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No. 1 seed South Carolina began its pursuit of a third national championship in four seasons on Friday afternoon with a 108-48 rout of No. 16-seeded Tennessee Tech in Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks (31-3) allowed the game’s first two points, then proceeded to outscore the Ohio Valley Conference champion Eagles 33-10 for the remainder of the first quarter. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley used the mismatch to give nine players floor time through the opening 10 minutes, and seven of them made at least one field goal.

The Gamecock lead swelled to 33 points by halftime, with seven South Carolina scorers going into intermission having produced at least six points. Freshman Joyce Edwards, making her NCAA Tournament debut, scored 14 of her game-high 22 points before the break.

Tessa Johnson added another 11 points off the bench to go with six assists, and Chloe Kitts finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Taris Thornton led Tennessee Tech (26-6) with 13 points before fouling out.

With the win, South Carolina advances to face Indiana in the second round Sunday of the Birmingham Region 1. The Gamecocks look to become the first repeat national championship winner in the Women’s NCAA Tournament since Connecticut claimed four straight from 2013-16.

No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8 Utah 68

Shea Ciezki scored nine of her 16 points in a pivotal third quarter to help lead ninth-seeded Indiana past eighth-seeded Utah in Friday’s first game in Columbia.

The Hoosiers (20-12) broke a 31-31 halftime stalemate with 27 third-quarter points, building a lead that reached as many as 13 points early in the fourth quarter. Ciezki’s 3-of-3 shooting from the floor in the third period paced Indiana to a red-hot 10-of-12 performance as a team.

Five Hoosiers scored in double figures for the game, led by Yarden Garzon’s 17 points. Garzon hit two clutch free throws in the closing seconds to hold off a late Utah rally.

The Utes (22-9) battled back to pull within four points multiple times over the final three minutes. Gianna Kneepkens hit a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers, part of her game-high 24 points, but Utah could get no closer down the stretch.

Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 12 points for Indiana and dished eight assists, while Lilly Meister shot 5-of-5 from the floor for 11 points off the bench.

–Field Level Media