SPOKANE, Wash. — Aneesah Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds, Kailyn Gilbert had a critical block that set up Mikaylah Williams’ go-ahead layup with 1:07 remaining and No. 3 seed LSU rallied past second-seeded N.C. State 80-73 in a tense NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Friday.
The Wolfpack led 69-64 with 4:29 left before LSU began to surge, led by Williams, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. After Gilbert blocked a layup attempt by N.C. State’s Zoe Brooks, Williams converted on the other end to make it 74-73 — part of a game-closing 10-0 run for the Tigers (31-5).
LSU, which won the national title two years ago for coach Kim Mulkey, reached the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season and will face either top-seeded UCLA or No. 5 Mississippi on Sunday. Mulkey also won three national titles at Baylor.
Sa’Myah Smith had 21 points and 11 rebounds for LSU, and Williams finished with 17 points and eight boards.
Brooks led N.C. State (28-7) with 21 points. Coach Wes Moore’s Wolfpack fell short in their bid to reach a second straight Final Four.
The game featured seven lead changes and four ties, and LSU’s 21-10 advantage in the first quarter was the biggest lead for either team. Morrow, a Chicago native and Simeon graduate, had 10 points in the first.
N.C. State surged back ahead to take a 40-36 halftime lead, and Morrow again dominated in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her team’s 21 points in the period to put LSU ahead 57-53.
NC State opened the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run. The Wolfpack held LSU without a field goal until Morrow made a layup with just over seven minutes to play.
Morrow, the nation’s top rebounder, had her 30th double-double of the season. Her effort helped the Tigers outrebound the Wolfpack 52-36, including an 18-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
The 6-foot-1 forward is one of two women in NCAA history with more than 100 double-doubles. She’s also the only player in the country with more than 600 points and 450 rebounds this season.
South Carolina 71, Maryland 67
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 seed South Carolina beat fourth-seeded Maryland.
The defending national champion Gamecocks went back-and-forth with the Terrapins all game before finally doing enough in the final few minutes to put it away. South Carolina will play Duke on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
Dawn Staley’s team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes. Fulwiley’s layup began the 7-0 run that gave the Gamecocks (33-3) just enough of a cushion.
Kitts added three free throws during the run and Fulwiley scored on a coast-to-coast drive.
The Gamecocks were up 66-60 with 25 seconds left when Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland’s scoring drought with a 3-pointer.
But the Terps couldn’t get closer as the Gamecocks made five of six free throws down the stretch, including two by Fulwiley with 10.9 seconds left that made it 71-65.
Duke 47, North Carolina 38
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Oluchi Okananwa recorded her third double-double of the season to lead No. 2 seed Duke past No. 3 North Carolina and into the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils will make their 12th Elite Eight appearance in program history and will play South Carolina on Sunday.
Okananwa scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds off the bench for Duke. Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke’s leading scorer this season who missed the second round with an illness, was held to three points.
Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Tar Heels, who fell short of advancing to their first Elite Eight since 2014.
Aneesah Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds, helping No. 3 seed LSU rallied past second-seeded N.C. State 80-73 in a tense NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Friday.
SPOKANE, Wash. — Aneesah Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds, Kailyn Gilbert had a critical block that set up Mikaylah Williams’ go-ahead layup with 1:07 remaining and No. 3 seed LSU rallied past second-seeded N.C. State 80-73 in a tense NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Friday.
The Wolfpack led 69-64 with 4:29 left before LSU began to surge, led by Williams, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. After Gilbert blocked a layup attempt by N.C. State’s Zoe Brooks, Williams converted on the other end to make it 74-73 — part of a game-closing 10-0 run for the Tigers (31-5).
LSU, which won the national title two years ago for coach Kim Mulkey, reached the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season and will face either top-seeded UCLA or No. 5 Mississippi on Sunday. Mulkey also won three national titles at Baylor.
Sa’Myah Smith had 21 points and 11 rebounds for LSU, and Williams finished with 17 points and eight boards.
Brooks led N.C. State (28-7) with 21 points. Coach Wes Moore’s Wolfpack fell short in their bid to reach a second straight Final Four.
The game featured seven lead changes and four ties, and LSU’s 21-10 advantage in the first quarter was the biggest lead for either team. Morrow, a Chicago native and Simeon graduate, had 10 points in the first.
N.C. State surged back ahead to take a 40-36 halftime lead, and Morrow again dominated in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her team’s 21 points in the period to put LSU ahead 57-53.
NC State opened the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run. The Wolfpack held LSU without a field goal until Morrow made a layup with just over seven minutes to play.
Morrow, the nation’s top rebounder, had her 30th double-double of the season. Her effort helped the Tigers outrebound the Wolfpack 52-36, including an 18-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
The 6-foot-1 forward is one of two women in NCAA history with more than 100 double-doubles. She’s also the only player in the country with more than 600 points and 450 rebounds this season.
South Carolina 71, Maryland 67
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 seed South Carolina beat fourth-seeded Maryland.
The defending national champion Gamecocks went back-and-forth with the Terrapins all game before finally doing enough in the final few minutes to put it away. South Carolina will play Duke on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
Dawn Staley’s team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes. Fulwiley’s layup began the 7-0 run that gave the Gamecocks (33-3) just enough of a cushion.
Kitts added three free throws during the run and Fulwiley scored on a coast-to-coast drive.
The Gamecocks were up 66-60 with 25 seconds left when Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland’s scoring drought with a 3-pointer.
But the Terps couldn’t get closer as the Gamecocks made five of six free throws down the stretch, including two by Fulwiley with 10.9 seconds left that made it 71-65.
Duke 47, North Carolina 38
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Oluchi Okananwa recorded her third double-double of the season to lead No. 2 seed Duke past No. 3 North Carolina and into the Elite Eight.
The Blue Devils will make their 12th Elite Eight appearance in program history and will play South Carolina on Sunday.
Okananwa scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds off the bench for Duke. Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke’s leading scorer this season who missed the second round with an illness, was held to three points.
Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Tar Heels, who fell short of advancing to their first Elite Eight since 2014.
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