Freshman Joyce Edwards scored 22 points in Columbia, S.C., in her first women’s NCAA Tournament game as No. 1 seed South Carolina began its run at a second straight national title Friday with a lopsided 108-48 victory at home over Tennessee Tech.
The Gamecocks (31-3) improved to 17-1 in the past four women’s tournaments, winning in 2022 and 2024. The lone defeat came to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the national semifinals in 2023.
With Edwards, named to the all-Southeastern Conference first team this season, leading the way, the team looked poised for another title in a few weeks. The 6-foot-3-inch forward swears she’s always nervous before games and felt some jitters before stepping out for to start her NCAA Tournament career. But she looked and played as poised as she has all season for the Gamecocks.
Advertisement
“Everything comes at you, you don’t know what to expect,” Edwards said. “Once you get your first rebound, the nerves settle down.”
Edwards had more points in her NCAA debut than Gamecocks national champ and WNBA No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, the Worcester Academy product who went for 20 in a win over Mercer in the 2021 event.
Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said Edwards’ relentless approach has endeared her to her older teammates. Edwards rarely stops moving on the court and when she sees a layup go in, Staley thinks it opens the floodgates for her all-SEC player.
“The basket gets big,” Staley said.
South Carolina will face Indiana, which knocked off Utah, 76-68, on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16..
Edwards scored 6 straight points to open up the game as the Gamecocks went ahead 31-11.
The 16th-seeded Golden Eagles (26-6) saw their 17-game win streak come to an end and were led by 13 poitns from Taris Thornton.
MiLaysia Fulwiley added 15 points as all 12 Gamecocks who played scored.
Okananwa leads Duke
Second-seeded Duke scored a dominant 86-25 win at home in Durham, N.C., over No. 15 seed Lehigh, with Oluchi Okananwa’s 15 points pacing a balanced offensive attack. After dispatching the Mountain Hawks (27-7), the Blue Devils (27-7) move on to play Oregon in Sunday’s second round.
Advertisement
Okananwa, a Peabody/Worcester Academy product who provides Duke coach Kara Lawson a weapon off the bench and was the MVP of the ACC Tournament, also had 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists in 20 minutes. Taina Mair (Boston/Brooks/Boston College) starts for Lawson, the former Celtics assistant coach, and contributed 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.
Lehigh was held to single digits in each of the four quarters, including a 2-point second as Duke carried a 33-10 lead into halftime. It only got worse from there for the Mountain Hawks, who shot just 9 for 46 (19.6 percent).
The number of points scored by Lehigh are the second-fewest in the history of the tournament.
Deja Kelly scored 20 points, and No. 10 seed Oregon (20-11) recovered in overtime after losing a 19-point lead in the second half to beat No. 7 Vanderbilt (22-11), 77-73, who saw SEC freshman of the year Mikayla Blakes finish with 26 points.
Notre Dame star hurt
Star guard Olivia Miles fell to the court under the basket early in the fourth quarter of third-seeded Notre Dame’s opening rout and left the game. The Fighting Irish (27-5) defeated No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin, 106-54, in South Bend, Ind.
Miles limped off the court and headed to the locker room after suffering the injury. She had 2 points and 8 assists, and although she was grabbing her left knee, Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said in the postgame press conference that Miles suffered an ankle injury when she stepped on someone’s foot, and was going to be OK. The senior, a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, missed the 2023-24 season with a knee injury and came back to average 16.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.9 rebounds this season.
Advertisement
Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron each scored 24 points for Notre Dame. Liza Karlen had 13 points and 10 boards.
The host Fighting Irish are moving on to Sunday’s second round, where they’ll encounter Michigan, an 80-74 winner over Iowa State.
Trinity Moore led the Ladyjcks (29-6) with 14 points.
Fairfield falls well short
Ayoka Lee had 17 points and 10 rebounds in her return to the lineup, and fifth-seeded Kansas State beat No. 12 seed Fairfield, 85-41, in a first-round matchup in Lexington, Ky.
Lee went 7 for 10 from the field in 15 minutes against the Stags (28-5) before departing with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Next up for the Wildcats (27-7) is a second-round game Sunday against host Kentucky.
Katey L’Amoreaux scored 11 points for Fairfield, which shot a season-low 29.4 percent from the field. The Stags entered the tournament with the nation’s 10th-best scoring defense (54 points per game), but they were no match for the bigger Wildcats.
Georgia Amoore scored 34 points, including three free throws in the final 10 seconds for fourth-seeded Kentucky (23-7), which nearly blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead but held on for a 79-78 victory over 13th-seeded Liberty (26-7).