COLONIAL LIFE ARENA: It turned out not to be as easy as the first time, but top-seeded South Carolina took care of business in first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with a 91-39 victory over No. 16 seed Presbyterian, Friday.
The Gamecocks advance to a second-round matchup with No. 8-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels survived a late scare to hold off Michigan State 59-56 in the first game on Friday. Those two will square off on Sunday at a time to be announced later. The Gamecocks and Tar Heels played on November 30, with South Carolina claiming a 65-58 victory.
Five South Carolina players were in double figures with sophomore Chloe Kitts leading the way with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Kitts finished a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor and that helped the Gamecocks shoot 56 percent from the field despite missing two starters.
South Carolina (33-0) played with just eight players. The Gamecocks were without Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall. Cardoso was serving a one-game suspension imposed by the NCAA for her involvement in the late game fight against LSU. Hall watched the game from the bench in street clothes. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she expected both to be back on Sunday.
This was a rematch from when these two teams played earlier this season. South Carolina posted a 99-29 victory over Presbyterian on December 16. This time around, it was a much more competitive first half with the Gamecocks holding a 48-25 lead at the half. The Blue Hose tired some in the final two minutes and allowed South Carolina to outscore them 43-14 in the second half, including 17-2 in the fourth quarter when they made just 1-of-14 shots.
Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 points in her first NCAA Tournament game with the Gamecocks. The Oregon transfer connected on four three-points to help South Carolina finish 9-fo-24 from beyond the arc. MiLaysia Fulwiley continued her recent hot play as well. The freshman won MVP at the SEC Tournament and came out to hit a season-best five three-pointers in scoring 17 points. Sania Feagin also recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds with Raven Johnson chipping in with 11 points.
The Gamecocks had the lead reach double figures just over seven minutes into the game and it never was single digits again.
Presbyterian (21-15) finished its best-ever season since joining the NCAA Division I ranks. The Blue Hose defeated Sacred Heart 49-42 on Wednesday in the play-in game to win a tournament game in its first-ever appearance. Tilda Sjokvist and Paige Kindseth paced the Presbyterian attack with nine points each in the loss to the Gamecocks. The Blue Hose earned its spot in the postseason after winning the Big South Tournament championship.
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