Madison Scott’s two free throws with 23 seconds left lifted the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels to their first Sweet 16 since 2007 by preventing No. 1 Stanford from making it for the 15th straight tournament.
Angel Baker scored 13 points and Marquesha Davis added 12 for the Rebels (25-8), who squandered a 13-point, third-quarter deficit before Scott made a steal with Stanford trying to take its first lead of the game.
Scott, who finished with 11 points, was immediately fouled after her steal and hit two free throws. Stanford turned the ball over on its next possession, and Davis secured the win by making two throws with 15.4 seconds left.
“Our team kind of had a meltdown at the end because we’ve never been in this position and we could feel it leaving,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said after the game. “But we played to win. This is for the people with a dollar and a dream.”
Stanford (29-6) was led by Cameron Brink, who had 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, while Haley Jones chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Cardinal had reached the Final Four in each of the past two seasons, including winning the national title in 2021.
COLLEGE PARK SUBREGIONAL
No. 2 Maryland 77, No. 7 Arizona 64
Diamond Miller scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the third quarter to lead second-seeded Maryland to a 77-64 victory over seventh-seeded Arizona in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in College Park, Md.
Miller also finished with seven assists and six rebounds for the Terrapins (27-6), who outscored the Wildcats 29-9 in the third quarter after trailing 33-32 at halftime in the College Park Subregional.
“Your All-American does what she is supposed to do, and the third quarter was Miller time,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said of Miller, who went 6-for-6 from the floor in the quarter and 11-for-19 for the game. “Like we’ve seen Diamond do so many times, she just willed her team. They had no answer for her.”
Shyanne Sellers had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Faith Masonius recorded 12 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Terrapins. Brinae Alexander chipped in 12 points and four rebounds for the Terrapins, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.
The Terrapins will face third-seeded Notre Dame, which Maryland defeated 74-72 in the regular season when Miller hit a jumper as time expired on Dec. 1 in South Bend, Ind.
Arizona (22-10) was led by Cate Reese, who had 19 points and four rebounds, while Shaina Pellington added 13 points and five rebounds. Paris Clark finished with 11 points.
SALT LAKE CITY SUBREGIONAL
No. 2 Utah 63, No. 10 Princeton 56
Alissa Pili had 28 points and 10 rebounds as Jenna Johnson added 15 points and six rebounds to power the Utes to their first Sweet 16 berth since 2006 by beating the Tigers.
After Princeton (24-6) pulled to within 50-48 with seven minutes remaining, Utah (27-4) went on a 6-1 run over the next 3:39 to secure the win.
The Tigers, who were denied their first trip to the Sweet 16 in school history, were paced by Kaitlyn Chen’s 19 points and six rebounds. Grace Stone had 16 points and Ellie Mitchell finished with nine points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.
BATON ROUGE SUBREGIONAL
No. 3 LSU 66, No. 6 Michigan 42
Angel Reese had 25 points and 24 rebounds as the Tigers never trailed in earning their first Sweet 16 berth since 2014.
The Tigers (30-2) held the Wolverines (23-10) to just seven first-half field goals to take a 30-15 halftime advantage and never looked back.
LaDazhia Williams added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Alexis Morris and Jasmine Carson finished with 11 and nine points, respectively, for the Tigers.
Michigan was paced by Laila Phelia’s 20 points and four rebounds and Cameron Williams’ eight points, but no other Wolverine scored more than five.
COLUMBIA SUBREGIONAL
No. 1 South Carolina 76, No. 8 South Florida 45
The defending national champion and top-seeded Gamecocks pulled away in the second half for a blowout win over No. 8 seed South Florida to cruise to the Sweet 16.
Zia Cooke scored a game-high 21 points for unbeaten South Carolina (34-0), which outscored South Florida 43-16 in the second half. Elena Tsineke scored 20 points to pace South Florida (27-7), while Sammie Puisis finished with 11 points and four rebounds.
After holding a 33-29 lead at the break, South Carolina closed the third quarter with a 13-3 run before scoring 17 of the first 19 points of the fourth to open up a commanding 31-point advantage. Amihere was dominant in the fourth, scoring eight points.
IOWA CITY SUBREGIONAL
No. 2 Iowa 74, No. 10 Georgia 66
Caitlin Clark scored 22 points and dished out 12 assists as the Hawkeyes held off the Bulldogs for a spot in the regional semifinals.
Monika Czinano added 20 points and nine rebounds for Iowa (28-6), which also got 15 from Gabbie Marshall, all of which came from beyond the 3-point line. McKenna Warnock chipped in 14 points with eight rebounds as the Hawkeyes connected on 12 of 28 3-pointers.
Diamond Battles scored 21 points to pace Georgia (22-12), while Brittney Smith and Javyn Nicholson each added 12.
SOUTH BEND SUBREGIONAL
No. 3 Notre Dame 53, No. 11 Mississippi State 48
Sonia Citron scored 14 points, going 10 of 14 at the foul line, as the Fighting Irish squeaked past the Bulldogs to earn a spot in the regional semifinals.
Lauren Ebo added 10 points and a game-high 18 rebounds for Notre Dame (27-5), which made just 34.7 percent of its shots from the field and went 0-for-7 from 3-point range but outrebounded Mississippi State 49-32.
Kourtney Weber scored 14 points for the Bulldogs (22-11), who made just 18 of 61 attempts from the field (29.5 percent). The Irish closed the game on a 10-5 run, getting seven points from Citron during that stretch.
BLACKSBURG SUBREGIONAL
No. 1 Virginia Tech 72, No. 9 South Dakota State 60
Georgia Amoore sank seven 3-pointers and scored 21 points as the Hokies earned just their second regional semifinal appearance by stopping the Jackrabbits.
Elizabeth Kitley added 14 points and 14 rebounds for her 21st double-double of the season. Taylor Soule chipped in 13 points and Kayana Traylor hit for 11 for Virginia Tech (29-4).
Myah Selland posted 17 points and nine rebounds to lead South Dakota State (29-6), which trailed 46-23 at halftime. Haleigh Timmer and Paige Meyer each added 12 points.
–Field Level Media
