COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jaylia Reed scored 16 points, DeMya Porter had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Southern closed the game on a 14-2 run to beat fellow No. 16 seed Samford 65-53 on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament.
Southern (20-13) won a game in the First Four for the second straight season, earning a chance to play top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in the Round of 64. It’s the Jaguars’ third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.
D’Shantae Edwards began the fourth quarter by converting a three-point play to give Southern a 47-44 lead. Samford tied it twice in the next three minutes, but could not get any closer.
Reed put Southern ahead for good with 6:47 remaining on a 3-pointer to begin the game-closing run. Six different Jaguars scored during the run.
Samford missed eight of its last nine field goals.
Jocelyn Tate added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Southern, which had nine of its 13 steals in the first half. The Jaguars finished with 20 points off turnovers.
NO. 10 VIRGINIA 57, NO. 10 ARIZONA STATE 55
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Kymora Johnson scored 17 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 30.6 seconds remaining, and Virginia beat Arizona State for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2018.
Virginia (20-11), the No. 10 seed, will face seventh-seeded and 24th-ranked Georgia in the first round on Saturday. The Cavaliers are making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and first under coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton.
Johnson’s key 3-pointer — Virginia’s first of the second half in 10 attempts — made it 54-51.
Johnson went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.3 seconds left to cap the scoring and Arizona State guard Jyah LoVett lost control of the ball in the paint at the other end as the clock ran out.
Johnson also had 10 rebounds and five assists for her ninth career double-double. Caitlin Weimar added 11 points off the bench for Virginia and Romi Levy scored 10.
Marley Washenitz made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for Arizona State (24-11). McKinna Brackens had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Heloisa Carrera also scored 10.