COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A’ja Wilson scored 21 points, including the put back that gave South Carolina the lead for good and the free throws that sealed it, to help the No. 1 seed Gamecocks beat eight-seed Arizona State 71-68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
Sophie Bruner missed a heavily contested 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
Arizona State (20-13) scored 11 straight points to take a 68-67 lead with two minutes to go, but Wilson put back her own miss with 46.8 seconds to go that gave South Carolina (29-4) a 69-68 advantage.
Kaela Davis had a steal on the Sun Devils’ next-to-last possession and Wilson converted the two free throws.
Wilson also had 11 rebounds, while Davis added 20 points for South Carolina, which has advanced to the Sweet 16 for a fourth straight year.
Brunner led Arizona State with 20 points and nine rebounds.
