NCAA Women’s Championship 2025 Highlights: South Carolina Survives, North Carolina State University LSU
this 2025 NCAA Women’s Championship 16 sweet first days continued on Friday.
[Read more: 2025 Women’s March Madness Schedule: Dates, locations, channels, how to watch]
Duke started the day with a year’s defensive performance, with the second-seed Blue Devils snatching North Carolina’s third seed. Since then, South Carolina’s No. 1 seed continues its championship defense as Gamecocks recovered from frustrated Maryland.
Now, Louisiana, the third seed, is trying to make a third consecutive elite appearance, but must pass the second place North Carolina, to get there.
UCLA’s top seed in the NCAA Women’s Championship ended the night as Bruins returned to Elite 8 for the first time since 2018.
This is the biggest moment of day 16:
No. 3 seed LSU vs No. 2 seed NC state
Louisiana State University and North Carolina State University (LSU) and NC State played another round-trip game, with Wolfpack leading 40-36 in the halftime. The Tigers rose as much as 11 points in the first quarter, but Wolfpack took the lead in Game 1 in the second quarter. Zamareya Jones made his way to North Carolina from the bench with 11 points.
South Carolina terrorizes fifth straight elite eight from Maryland
Milaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a 2:22 ward layup left, with Chloe Kitts on Friday’s Sweet 16 in the Women’s NCAA Championship, and South Carolina’s 16-shot seeds.
Defending national champion Gamecocks walked back and forth in all the games at Terrapins before doing enough games in the last few minutes to get it out.
South Carolina will face Duke on Sunday at an elite eight. Earlier on Friday, the Blue Devils beat Atlantic Coast Conference rivals 47-38.
Dawn Staley’s team was 60-59 with a 3:25 run and then there was no bit of Maryland for the next three minutes. Fulwiley’s layup started a 7-0 game, which put the Gamecocks (33-3) enough for the mat.
Kitts added three free throws during Spurt, with Fulwiley scoring on the coast-to-coast drive.
When Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland’s scoring drought with three-pointers, the Gamecocks had 25 seconds left and 25 seconds left.
But Terps couldn’t get close, as Gamecocks made five free throws in six free throws, including two from Fulwiley, with 10.9 seconds left, making the game 71-65.
Kaylene Smikle scored 17 points before the foul to lead Maryland (25-8).
Neither team was able to enter the offense in the first three quarters. South Carolina trailed 43-39 at the end of the third inning and then finished the period 13-7, with Fulwiley’s spectacular transition basket block, who trailed behind her and then hit the pull-up.
Both teams have previously participated in the NCAA Championship and won 86-75 South Carolina’s 86-75 victory in 2023.
South Carolina avoids being the first defending champion to lose in the game since Louisville defeated Brittney Griner and Baylor with a sweet No. 16 in 2013.
Duke beats rival UNC to Elite Eight
Oluchi Okananwa recorded his third double-double of the season, leading ACC Championship champion Duke Duke into eight games of the Women’s NCAA Championship in North Carolina, 47-38.
The Blue Devils will be ranked 12th in Elite Eight in Program History and will play the No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina or fourth seed Maryland, who are scheduled to play in Birmingham late Friday.
Okananwa scored 10 of 12 points in the first half, while Duke had 10 rebounds on the bench, which scored 26 points on the bench compared to North Carolina’s six points. Ashlon Jackson scored 10 points and Duke’s leading scorer Toby Fournier missed the second round in the case of the patient and was hit with a three-pointer.
Fifth-grade senior Alyssa Ustby has nine out of 10 hits on the tar heels, and they have been trying to advance to the first Elite 8 since 2014.
Neither team shot very well. Duke shot 31% from the field after missing the first nine shots. North Carolina’s stadiums account for 28%.
Part of the reason may be due to familiarity. Less than a month ago, the teams played against each other for the second time this season. North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said this week there is a level of comfort compared to the team they just played for.
But these are also two of the highest defenses in the country, forcing turnovers, wrong shots and desperate shots at the start of the game.
This is the first time meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Championship, where they played each other 111 times. North Carolina still has a 56-55 edge.
No. 5 seed Ole Miss vs No. 1 seed UCLA
The Associated Press report
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