COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has set the bar exceedingly excessive.

The highest-seeded Gamecocks opened the primary spherical of the N.C.A.A. girls’s basketball event by cruising to a 79-21 win over Howard. They may face Miami, which defeated South Florida earlier on Friday, in a second-round recreation on Sunday.

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina’s star ahead and a front-runner for participant of the 12 months, and Sania Feagin led the staff with 10 factors every, and the Gamecocks had been up 40 at halftime. Howard’s 4 factors within the first half had been the bottom in a half within the historical past of the event.

The Gamecocks moved methodically and deliberately with Boston on the ground, taking their time to arrange their pictures whereas Howard double-, triple- and even quadruple-teamed Boston at instances. When Boston rested, South Carolina took benefit of its pace with highly effective drives by Future Littleton, a senior guard.

Iyanna Warren secured all of Howard’s 4 factors within the first half, scoring a complete of 8 by recreation’s finish. Howard tried drive after drive, shifting shortly down the courtroom. However South Carolina’s towering protection couldn’t be matched.

The Gamecocks are hoping to safe a nationwide championship title for the primary time since 2017.

This 12 months’s girls’s event is the primary to be formally marketed as part of “March Insanity” — the N.C.A.A.’s widespread branding time period that, till final fall, had been reserved completely for the boys’s basketball event. Most of the adjustments to this 12 months’s event had been spurred after gamers, coaches and others raised considerations final 12 months about how the N.C.A.A. appeared to deal with the ladies’s event as a second-class occasion.

At Colonial Life Area in Columbia, S.C., gamers draped themselves in March Insanity towels; March Insanity banners had been draped behind each baskets; and digital shows included the emblem. Cheerleaders threw out March Insanity towels to a packed area. At residence, viewers of ESPN had been additionally capable of see the emblem superimposed on the courtroom (event organizers mentioned decals might be utilized to the ladies’s courts beginning within the spherical of 16 video games, that are performed at impartial websites slightly than on the residence arenas of high groups).

LeLe Grissett, a graduate pupil guard for South Carolina, mentioned she hadn’t seen the March Insanity merchandise that the boys’s groups had acquired. “However what we now have, I don’t assume it’s a distinction” over final 12 months, she mentioned, including that she had seen a few movies of ladies’s gamers not becoming into shirts that had been included of their present baskets. “It’s not equal. I don’t assume so.”

However Coach Daybreak Staley mentioned the change in environment was palpable with the added March Insanity signage.

“It’s a giant distinction,” she mentioned, including that “you possibly can’t inform from strolling across the constructing and seeing the signage” that the Gamecocks had been enjoying at their residence area.

“It’s a extremely good begin to shedding a few of the inequities that occurred previous to this event,” she continued. “However we now have to look manner down the road, 5 years, six years, seven years, as a few years because it took for them to uncover what was taking place to our event.”

ESPN’s protection of the ladies’s event briefly veered from basketball on Friday afternoon, when a handful of on-air personalities expressed their opposition to a Florida proposal that will restrict classroom instruction on gender identification and sexual orientation.

The demonstrations got here after Disney, which controls ESPN, confronted strain and criticism over its silence in regards to the measure, which the corporate started to withstand publicly solely after it handed the Florida Legislature. They had been among the many most high-profile examples of the protests that Disney workers have staged in current days to precise their very own opposition to the measure, and to their employer’s calibrated method to lobbying about it.

“To be sincere with you, we thought we had been going to come back right here right this moment and actually have a good time a sport that has meant a lot, and accomplished a lot, together with for thus many within the L.G.B.T.Q.I.+ communities,” Elle Duncan, an ESPN anchor, mentioned from a studio throughout halftime of the Howard-South Carolina recreation on Friday. “However we perceive the gravity of this laws and in addition the way it’s affecting so many households throughout this nation, and due to that, our allyship goes to take a entrance seat, and with that, we’re going to pause in solidarity.”

Courtside in Columbia, S.C., minutes later, Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck additionally mentioned the laws, which Gov. Ron DeSantis is predicted to signal into legislation.

“Usually presently, we’d have a look again on the first half, however there are issues greater than basketball that have to be addressed presently,” Lyle, the play-by-play commentator, mentioned. “Our pals, our household, our co-workers, the gamers and coaches in our group are hurting proper now.”

Peck, who led the ladies’s basketball applications at Florida and Purdue, quickly joined in: “The risk to any human rights is a risk to all human rights, and presently, Courtney and I, we’re going to take a pause from our broadcast to indicate our love and assist for our pals, our household and our colleagues.”

The sport quickly resumed — with Lyle and Peck briefly watching in silence.

ESPN, which had been ready for the potential of an indication, mentioned in an announcement: “Our colleagues have each our respect and our assist.”

The N.C.A.A. declined to remark.

Standard knowledge suggests you must at all times decide at the very least one 5-12 upset in your bracket, and many individuals who had been paying consideration picked No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast to get previous No. 5 Virginia Tech.

They had been right. The Eagles rode the new arms of their 3-point shooters to a signature 84-81 win over the Hokies, despite a exceptional effort from Virginia Tech junior Elizabeth Kitley, a 6-foot-6 heart. She had 42 factors, however the efficiency wasn’t fairly sufficient to counter the onslaught of 3-point pictures from F.G.C.U.

Kierstan Bell, the Eagles’ main scorer and a W.N.B.A. prospect, flaunted her elusiveness as she discovered a approach to get to the basket repeatedly — by way of difficult spin strikes and by attending to the free throw line. She had 22 factors, 8 rebounds and three steals when the sport ended, a powerful stat line that also made up only a portion of the Eagles’ daunting offense.

