A pair of SEC teams will compete in the Sweet Sixteen of the Women’s NCAA Tournament. The top-two teams from the regular season are the last two teams from the SEC that are still dancing. The LSU Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks have both posted double-digit margins of victories en route to First and Second Round victories. Moreover, the two squads could be on a collision course to meet up to play for a National Championship.
https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessWBB/status/1773722038080778477
Survive and Advance
The Tigers haven’t looked quite as impressive as South Carolina in March Madness. Though, the 3-seed in Regional 2 has put together consecutive winning performances. LSU took down Rice with a 70-60 victory followed by an 83-56 thrashing of Middle Tennessee. Junior forward Angel Reese and junior guard Aneesha Morrow lead the way offensively for the Tigers. Reese scores 18.7 points per game and Morrow averages 16.5, respectively. However, it’s been a versatile offensive attack for LSU’s offense in the NCAA Tournament. Four players have finished with double-digit scoring marks in each of the squads first two tournament games.
LSU is now set to face 3-seed UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen Saturday. Sophomore guard Kiki Reece scored 24 points to lead the Bruins to a 67-63 victory over Creighton in the second round. But the UCLA defense will have its hands full with an LSU offense that puts up 25 more points per game than the Bruins give up. Forty-four percent will be the magic number for a Bruins team that is 17-0 on the season when shooting at this percentage or better.
https://twitter.com/LSUwbkb/status/1773016795382779907
Can Anyone Stop South Carolina?
For No. 1 overall seed South Carolina, its run to the Sweet Sixteen has been nothing short of dominant. The Gamecocks won their First and Second Round games by a combined 99 points after dismantling Presbyterian and North Carolina. The Gamecocks will take their perfect 34-0 record into its matchup against Indiana on Friday. Senior center Kamilla Cardoso leads a South Carolina team that scores 86.3 points per game, good for second in the nation.
Graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes has been sensational this season for the Hoosiers. Holmes is Indiana’s top performer averaging 20 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and will likely need to have her best performance of the season if IU wants to advance past the undefeated Gamecocks.
https://twitter.com/GamecockWBB/status/1773671947802447945
South Carolina and Indiana are slated for Friday at 5 p.m. in Albany. Tip-off for LSU and UCLA is Saturday at 1 p.m. in Albany, New York.