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South Carolina women roll in March Madness opener


COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Zia Cooke scored 11 points as No. 1 South Carolina moved five wins away from a perfect season after opening the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 72-40 victory over No. 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday.

Aliyah Boston had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (33-0), who won their 39th straight game dating back to last year’s NCAA title run and moved to 11-0 in first-round games under coach Dawn Staley. They’ll face No. 8 seed South Florida on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16 in the Greenville, South Carolina Regional.

This was a colossal mismatch from the tip like so many other games South Carolina’s been a part of this season.

Norfolk State’s tallest player is freshman forward Skye Robinson at 6-foot-2. South Carolina has seven players that tall or taller. The Spartans’ tallest player on the bench? Larry Vickers, the team’s 6-9 head coach, who walked onto the Spartans’ men’s team and eventually became a team captain.

Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State with 13 points.

No. 8 SOUTH FLORIDA 67, No. 9 MARQUETTE 65, OT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 22 points and Elena Tsineke’s jumper with 31.2 seconds left in overtime put South Florida ahead for good in a win over Marquette.

The Golden Eagles (22-11) had a final look to win, but Mackenzie Hare’s 3-pointer went inside the rim and rolled out with a second to play.

The Bulls (27-6), who didn’t lead for the game’s first 38 minutes, rallied several times including from 47-36 down in regulation to tie their mark for wins in a season.

The Bulls appeared to have the game won at the end of the fourth quarter, ahead 59-55 after Tsineke’s 3-pointer with 31.7 to play. But Hare’s two foul shots after a South Florida turnover tied things and forced the extra session.

The lead changed hands six times in overtime, the last on Tsineke’s basket.

No. 2 MARYLAND 93, No. 15 HOLY CROSS 61

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Abby Meyers scored 16 points and Diamond Miller added 13 points and eight rebounds as Maryland rolled to a victory over Holy Cross.

The Terrapins (26-6) scored the game’s first 14 points and advanced to face seventh-seeded Arizona on Sunday. Maryland was able to give its top players plenty of rest, with Miller, Meyers and Shyanne Sellers each playing a little over half the game.

Sellers had 13 points and eight assists, and Brinae Alexander led Maryland in scoring with 18 points.

Holy Cross (24-9) was led by Simone Foreman’s 13 points.

No. 7 ARIZONA 75, No. 10 WEST VIRGINIA 62

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Cate Reese scored 25 points and Esmery Martinez hadd a double-double against her former team, helping Arizona to a victory over West Virginia.

The Wildcats (22-9) started fast and never trailed, and will next play the winner of Friday’s Maryland-Holy Cross game. Arizona entered the tournament on a three-game losing streak, but had a couple weeks off before this matchup.

The Wildcats seemed refreshed early on, shooting 72% from the field in the first quarter. West Virginia was holding opponents to 61 points per game this season, but Arizona looked ready to breeze past that after just one quarter and a 28-17 lead.

The Mountaineers (19-12) eventually settled in. It was a seven-point game at halftime, and Arizona’s lead was down to three early in the third. Wildcats guard Shaina Pellington picked up her third and fourth fouls a few seconds apart in the third, but after two free throws by West Virginia made it 42-39, Arizona eventually pulled away again.

JJ Quinerly led West Virginia with 19 points.

SEATTLE 4 REGIONAL

No. 10 GEORGIA 66, No. 7 FLORIDA STATE 54

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Diamond Battles scored 21 points and Audrey Warren added 11 points as Georgia defeated Florida State.

Jordan Isaacs had 10 points and Javyn Nicholson had 13 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs (22-11).

Georgia led 43-40 with 2:03 left in the third quarter before going on a 14-0 run that extended three minutes into the fourth quarter. Florida State would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

Florida State (23-10), a No. 7 seed, had just eight available players for the tournament. The university announced on Thursday morning that freshman guard Ta’Niya Latson and sophomore guard O’Mariah Gordon were out for the rest of the season because of injuries.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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