No. 10 Creighton continues unlikely run to Elite 8 with win over No. 3 Iowa State

Morgan Maly scored a career-high 21 points to help 10th-seeded Creighton beat Iowa State 76-68 in Friday night's NCAA Tournament, matching the lowest ever seed to reach a women's regional final.

The challenge ahead is even bigger for the Greensboro Region upstart: a matchup with No. 1 overall tournament seed South Carolina for a trip to the Final Four.

Creighton (23-9), which upset second-seeded Iowa in the second round, shot 55 per cent after halftime with six 3-pointers. As third-seeded Iowa State (28-7) made a desperate comeback to within three points, the Bluejays maintained control by knocking down enough free throws to keep the Cyclones and Associated Press second-team All-American Ashley Joens at arm's distance.

Rembao was key in that, making 6 of 8 in the final 45 seconds.

As the final seconds ticked away, the Bluejays in the game shared a group hug near midcourt. When the horn sounded, Rembao hurled the ball skyward, while the players ran over to celebrate in front of the Creighton fan section.

The celebration also included players dousing Maly with water as she did a TV interview at midcourt, and then again when she rejoined the team.

Emily Ryan had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead Iowa State, which shot just 38 per cent. Joens had 14 points but made just 3 of 11 shots and got much of her production at the line (7 of 7).

Top-seeded South Carolina keeps rolling

Aliyah Boston had 28 points and 22 rebounds, and top-seeded South Carolina moved on to the Elite Eight with a 69-61 victory over North Carolina on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament.

The Gamecocks (32-2) will take on 10th-seeded Creighton in the Greensboro Region for a spot in the Final Four on Sunday.

The Tar Heels cut South Carolina's 13-point fourth-quarter lead to five down the stretch. But each time, Boston got her team back on track with her 27th straight double-double. The All-American also scored her team's final 13 points.

Deja Kelly led North Carolina (25-7) with 23 points.

Texas edges out Ohio State

Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 17 points, and Texas beat Ohio State to advance to the Elite Eight.

Aliyah Matharu added 10 points for Texas (29-6), which will make its second straight appearance in the Elite Eight. The second-seeded Longhorns have won 14 straight games since their last loss on Feb. 6 — the second-longest active streak behind Stanford.

Taylor Mikesell scored 19 points and Jacy Sheldon had 17 for sixth-seeded Ohio State (25-7), which has not advanced beyond the Sweet 16 since 1993.

Texas plays the winner of the Maryland-Stanford game in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

Stanford punches ticket to Elite 8 with win over Maryland

Lexie Hull scored 19 points in her hometown, Haley Jones added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and top-seeded Stanford rolled into the women's NCAA Tournament regional final with a 72-66 win over No. 4 seed Maryland on Friday night.

Meeting in the NCAA for the first time since the schools played in the same building in the 2008 Elite Eight, the defending national champion Cardinal (31-3) dominated the Terrapins for the first three quarters. Maryland trimmed the deficit to 68-59 with 1:41 left, but couldn't get much closer.

Stanford will face No. 2 seed Texas in the regional final on Sunday night. It's Stanford's 21st Elite Eight under coach Tara VanDerveer.

Cameron Brink added 15 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes for the Cardinal before fouling out late. When Brink picked up her third foul early in the third quarter, Hull picked up the scoring punch with 10 points in the quarter.

Hull and twin sister Lacie grew up in Spokane and both drew the loudest cheers all night.

Angel Reese led Maryland (23-9) with 25 points. Diamond Miller added 11 points but picked up two quick fouls early in the third and fouled out in the fourth after scoring 47 points combined in the first two tournament games.

Chloe Bibby and Shyanne Sellers both had 10 for Maryland, which shot 27 per cent in the first half and never recovered from a dominant first quarter by the Cardinal.

Jones and Brink controlled the first half, combining for 16 of Stanford's 22 points in the first quarter. Brink made 5 of 6 shots in the half and grabbed seven rebounds, and didn't play the final five minutes of the half after picking up her second foul.

The Terrapins haven't advanced past the round of 16 since 2015, when they last went to the Final Four.