A lot of the credit score for that offense ought to go to level guard Tishara Morehouse, who had 9 assists in the midst of facilitating her teammates’ 3-point capturing. Three Florida Gulf Coast gamers hit three or extra pictures from past the arc, however somebody needed to get them the ball at precisely the fitting time, and that individual was Morehouse. She additionally added 13 factors, albeit of the marginally much less eye-catching selection.

The clincher got here from Karli Seay, who hit her fourth 3-point shot with 27 seconds left within the recreation.

The Texas Longhorns, one among a number of groups who’re in place to make a critical run for a nationwide title, made fast work of the Fifteenth-seeded Fairfield Stags, 70-52.

Texas’ full courtroom strain pressured Fairfield time and time once more to scramble to keep away from shot clock violations. Turnovers piled up for the Stags and the Longhorns moved in shortly to capitalize.

Regardless of the loss, the sport was outlined by exceptional physicality: Texas had 21 fouls and Fairfield, enjoying in its first N.C.A.A. event since 2001, dedicated 19.

The tone was evident proper from the beginning when Lauren Ebo, a publish participant for Texas, elbowed Lou Lopez-Senechal, Fairfield’s main scorer, and gave her a bloody mouth. Lopez-Senechal returned within the third quarter with stitches, and nailed a 3-pointer nearly instantly and shortly adopted up with a layup on a backdoor move.

Nonetheless, the Longhorns took off within the fourth quarter, rising their 10-point result in 20. Ahead Aliyah Moore had 18 factors and 10 rebounds, whereas guard Roni Harmon scored 10 factors with 11 assists.

Texas will play No. 7 Utah on Sunday.

A shock win was inside attain of the Dayton Flyers till the fourth quarter, when Georgia’s expertise proved an insurmountable hurdle for the mid-major staff. The Flyers had already change into one of many first groups ever to win a girls’s event play-in recreation earlier this week, and had been trying to prolong their streak. They may not towards Georgia, which gained, 70-54.

However two of Georgia’s fifth-year seniors, Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti, made that not possible. Staiti scored principally at will beneath the basket, ultimately garnering 19 factors, whereas Morrison’s midrange hook pictures proved unstoppable for Dayton’s protection. She completed with 16 factors, 8 rebounds and seven assists.

Dayton stored the sport tight by way of the start of the second quarter. Even after Georgia had a 10-point cushion, the Flyers spent a lot of the recreation staying inside hanging distance. Their capacity to threaten got here nearly completely courtesy of sophomore level guard Makira Cook dinner, who got here up with a 3-point shot or laser-beam move any time the Woman Bulldogs may need began to assume they might chill out.

By the fourth quarter, although, Georgia was firmly in management, attending to the free throw line and making layups that Dayton’s publish gamers had no probability of contesting. Most enjoyable for Georgia followers could have been the essential contributions of 6-foot-5 freshman Jillian Hollingshead, who scored 15 factors off the bench — a style of the type of play they’ll want extra of to make a deeper run within the event.

Georgia has not made it previous the second spherical since 2013.

Creighton, which has traditionally been dependable even when seeded low, received its third N.C.A.A. event win as a No. 10 seed with a victory over seventh-seeded Colorado, 84-74.

Although the Bluejays trailed the Buffaloes for a lot of the first half, sophomore Morgan Maly stored her staff within the recreation early. Within the second half, Creighton began hitting 3-pointers whereas Colorado had strings of empty possessions.

When the Bluejays wanted a bucket, it appeared like one other gifted guard would flip up a 3-point shot or clutch layup at precisely the fitting time. Lauren Jensen and Molly Mogensen bolstered Creighton’s lead within the second half with their environment friendly capturing.

The Buffaloes put up a combat, although. Colorado matched up with Creighton in nearly each statistical class, rebounding effectively and truly topping the Bluejays in assists, turnovers and steals. However the Bluejays hit twice as many 3-point pictures because the Buffaloes, and in the end had a a lot better time capturing from each the ground and the free throw line.

Colorado guard Jaylyn Sherrod made an particularly valiant effort all through, hitting a 3-point shot with below a minute left to slender the hole to simply 4 factors. However the Buffaloes couldn’t capitalize. The Bluejays hit their free throws and made Sherrod’s spectacular 27-point efficiency moot.

It’s a troublesome conclusion for Colorado fifth-year senior Mya Hollingshed, who has helped lead this system from being one of many worst within the Pac-12 Convention to establishing successful data this season and final season. This bid marked the Buffaloes’ first journey to the event since 2013.

No. 10 seed South Dakota took management shortly towards No. 7 seed Mississippi in what would change into the Coyotes’ first Division I event win in program historical past. Mississippi and its star, W.N.B.A. prospect Shakira Austin, seemed helpless within the 75-61 defeat, failing to drag forward even as soon as within the Rebels’ first N.C.A.A. event look in 15 years.

As an alternative, it was a three-time Summit League Defensive Participant of the 12 months, Hannah Sjerven, and a fellow fifth-year senior Chloe Lamb who dominated all through, scoring 20 factors apiece for South Dakota and main the staff in rebounds. Sjerven made all seven of her pictures and the 6-foot-2 heart even made a 3-point basket.

Mississippi senior Angel Baker, who led Wright State to its first ever event win within the 2021 event, led the Rebels in scoring, as soon as once more performing effectively in a giant recreation. Her regular scoring and consistency on the free throw line weren’t sufficient for Mississippi to compete, although, delaying but once more the renaissance of a program that was a fixture of the spherical of 16 within the late Nineteen Eighties and early ’90s.

The Coyotes performed with spectacular consistency, combining to hit 53.8 % of their pictures and by no means permitting the Rebels to come back inside hanging distance.

Remy Tumin reported from Columbia, and Alan Blinder from Atlanta.

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