SPOKANE, Wash. — Aneesah Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds, Kailyn Gilbert had a critical block that set up Mikaylah Williams’ go-ahead layup with 1:07 remaining and No. 3 seed LSU rallied past second-seeded N.C. State 80-73 in a tense NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Friday. The Wolfpack l ed 69-64 with 4:29 left before LSU began to surge, led by Williams, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. After Gilbert blocked a layup attempt by N.C. State’s Zoe Brooks, Williams converted on the other end to make it 74-73 — part of a game-closing 10-0 run for the Tigers (31-5). LSU, which won the national title two years ago for coach Kim Mulkey, reached the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season and will face top-seeded UCLA on Sunday. Mulkey also won three national titles at Baylor. Sa’Myah Smith had 21 points and 11 rebounds for LSU, and Williams finished with 17 points and eight boards. Brooks led N.C. State (28-7) with 21 points. Coach Wes Moore’s Wolfpack fell short in their bid to reach a second straight Final Four. The game featured seven lead changes and four ties, and LSU’s 21-10 advantage in the first quarter was the biggest lead for either team. Morrow, a Chicago native and Simeon graduate, had 10 points in the first. N.C. State surged back ahead to take a 40-36 halftime lead, and Morrow again dominated in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her team’s 21 points in the period to put LSU ahead 57-53. NC State opened the fourth quarter with an 8-1 run. The Wolfpack held LSU without a field goal until Morrow made a layup with just over seven minutes to play. Morrow, the nation’s top rebounder, had her 30th double-double of the season. Her effort helped the Tigers outrebound the Wolfpack 52-36, including an 18-10 advantage on the offensive glass. The 6-foot-1 forward is one of two women in NCAA history with more than 100 double-doubles. She’s also the only player in the country with more than 600 points and 450 rebounds this season. UCLA 76, Mississippi 62 UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) looks to pass the ball against Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (Jenny Kane/AP) SPOKANE, Wash. — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2018. The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocks for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a chance to advance to the Final Four. Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2). Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times but not since 2007. Betts had a similar line — 30 points and 14 rebounds — in the Bruins’ second-round victory over Richmond. Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville. Betts’ layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans’ jumper. Deans’ fast-break layup at the end of the first half pulled the Rebels within 30-29 at the break. Notre Dame embraces ‘really hostile’ preparation for Sweet 16 rematch with TCU: ‘Now it’s all or nothing’ The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on Londynn Jones’ 3-pointer. Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened again. UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and USC before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating the Trojans 72-67. USC will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday in its first full game without Watkins, who suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State. Betts scored 16 of UCLA’s 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she’s scored more than half of the Bruins’ points in a half. South Carolina 71, Maryland 67 South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley (12) lays in a basket past Maryland forward Allie Kubek in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 28, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (Butch Dill/AP) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 seed South Carolina beat fourth-seeded Maryland. The defending national champion Gamecocks went back-and-forth with the Terrapins all game before finally doing enough in the final few minutes to put it away. South Carolina will play Duke on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four. Dawn Staley’s team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes. Fulwiley’s layup began the 7-0 run that gave the Gamecocks (33-3) just enough of a cushion. Kitts added three free throws during the run and Fulwiley scored on a coast-to-coast drive. The Gamecocks were up 66-60 with 25 seconds left when Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland’s scoring drought with a 3-pointer. But the Terps couldn’t get closer as the Gamecocks made five of six free throws down the stretch, including two by Fulwiley with 10.9 seconds left that made it 71-65. Duke 47, North Carolina 38 Duke guard Ashlon Jackson (3) puts up a shot over North Carolina guard Lexi Donarski (20) in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 28, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. (Butch Dill/AP) BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Oluchi Okananwa recorded her third double-double of the season to lead No. 2 seed Duke past No. 3 North Carolina and into the Elite Eight. The Blue Devils will make their 12th Elite Eight appearance in program history and will play South Carolina on Sunday. Okananwa scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds off the bench for Duke. Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke’s leading scorer this season who missed the second round with an illness, was held to three points. Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Tar Heels, who fell short of advancing to their first Elite Eight since 2014. ...read more read less