 55% after halftime with six 3-pointers. As third-seeded Iowa State (28-7) made a desperate comeback to within three points, the Bluejays maintained control by knocking down enough free throws to keep the Cyclones and Associated Press second-team All-American Ashley Joens at arm’s distance.
Rembao was key in that, making 6 of 8 in the final 45 seconds.
Texas guard Rori Harmon, left, drives past Ohio State guard Taylor Mikesell during the first half of Friday’s game in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament in Spokane, Wash. Young Kwak/Associated Press
SPOKANE REGION
TEXAS 66, OHIO STATE 63: Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 17 points, and Texas beat Ohio State on Friday night in Spokane, Washington, to advance to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
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, their opponent in the Spokane Region final on Sunday.
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.
Texas made five shots in a row to build a 60-50 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Buckeyes scored eight straight points to pull within two.
Lauren Ebo made a pair of free throws for Texas and Rori Harmon’s basket lifted the Longhorns to a 64-61 lead with just over a minute left.
Tanaya Beacham cut the Texas lead to 64-63, and the Buckeyes called time out with 28 seconds left. Sheldon missed a jumper on the ensuing play and Texas rebounded. Harmon took a hard foul after getting the ball past half court, then sank both free throws for a 66-63 lead with 10 seconds left.
A 3-point attempt by Beacham was blocked by freshman Aaliyah Moore as the game ended.
STANFORD 72, MARYLAND 66: Lexie Hull scored 19 points in her hometown, Haley Jones added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and top-seeded Stanford rolled into the Spokane Region 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 trimmed the deficit to 68-59 with 1:41 left, but couldn’t get much closer.
Cameron Brink added 15 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes for the Cardinal before fouling out late. When Brink picked up her third foul early in the third quarter, Hull picked up the scoring punch with 10 points in the quarter.
Hull and twin sister Lacie grew up in Spokane and both drew the loudest cheers all night.
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 after scoring 47 points combined in the first two tournament games.
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