Boulder, CO – Ashley Bruner and Ieasia Walker each scored 15 points as the fourth-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks rolled into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 74-52 win over the 13th-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Coors Events Center.
Bruner also brought down 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season for South Carolina (25-7) which will take on 12th-seed Kansas in the round of 32 after the Wildcats took out fifth-seeded Colorado, 67-52. The Gamecocks also got 13 points off the bench from Elem Ibian and 11 points from Tiffany Mitchell.
Ashley Eide finished with 15 points as the only double-figure scorer for South Dakota State (25-8).
At the end of the first half South Carolina led 44-26 after shooting a sizzling 60.7 percent from the field while forcing 10 turnovers from the Jackrabbits.
After the break the Gamecocks cooled to 33.3 percent shooting but it was enough to hold off the Jackrabbits who recorded just nine field goals on 32.1 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes.
In addition to their 40-28 edge on the boards, the Gamecocks also outscored the Jackrabbits, 42-22, in the paint. South Dakota State scored 25 points off turnovers in the losing effort.
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