NCAA Women's Tournament Top Moments: Day 2 of the Sweet 16
Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to March Madness.
That was especially true during Saturday's slate of Sweet 16 matchups in the NCAA Women's Tournament. That was the day that both No. 1 N.C. State and No. 2 Texas A&M fell — to No. 4 Indiana and No. 3 Arizona, respectively — with Elite Eight berths on the line.
But things regained a sense of normalcy on Sunday, as No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Stanford both advanced, as did 2-seed Louisville. There was one mild upset, however, as 2-seed Maryland fell to 6-seed Texas in a hard-fought contest.
Here are the top moments and plays from the Day 2 of the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women's Tournament, with the most recent action listed first.
No. 6 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 2 Maryland Terrapins
Result: Texas wins 64-61
The Terrapins started this contest on fire, blazing out to a 9-0 lead.
The Longhorns fought their way back into it, but found themselves on the wrong end of his 3-pointer by Diamond Miller.
Joanne Allen-Taylor nailed a 3-pointer in the third quarter to pull Texas within one.
Who invited the circus to town? That would be Maryland's Miller, who ... well ... just watch this one.
Maryland took a late lead in this physical, back-and-forth contest.
But Texas pulled out the victory behind 16 points by Charli Collier and 15 from Celeste Taylor.
No. 6 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 2 Louisville Cardinals
Result: Louisville wins 60-42
It was all Dana Evans early on as Louisville ran out to an early lead.
Evans directed traffic, asking her teammates to clear a path as she scored 13 points in the second quarter.
The Ducks tried to get back into the game, thanks to the efforts of Sedona Prince.
But Louisville just had too much for Oregon to handle, especially from Evans.
No. 5 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks
Result: South Carolina wins 76-65
Zia Cooke has been a dead-eye shooter for the Gamecocks all season, and that continued in the first half of their Sweet 16 matchup with the Yellow Jackets.
Loyal McQueen's 3-pointer right before the half kept the Yellow Jackets within striking distance at the break.
But in the end, South Carolina was able to pull away and Dawn Staley's squad is advancing to the Elite Eight.
The Gamecocks will be appearing in the Elite Eight for the fourth time in the last six NCAA Tournaments. The two times prior that they entered the round as a 1 seed in 2015 and 2017, they advanced to the Final Four.
No. 5 Missouri State Lady Bears vs. No. 1 Stanford Cardinal
Result: Stanford wins 89-62
It's all Stanford in the first half against Missouri State.
They forced nine turnovers which were often converted into points, as evidenced by this Anna Wilson steal and score.
And the defensive intensity continued into the second half with Cameron Brink patrolling the paint.
The freshman forward recorded five blocks against the Lady Bears.
Stanford is heading to the Elite Eight after holding Missouri State to 31.7% shooting from the field, blocking seven shots and forcing 14 turnovers. They have now made the Elite Eight in four of the last five NCAA Tournaments.
