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Florida State women lose to South Carolina in region final

 
Published March 28, 2017

STOCKTON, Calif. — For the second time in three years, Florida State's hopes at a first-ever Final Four berth were dashed by South Carolina.

The Seminoles started slow, falling behind by as many as 16 points, before storming back in the fourth quarter. The comeback wasn't enough, and FSU's NCAA Tournament ended with a 71-64 loss to the top-seeded Gamecocks on Monday night.

FSU (29-7), which erased a 17-point deficit in the Sweet 16 game against Oregon State, forced 23 turnovers against South Carolina (31-4) and got within three points in the fourth before the Gamecocks pulled away.

Junior guard Kaela Davis led South Carolina with 23 points. The Gamecocks will play No. 2 seed Stanford in the Final Four.

The beat goes on

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Napheesa Collier scored 28, Gabby Williams had 25 and the UConn women advanced to a 10th consecutive Final Four with a 90-52 victory against Oregon on Monday night.

Top-seeded UConn (36-0) will face Mississippi State on Friday night in Dallas. The win was the Huskies' 111th consecutive victory.

"It means a whole lot, especially with this group because no one thought we'd be here and we worked so hard this year," said Collier, who was named most outstanding player of the region.

The Huskies jumped all over 10th-seeded Oregon (23-14). Leading 6-4, Saniya Chong started a 17-0 run with consecutive 3-pointers.

All-American picks

The women's All-American team was announced. No state players made the three teams. The first team: UConn's Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, Maryland's Brionna Jones, Washington's Kelsey Plum and South Carolina's A'ja Wilson.

Men's tidbits

Archie Miller, introduced as Indiana's coach, sounds clear on what Hoosier fans expect: "Any time you're successful, people are happy and when you're not, that's not the case."

Dennis Felton, introduced as Cleveland State's coach, had this unfortunate quote: "This isn't just any city. This is a city that's on fire." Local residents have endured decades of jokes about the Cuyahoga River, which caught fire in the 1970s.

Quotable

"We have no other option than to give him a chance.''

Drake forward Casey Schlatter on Niko Medved, who left Furman to take over a program that has one NCAA Tournament appearance in 46 years and has become a graveyard for coaches