COLUMBIA, S.C. — Zia Cooke scored 11 points as No. 1 South Carolina moved five wins away from a perfect season after opening the women's NCAA Tournament with a 72-40 victory over No. 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday.
Aliyah Boston had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (33-0), who won their 39th straight game dating back to last year's NCAA title run and moved to 11-0 in first-round games under coach Dawn Staley. They’ll face No. 8 seed South Florida on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
This was a colossal mismatch from the tip like so many other games South Carolina's been a part of this season.
Norfolk State's tallest player is freshman forward Skye Robinson at 6-foot-2. South Carolina has seven players that tall or taller. The Spartans' tallest player on the bench? Larry Vickers, the team's 6-9 head coach, who walked onto the Spartans' men's team and eventually became a team captain.
South Carolina did its best to end any drama early as Boston and Cooke scored five points apiece in the opening quarter for a 20-7 lead.
The Gamecock starters picked things up in the third quarter scoring the first six points to lead 40-18 and the Spartans could not hope to catch up. The lead swelled to 30 points after three quarters with few in the mostly full and garnet-colored stands complaining.
Vickers joked on Thursday he wasn't sure how much of a home game this was until walking around the arena and seeing Staley's ceiling-to-door length banner in the building's main entrance.
Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State with 13 points. The Spartans came in shooting almost 40% on the season, but were held to 16 of 61 (26%) by the Gamecocks.
South Carolina's second-round opponent, South Florida, won the American Athletic Conference's regular season and features a pair of top scorers in Elena Tsineke and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. Fankam Mendjiadeu has 24 double doubles this season, more than the Gamecocks' Boston, who has 20.
BIG PICTURE
Norfolk State: The Spartans were beaten in the title game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference a year ago, fueling this season's run to a league tournament title and first NCAA Tournament berth since 2002. Vickers' team has a base of five sophomores he hopes can gain experience so their next trip to the tournament won't take so long.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks weren't tested and used several younger, rising players like Sania Feagin, Chloe Kitts and Talaysia Cooper who wouldn't see much action in a tighter game. Staley believes this can prep those less experienced team members to be ready if called on in a big spot.