03/23/26 09:14:00
Printable Page
03/23 21:10 CDT Edwards, Okot power top-seed South Carolina into Sweet 16 with
101-61 victory over USC
Edwards, Okot power top-seed South Carolina into Sweet 16 with 101-61 victory
over USC
By PETE IACOBELLI
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) --- Joyce Edwards had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Madina
Okot added her 22nd double-double this season with 15 points and 15 rebounds
and top-seeded South Carolina advanced to its 12th straight Sweet 16 with a
101-61 victory over No. 9 seed Southern California in the women's NCAA
Tournament on Monday night.
The Gamecocks (33-3) opened with a 13-0 run, were ahead 51-21 at halftime and
cruised to their 18th straight NCAA win at home. They'll get a rematch at the
Sacramento 4 regional when they face fourth-seeded Oklahoma, one of two teams
to defeat South Carolina this season.
USC advanced to the Elite Eight the past two seasons led by the superstar JuJu
Watkins, who tore her ACL in last year's NCAA Tournament. This time, all
Watkins could do was watch from her seat on the bench as her teammates had no
answers for the Gamecocks.
Okot, the 6-foot-6 Mississippi State transfer, had 10 points and 11 rebounds
before halftime while fifth-year point guard Raven Johnson, playing her final
game at Colonial Life Arena, reached 1,000 career points in the opening half.
South Carolina's defense locked down hard on the Trojans, especially freshman
leading scorer Jazzy Davidson, who had 31 points in her team's opening-round
71-67 OT win over Clemson on Saturday.
Davidson finished with 16 points, but made 5 of 15 from the field. Londynn
Jones led USC with 20 points.
The Trojans lost for fifth time in their past six games with this being the
largest margin of defeat in their NCAA Tournament history, surpassing an 85-51
loss to Duke in the second round in 2006.
Up next
South Carolina will face Oklahoma, one of two teams it lost to this season
(Texas beat the Gamecocks twice), in Sacramento on Saturday.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
|
