Women's NCAA roundup: No. 1 South Carolina shines in 2nd half

Defending national champion and top-seeded South Carolina pulled away in the second half for a 76-45 win over No. 8 seed South Florida on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbia, S.C.

Zia Cooke scored a game-high 21 points for the unbeaten Gamecocks (34-0), who outscored the Bulls 43-16 in the second half. Aliyah Boston added 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Laeticia Amihere came off the bench to net 10 points.

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 per cent of its shots from the field and went 0-for-7