COLUMBIA − South Carolina women’s basketball is expected to have a full roster back when it faces North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday (1 pm, ABC) at Colonial Life Arena.
The No. 1 Gamecocks (33-0) cruised past Presbyterian in the first round despite missing Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall to set up a rematch with the No. 8 Tar Heels (20-12). The two teams met earlier this season, with South Carolina pulling off a 65-58 road victory on Nov. 30 in Chapel Hill.
UNC beat Michigan State, 59-56, in the first round of March Madness on Friday at Colonial Life Arena. Junior center Maria Gakdeng led the Tar Heels with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard Alyssa Ustby added 16 points and 17 boards.
MORE: Watch South Carolina women’s basketball vs. UNC in March Madness on Fubo (free trial)
Hall led the Gamecocks with 15 points in the win over the Tar Heels in November. Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao added 14 points.
That was a statement performance by the Gamecocks in their final game at home this season.
South Carolina will face the Indiana-Oklahoma winner on Friday in Albany, NY MiLaysia Fulwiley led all scorers with 20 points, one of five Gamecocks in double figures. South Carolina led in bench scoring 51-0.
South Carolina’s offense wasn’t nearly as efficient in the third quarter, which is to be expected. MiLaysia Fulwiley leads the hosts with 16 points. UNC is up to 15 turnovers.
Some halftime stats from 20 minutes of domination….
- South Carolina was 8-of-10 from 3
- Bench points: South Carolina 32, UNC 0
- Assists: South Carolina 14 (on 19 made field goals), UNC 1
- From 3:00 left in the first to 4:19 left in the second, South Carolina outscored UNC 30-2
Tessa Johnson leads the way with 11 points. South Carolina is nearly in cruise mode with four minutes left in the first half of an NCAA Tournament game against a power conference team.
Colonial Life Arena erupts at the end of the first quarter as the Gamecocks end the quarter on a 15-0 run. South Carolina also leads 17-0 in fast break points.
…..It’s a wrap for this year’s tournament. South Carolina is on a 13-2 run after three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Tessa Johnson and another by MiLaysia Fulwiley.
On the other end, UNC has more turnovers (5) than made field goals (4). Things are going well for the hosts.
South Carolina feasts off of turnovers and offensive rebounds. UNC has four turnovers, and the Gamecocks have three offensive rebounds (four points off of them) in the first five minutes.
Kamilla Cardoso has four points and two rebounds with a steal.
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso is back in the starting lineup for Sunday’s game against UNC.
The other four in the starting lineup: Te-Hina Paopao, Bree Hall (also back in the lineup), Raven Johnson and Ashlyn Watkins.
- TV channel: ABC
- Streaming: Fubo TV (free trial)
- GIVES YOU: Sunday, March 24
- TYPEFF: 1 p.m. ET
- VENUE: Colonial Life Arena
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage
