Greensboro Region Round of 16 Game Breakdowns
#1 South Carolina vs. #4 North Carolina (Greensboro, North Carolina)
The South Carolina Gamecocks punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 in style by absolutely dominating Syracuse in the second round 97-68 to close out a spectacular season at Colonial Life Arena. The turning point of the game was in the first half when South Carolina went on a 26-8 run to extend its lead to 53-25 heading into the locker room. Offensively, the attack was balanced as six players scored in double figures, led by Tiffany Mitchell’s 14 points. But, if was not for Asia Dozier setting the tone early with her shooting from the perimeter to open things up inside, this might have been more competitive. Aleighsa Welch was dominant down in the low blocks as she recorded her 23rd career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks.
North Carolina advanced on to the Sweet 16 after beating Ohio State in a dramatic 86-84 win over the Buckeyes thanks to Jamie Cherry’s buzzer-beater with 0.6 seconds left. The Tar Heels have done a nice job scoring the basketball in the NCAA Tournament, but they will have to shore up things defensively as they allowed 52 points to Ohio State in the second half and nearly lost a game where they had an 18 point lead at halftime. Stephanie Mavunga was the most valuable player in the win over the Buckeyes as she scored 27 points and had 14 rebounds. Mavunga is going to have to be equally dominant against the bigs of South Carolina if the Tar Heels are to knock out South Carolina once again. Allisha Gray once again had a stellar performance. She scored 20 points and had seven rebounds. North Carolina as a whole outrebounded Ohio State 45-34 and will need a similar effort on the boards on Saturday. Overall, South Carolina is a team that will be out for redemption after last year’s loss to the Tar Heels in the Sweet 16. They have a deeper, more talented team that should be able to handle the Sweet 16 stage much better this time around and beat North Carolina.
#2 Florida State vs # 3 Arizona State (Greensboro, North Carolina)
This should be a fantastic battle between two of the better defensive teams in the country. Florida State did a tremendous job in slowing down a very potent Florida Gulf Coast in a 65-47 victory on Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16. Leticia Romero had a great all-around game to help lead a very balanced offensive attack for the Seminoles with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Adut Bulgak stepped up big down low with her 13 rebounds to help Florida State limit second-chance opportunities for the Eagles. Shakayla Thomas also stepped up big coming off the bench and scoring twelve points as the Seminoles put their foot on the gas pedal in the second half and pulled away for the victory.
Arizona State had its season pushed to the brink on Monday night as they had to overcome a 16 point deficit to defeat Arkansas Little-Rock 57-54. The Sun Devils struggled mightily in the first half offensively. But, once Elisha Davis hit a wild three-point bank shot to cut the Trojans lead to 50-47 with 2:11, it was at that moment you just knew that it was going to be Arizona State’s night to get back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. Promise Amukamura scored 17 points, while Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos converted key layups late as well to give the Sun Devils the lead at 53-52 with 55 seconds. Once Arizona State had the lead, the defense that has been so clutch all year long stepped up and pushed them through to the Sweet 16. Now, moving forward for the Sun Devils when they take on Florida State, they will have to start faster than normal if they want to advance. The Seminoles are too strong defensively that if they get a huge a lead it will be an uphill battle for Arizona State to get a victory. With that said, if Arizona State can slow down Florida State just enough offensively to keep the score down in the 60’s they will have a great shot to get the upset.
