Top-Seeded South Carolina Dominates First Round of NCAA Women’s Tournament

South Carolina overwhelmed Southern 103-34 in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, with Joyce Edwards leading the charge with 27 points. In another Sacramento Region matchup, Virginia defeated Georgia 82-73 in overtime.

Joyce Edwards delivered a standout performance with 27 points as South Carolina demolished Southern 103-34 in their NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament opener on Saturday. The game took place in Columbia, S.C., as part of Sacramento Region 4 action.

The top-seeded Gamecocks (32-3) had five players reach double digits in scoring and will face either Southern Cal or Clemson in Monday’s next round. Ta’Niya Latson contributed 17 points, while both Madina Okat and Agot Makeer added 15 points each. Tessa Johnson chipped in 14 points for South Carolina, which shot an impressive 54.7% from the floor.

Southern’s Jocelyn Tate managed 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds coming off the bench for the Jaguars (20-14), who struggled mightily with just 18.5% shooting and 20 turnovers. Despite defeating Samford in the First Four matchup just two days prior on the same court, Southern couldn’t compete with the powerhouse Gamecocks.

South Carolina established early control with a 23-6 advantage in the opening minutes of the second quarter and completely dominated the third period, outscoring Southern 32-2 during that stretch.

Johnson recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds to go with her 14 points, while hitting four of the Gamecocks’ eight three-pointers – matching Southern’s entire three-point output. Alicia Tournebize grabbed 11 rebounds as South Carolina controlled the boards 57-33.

In another first-round Sacramento Region 4 contest played in Iowa City, Iowa, Virginia knocked off Georgia 82-73 in overtime behind strong performances from Kymora Johnson and Sa’Myah Smith.

Johnson poured in 28 points while Smith added 23 as the Cavaliers dominated the extra session. Romi Levy chipped in 14 points for the 10th-seeded Cavaliers (21-11), who will take on either Fairleigh Dickinson or Iowa on Monday. Virginia outscored Georgia 11-2 during overtime.

Georgia got strong individual efforts from Mia Woolfolk, a Virginia native who scored 27 points, and Rylie Theuerkauf, who knocked down five three-pointers en route to 22 points. Savannah Henderson added 11 points for the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (22-10), though Georgia managed just 7 of 24 from beyond the arc.

The game was deadlocked at 71-71 when regulation ended, with Georgia getting two final attempts that didn’t fall.

The Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize on a significant advantage at the free-throw line, converting 22 of 35 attempts. Virginia was more efficient at 12 of 15 from the stripe, with six of those coming in overtime’s final two minutes.