Olivia Olson scored 19 points, fellow sophomore Syla Swords added 16 and No 2 Michigan overcame a sluggish start for a 71-52 victory over Louisville in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
The Wolverines had a 16-0 run in the second quarter to erase an 11-point deficit, their biggest, then broke a tie in the third quarter by scoring 17 consecutive points and cruising to their second Elite Eight, both in the past five seasons.
Michigan (28-6) tied a school record for victories and will play top-seeded Texas on Monday night for a spot in the Final Four.
Elif Istanbulluoglu scored 18 points for the third-seeded Cardinals (29-8), who shot 35% and were outscored 49-16 over a two-quarter stretch from midway through the second to the middle of the fourth.
Olson, the top scorer among a bevy of sophomores leading both teams, missed four of her first five shots, and the Wolverines went more than six minutes without scoring to start the game.
Te’Yala Delfosse, who had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, had a 3-pointer during the second-quarter run that she capped with a three-point play for Michigan’s first lead at 28-25.
No 1 Texas 76, No 5 Kentucky 54
Rori Harmon had 11 points, seven assists and six steals and Texas beat fellow SEC member Kentucky, sending the top-seeded Longhorns to another Elite Eight in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Jordan Lee had 18 points while All-America forward Madison Booker had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Longhorns (34-3), who have an 11-game winning streak. Harmon also had seven rebounds.
Amelia Hassett hit a three-pointer on the first shot of the game for the Wildcats (25-11), but their only lead didn’t last long. Texas responded with 15-0 run, in the middle of which Harmon had three defensive rebounds and four assists in a span of 90 seconds.
The Longhorns will play second-seeded Michigan in the Fort Worth Regional 3 final on Monday night. The Wolverines beat Louisville 71-52 earlier Saturday, setting up the only regional final this year matching the top two seeds.
Texas is in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row under coach Vic Schaefer. Last year it went to the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
Clara Strack, the 6ft 5in center who came from Virginia Tech with coach Kenny Brooks two years ago, led the Wildcats with 16 points. Asia Boone had 11 points while Teonni Key added 10 points and nine rebounds.
No 1 South Carolina 94, No 4 Oklahoma 68
Ta’Niya Latson scored 28 points and Raven Johnson added 18 to help top-seed South Carolina beat No 4 seed Oklahoma and advance to the Elite Eight of the women’s March Madness tournament.
South Carolina will face No 3 seed TCU on Monday night for the chance to go to the Final Four in Phoenix from the Sacramento 4 Regional.
The Gamecocks have advanced to the national semifinals in six of the past eight Final Fours and won three national championships during that stretch. Oklahoma was looking for its first trip to the regional since the 2009-10 season which was the Sooners last time in the Final Four.
The Gamecocks (34-3) jumped out to a strong start behind Latson, who was playing in her first Sweet 16. The senior guard played the first three years of her career at Florida State before coming to South Carolina this season. She scored eight of the teams first 10 points as the Gamecocks went up 10-0.
Johnson scoring nine points as the Gamecocks were up 23-13 after the first quarter.
Oklahoma (26-8) turned the ball over on three of its first four possessions in the second quarter and South Carolina took advantage. Latson’s four-point play with 46 seconds left in the half made it 47-28. The Sooners got a stop on the next possession, but Sahara Williams missed a wide-open layup just before the buzzer.
Latson finished the first half with 18 points and Johnson had 16. Second-team AP All-America Joyce Edwards was scoreless in the opening 20 minutes. It didn’t matter as the Gamecocks had enough offense from Latson and Johnson.
No 3 TCU 79, No 10 Virginia 69
Marta Suarez had 33 points and 10 rebounds as part of a nearly unstoppable duo with Olivia Miles, and No 3 seed TCU beat 10th-seeded Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
TCU (32-5), making its second straight appearance in the Elite Eight, will face No 1 seed South Carolina on Monday for a trip to the Final Four.
Miles, a senior and a three-time All-American, finished with her own gaudy stat line of 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
A few weeks from now, Suarez and Miles will likely be WNBA draft picks, but for now, their final collegiate season and the chance they took to come to TCU has paid off.
The Horned Frogs went on 17-4 run to start the second half that put them ahead for good, even as the Cavaliers pressed aggressively and cut the lead to six points with 27.1 seconds to go.
Paris Clark scored 20 points and Kymora Johnson had 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Virginia (22-12), the lone double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16.
