Defending champ SC holds off Indiana

Published 6:10 pm Sunday, March 23, 2025

Field Level Media

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 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.

OLE MISS 69, BAYLOR 63: Madison Scott buried a pullup jumper with 40.4 seconds left Sunday to snap a tie and the 5th-seeded Rebels ended the game with an 8-2 run to eliminate the 4th-seeded Bears on their home floor in Waco.

The Rebels sealed the outcome by canning six straight free throws in the last 29.9 seconds, improving to 22-10 and earning just their third berth in a regional semifinal since 1993. They will match up with either UCLA or Richmond in the next round of the Spokane 1 Region. Sira Thienou scored 16 points for Ole Miss, while Scott added 14 and Kirsten Deans hit for 13 points. The Rebels made only 25 of 67 field goal attempts but went 17 of 21 at the foul line, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and forced 21 turnovers.

Four players scored in double figures for the Bears (28-8), led by Antoinette Vonleh with 16 points. Jada Walker added 15, while Sarah Andrews chipped in 14 points and six assists. Darianna Littlepage-Buggs came off the bench to net 10 points.

K. STATE 80, KENTUCKY 79: Temira Poindexter hit her eighth 3-pointer of the game with 1:09 left in overtime Sunday and fifth-seeded Kansas State pulled off a mild upset, 80-79, of No. 4 Kentucky on its home floor in Lexington in a matchup of Wildcats in the Spokane 4 Region.

Kentucky (23-8) had several chances to win on its last possession, the last coming when Georgia Amoore tried a short baseline floater after an inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left. The ball rolled around the rim and fell out as time expired. Poindexter scored a game-high 24 points for Kansas State (28-7), which canned 14 of 35 3-pointers.

Serena Sundell added 19 points and 14 assists, while Ayoka Lee tallied 16 points and reserve Kennedy Taylor netted 11. Clara Strack led Kentucky with 22 points, while Amoore added 18 points and six assists. Dazia Lawrence contributed 15 points, while Teonni Key chipped in 13 points and 15 rebounds. Kansas State forced overtime when Serena Sundell canned a jumper with 8.1 seconds left in regulation. It will play either USC or Mississippi State in a regional semifinal.

DUKE 59, 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.

NOTRE DAME 76, 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, 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 from the floor. Syla Swords added 17 points.