South Carolina stands strong, advances to Elite 8

In their toughest matchup of the tournament so far, South Carolina beat North Carolina 69-61 to advance to the Elite 8. Yahoo Sports’ Cassandra Negley highlights the best parts of the game.

Video transcript

[FANS CHEERING]

- Number one overall seed South Carolina had its toughest test of this tournament and held off North Carolina 69-61 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. You know, this was Aliyah Boston's game. She stepped up her game even more, if that's possible, and had a monster double double, her 27th consecutive this season. She had 28 points, 22 rebounds. She had 12 offensive rebounds and completely dominated that on the glass. North Carolina only had seven offensive rebounds as a team.

The big thing for South Carolina offensively was Zia Cook and Destanni Henderson, their two guards stepping up big early and setting the tone. They had some big baskets. They had some big three-pointers, and this was huge for a South Carolina team that has struggled offensively. And now, Dawn Staley does not mind that. There is the mantra that defense wins championships. But for South Carolina getting the offense going, getting big numbers from Aliyah Boston, and Cook, and Henderson, will be key as their tournament run goes on.

For North Carolina, it was Deja Kelly, as she had a team high 23 points. She shot 50%. The team overall was 46.2% but not as sharp from the line. It was a big offensive day and gave South Carolina a challenge. Now, this defense holds teams to 50 points per game. North Carolina had about half of that in the first quarter, but we'll see what South Carolina can do as they continue through this tournament.

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