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Chalk talk: Star power, top teams and No. 5 seeds headline the women's March Madness Sweet 16
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — South Carolina did just enough to keep its national title defense alive, thanks in large part to MiLaysia Fulwiley.
The sophomore guard scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help the No. 1 seed Gamecocks beat fourth-seeded Maryland 71-67 on Friday in the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.
“We’re a resilient group. People thought we had the easiest region. I think so. It’s not easy at all, it gets harder, because we’ve got to play Duke,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I just think our team has been through so much. They’re unshakeable, you know. They’re unflappable.”
Staley added that playing in the tough Southeastern Conference gave her team “confidence to be able to be in a tightknit game and find a way to win because that’s what it’s about at this stage of the game."
The Gamecocks went back-and-forth with the Terrapins all game before finally doing enough in the final few minutes to put it away.
South Carolina will face Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday. The Blue Devils beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 earlier Friday.
Staley's team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes. Fulwiley's layup began the 7-0 run that gave the Gamecocks (33-3) just enough of a cushion.
Kitts added three free throws during the spurt and Fulwiley scored on a coast-to-coast drive.
The Gamecocks were up 66-60 with 25 seconds left when Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland's scoring drought with a 3-pointer.
But the Terps couldn't get closer as the Gamecocks made five of six free throws down the stretch, including two by Fulwiley with 10.9 seconds left that made it 71-65.
Kaylene Smikle scored 17 points to lead Maryland (25-8) before fouling out.
“Really proud of this group. When you look at the pressure they were under and even in the Sweet 16 game, they didn’t even flinch,” Terps coach Brenda Frese said. “We believed we could win this game. We showed that we could win this game, and I think we gave a pretty good blueprint on how to beat South Carolina, to be quite honest, for the teams moving forward.”
Neither team could get into an offensive flow in the first three quarters. South Carolina trailed 43-39 late in the third before closing out the period with a 13-7 run that was capped by a spectacular transition basket by Fulwiley, who went behind her back and then hit a pull-up shot.
The teams had met once previously in the NCAA Tournament, an 86-75 win for South Carolina in the Elite Eight in 2023.
South Carolina avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose this early in the tournament since Louisville knocked off Brittney Griner and Baylor in 2013 in the Sweet 16.
Takeaways
Maryland: The Terps gave the Gamecocks everything they could handle. Maryland, the 2006 national champion under Frese, has only made the Elite Eight once in the last decade, that coming in 2023.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks did enough to keep playing, but they'll need contributions from players besides Fulwiley and Kitts if they want to repeat as champions.
Key stat
South Carolina outrebounded Maryland 47-34.
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