South Carolina women's basketball routs South Florida to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness

COLUMBIA — South Carolina women's basketball is headed back to the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in the past 10 NCAA Tournaments.

The No. 1 Gamecocks (34-0) put together a dominant second half to earn a 76-45 victory over 8-seed South Florida (27-7) on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena. They advance to face the winner of Monday's second-round game between 4-seed UCLA and 5-seed Oklahoma in Greenville Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Saturday.

South Carolina didn't go as deep into the bench as it did in the first round, but the Gamecocks still had 11 different scorers led by Zia Cooke with 21 points. Nine of the team's scorers put up at least four points, and every player that saw the floor for more than two minutes logged at least two rebounds.

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Gamecocks get a first-half scare

South Carolina's season has featured several close scores at halftime, and South Florida gave the Gamecocks another. The Bulls led by four after the first quarter and trailed by four at the half. USF's leading scorer Elena Tsineke had seven points in the first five minutes, and the Bulls hit 4-of-9 on 3-pointers.

The Gamecocks struggled with turnovers in the first quarter giving up five, but both teams had seven at halftime. South Florida was better at capitalizing on South Carolina's mistakes, scoring seven first-half points on turnovers to the Gamecocks' four.

South Carolina stars take over

Cooke dominated out of halftime, shooting 4-of-7 in the third quarter for nine of her 21 total points. She played 32 minutes, the most for the Gamecocks, and added two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block to her final stat line.

Aliyah Boston, who played just 17 minutes after picking up two fouls, recorded her 21st double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She impacted every aspect of the game, finishing with two assists, two blocks and a steal.

Shooting struggles continue

South Carolina shot just 39% from the field, 29% on 3-pointers and 61% at the free throw line in its first-round matchup with Norfolk State, but the Spartans also came into the game with the No. 1 scoring defense in the country. Against USF, which allows an average of 59.5 points to opponents, scoring efficiency improved slightly but remained an issue.

The Gamecocks out-shot South Florida 71-58, but they finished hitting 42% from the field, 33% from 3-point range and 72% at the free-throw line. South Carolina was particularly inefficient on layups, going 12-of-28. Laeticia Amihere, who spent much of the second half at the low post, shot 4-of-11, though she logged 10 points.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball in Sweet 16 of March Madness