Kierstan Bell scored eight of her team-high 22 points in the final 4:51 to lift No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast over No. 5 Virginia Tech 84-81 during the Spokane Region first-round matchup at College Park, Md.
Virginia Tech (23-10) wasted a phenomenal performance by Elizabeth Kitley, who had 42 points on 16-for-27 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Bell added a team-high eight rebounds for Florida Gulf Coast (30-2) and Tishara Morehouse finished with 13 points and nine assists, while Karli Seay and Kerstie Phills added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 16 Howard 21
The Gamecocks (30-2) held the Bison (21-10) to just four first-half points, the fewest ever in a half of an NCAA Tournament game. The Gamecocks, who led 44-4 at halftime, were fueled by Aliyah Boston’s game-high 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sania Feagin finished with 10 points and seven rebounds and Victaria Saxton posted eight points and 13 rebounds in the Greensboro Region first-round contest in Columbia, S.C.
No. 8 Miami 78, No. 9 South Florida 66
The Hurricanes (21-12) led 24-11 after the first quarter and were up by as many as 19 points in cruising to their ninth win in their past 11 games behind Karla Erjavec’s 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kelsey Marshall added 12 points and Lola Pendande had 11. Elena Tsineke led the Bulls (24-9) with a game-high 21 points in the Greensboro Region first-round contest in Columbia, S.C.
No. 10 South Dakota 75, No. 7 Ole Miss 61
The Coyotes (28-5) jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first five minutes and never trailed against the Rebels (23-9) in the Wichita Region first-round matchup at Waco, Texas. Chloe Lamb had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Hannah Sjerven added 20 points and seven rebounds and Maddie Krull chipped in 13 points and four assists. Angel Baker scored 23 points for the Rebels.
No. 10 Creighton 84, No. 7 Colorado 74
The Bluejays used a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to take a nine-point lead before holding on against the Buffaloes (22-9), who pulled to within four on two occasions, the last with 46 seconds remaining. Creighton (21-9) was led by Morgan Maly, who had team highs of 20 points and eight rebounds, while Lauren Jensen and Molly Mogensen added 16 points apiece in the Greensboro Region first-round matchup at Iowa City, Iowa.
–Field Level Media
