STOCKTON, Calif. -- Sure, South Carolina knew a little something about Quinnipiac's surprising NCAA Tournament run as Connecticut's other Sweet 16 team.
The Gamecocks ignored the "Q" on the front of the opposing jersey and immediately went to work.
Kaela Davis, A'ja Wilson and No. 1-seed South Carolina overpowered the upstarts from the opening tip, scoring the first 16 points and advancing to the Stockton Regional final by beating the No. 12-seed Bobcats 100-58 on Saturday.
"It doesn't matter what name is on the jersey, we come out to play. Obviously they had a good run, but we've still got a mission to complete, and that's to make it to the Final Four and national championship," Allisha Gray declared.
"I second that," Davis said.
Davis scored 28 points with five three-pointers, Wilson added 24 and South Carolina's athleticism and smothering, swarming defense was just too much for Quinnipiac on the Sweet 16 stage.
The Bobcats started 0 for 10 and took more than seven minutes to score as they struggled to get shots off, let alone establish their typically prolific perimeter game.
Gray had 19 points and eight rebounds as South Carolina (30-4) won its eighth in a row, putting coach Dawn Staley's team in the Elite Eight for the second time in three years.
"I thought our players came out ready to play on both sides of the ball," Staley said.
The Bobcats (29-7) had won 12 consecutive games, beating No. 5-seed Marquette and No. 4 Miami for the first two NCAA Tournament victories in school history.
"We put our school on the map. Not only do they know how to pronounce our school now, they know who we are and what we stand for and what we're all about," Quinnipiac sophomore forward Jen Fay said.
Wilson, averaging 19.6 points over her previous five games, shot 7 for 9 and made all 10 of her free throws. Gray was fine after getting carried off the court late in South Carolina's 71-68 comeback victory against Arizona State last Sunday because of a hamstring cramp that initially was feared to be more serious.
The Gamecocks shot 61 percent, including 10 of 16 from three-point range, and made 18 of 19 free throws.
Staley's team kept pushing after halftime, opening the third quarter on an 11-2 run and capitalized on a technical against the Bobcats' bench.
Adily Martucci and Fay each scored 12 points for Quinnipiac.
FLORIDA STATE 66, OREGON STATE 53
Ivey Slaughter started swiping to help Florida State discover its best defense from all angles, and the No. 3-seed Seminoles erased a daunting deficit and ran right into the Stockton Regional final with a victory over No. 2-seed Oregon State.
Slick-handed Slaughter had a career-high nine steals, a school record in the NCAA Tournament. Florida State had 16 steals total, and Slaughter also contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. Slaughter made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:41 left before Sydney Wiese missed a three-point try on the other end, and Slaughter scored again to help extend her special senior season.
ACC Player of the Year Shakayla Thomas had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Seminoles (28-6) used an 8-0 run to put the game away.
Wiese, the Beavers' leading scorer, wound up with 9 points on 3-for-14 shooting and missed all 10 of her three-point tries. Oregon State (31-5) missed a return trip to the Final Four.
Kolbie Orum led the Beavers with 12 points.
Sports on 03/26/2017