COLUMBIA, S.C. — North Carolina could not pull off the improbable. Far from it.
No. 1 South Carolina rolled to an 88-41 win over the No. 8 Tar Heels on Sunday afternoon in the Albany 1 Region, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the 10th consecutive time behind 20 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals from MiLaysia Fulwiley.
The Gamecocks (34-0) improved their home winning streak to 59 games. In Albany, N.Y., South Carolina will face the winner of Monday’s clash between No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 4 Indiana.
“We haven’t played like that in a super long time,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “Every single (one) of our players made an impact coming into the game. And we needed a performance like this. And hopefully … playing this good of basketball can be contagious throughout the rest of the way.”
Fulwiley, a freshman, shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
“When I step on the court, my main focus is usually defense. Once I’m playing good defense and I get good steals, I feel my offense flows and comes to me,” Fulwiley said. “I was excited I got to be out there and get some stops on the defensive side and do some great things on the offensive side as well.”
Kamilla Cardoso returned from a one-game suspension and collected 12 points and 10 rebounds. Chloe Kitts also chipped in 12 points, and Ashlyn Watkins and Tessa Johnson each scored 11.
It’s the second consecutive year that North Carolina (20-13) did not advance past the second round.
Alyssa Ustby led the team with 12 points and six rebounds, while Deja Kelly finished what might have been her final game in a Tar Heels uniform with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting. She was 0-for-4 on 3-pointers.
“They had a lot of intensity, a lot of energy. They were making us catch it really high,” Kelly said. “They started off picking up full court. So they just brought the pressure on. And I felt like I had two people on me at all times.”
UNC kept it close early. With three minutes left in the first quarter, Kelly cut the deficit to five points with a mid-range jumper. Johnson drained a pair of 3-pointers from the right wing in Ustby’s face as the Gamecocks the finished the quarter on a 15-0 sprint.
The Tar Heels made just 1 of 7 shots from deep in the first half, while the Gamecocks made 8 of 10.
South Carolina’s 24-4 run in the second quarter blew the game, expanding the lead to 42 points with 1:55 left in the half. Te-Hina Paopao had six of her eight points and four of her six assists for the Gamecocks during that stretch.
North Carolina trailed by 37 points at the break and never got closer than 31 again.
It was the lowest scoring total of the season for the Tar Heels, and their 23.8 percent field goal percentage was their worst of the season.
South Carolina won the rebounding battle 54-33 and outscored North Carolina 38-18 in the paint.
–Mitchell Northam, Field Level Media