SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Brianna Butler scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:01 left, and Syracuse upset No. 1 seed South Carolina 80-72 in the Sioux Falls Regional semifinal of the
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Brianna Butler scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:01 left, and Syracuse upset No. 1 seed South Carolina 80-72 in the Sioux Falls Regional semifinal of the women’s NCAA Tournament Friday night.
Syracuse trailed by as many as 13 late in the first half and was still down 11 in the middle of the third quarter before coming back to stun a Gamecocks team that looked destined to make another appearance in the Final Four.
Instead, the fourth-seeded Orange (28-7) head to a regional final for the first time after winning for the 14th time in 15 games. Syracuse plays Tennessee or Ohio State on Sunday in the regional final.
Alexis Peterson scored 25 points to lead the Orange, Brittney Sykes added 17 and Briana Day had 13 rebounds.
Alaina Coates had 18 points and 16 rebounds for South Carolina (33-2).
No. 4 Stanford 90,
No. 1 Notre Dame 84
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Erica McCall scored a career-high 27 points and No. 4 seed Stanford stunned No. 1 seed Notre Dame 90-84 on Friday night in an NCAA Lexington Regional semifinal, ending the Fighting Irish’s bid for a sixth straight Final Four appearance.
Stanford (27-7) advanced to the regional final Sunday against No. 7 seed Washington, which upset No. 3 seed Kentucky 85-72 in the other semifinal. Stanford beat Washington during the regular season and lost to the Huskies in the Pac-12 Tournament.
After trailing by as many as 15 points, Notre Dame (33-2) cut it to 81-78 on Madison Cable’s basket with 2:05 left. Stanford’s Karlie Samuelson, who scored 20 points, answered by banking in a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring with 1:31 remaining.
Stanford stayed ahead by at least four the rest of the way.
Lindsay Allen scored 20 points for Notre Dame.
No. 7 Washington 95,
No. 3 Kentucky 72
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Talia Walton scored 30 points, Chantel Osahor had 19 points and 17 rebounds and seventh-seeded Washington beat third-seeded Kentucky 85-72 on Friday night in an NCAA Lexington Regional semifinal.
Kelsey Plum added 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help Washington reach its first regional final since 2001. The Huskies (25-10) will seek their first Final Four appearance in school history Sunday when they face No. 1 seed Notre Dame or No. 4 seed Stanford in the regional final
Washington has shown a knack for delivering in hostile territory. The Huskies followed up their second-round upset of No. 2 seed Maryland on the Terrapins’ home floor by surprising the Wildcats at Rupp Arena.
Makayla Epps scored 30 points for Kentucky (25-8). Evelyn Akhataor had 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Alexis Jennings added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 7 Tennessee 78,
No. 3 Ohio State 62
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Mercedes Russell scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Tennessee continued its surprising run in the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 78-62 victory over Ohio State in a Sioux Falls Regional semifinal Friday night.
The Lady Vols (22-13), who upset No. 2 seed Arizona State last Sunday, beat the No. 3 Buckeyes (26-8) to reach the Elite Eight for the fifth time in six years. They’ll play Sunday against No. 4 Syracuse, which stunned top-seeded South Carolina 80-72 in the first semifinal.
Russell and fellow post player Bashaara Graves combined to make their first 13 shots from the field before Russell missed a tough one in the middle of the third quarter. The two combined for 22 of the Lady Vols’ first 28 points as they got out to a 43-35 halftime lead.
Ameryst Alston led the Buckeyes with 21 points and Kelsey Mitchell had 20 while playing all 40 minutes.
