Latest South Carolina sports

March 29, 2015

Associated Press,

NCAA-FLORIDA STATE-SOUTH CAROLINA

No. 1 seed Gamecocks, No. 2 Seminoles meet in regional final

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Dawn Staley has spent seven years building South Carolina’s program to get to this point — past the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, playing to reach the Final Four.

Florida State coach Sue Semrau has spent even longer trying to reach the tournament’s final weekend.

The Greensboro Region on Sunday final is a rare opportunity for both programs. It’s only the second Elite Eight appearance for either school, with one team set to reach its first Final Four.

The No. 1-seeded Gamecocks (33-2) had a tense finish in beating North Carolina 67-65 on Tiffany Mitchell’s last-second layup. Staley says the game was a great win but “not our destination game.”

The No. 2 seeded Seminoles (32-4) edged Arizona State 66-65 to reach their first regional final since 2010 under coach Semrau, who’s in her 17th season.

PRESERVING HISTORY

S. Carolina’s oldest document conserved

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s oldest state document is back in the state after a painstaking conservation.

The document — an almost 350-year-old deed for a lot at the original location of Charleston — dates to 1671, the year after the English settled at what is now the Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site in Charleston.

The document is one of 26 sheets included in the earliest records of the South Carolina Colony and is considered the first state government document. In those days, recording deeds was done by the colonial government.

The documents were recently conserved at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Massachusetts. The process, which cost about $15,000, took several months and the documents were returned in December.

NASCAR-LARSON

NASCAR driver Kyle Larson visits neurologist after fainting

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — NASCAR driver Kyle Larson has returned home to see a neurologist after fainting during an autograph session at Martinsville Speedway.

His status for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race remains in question.

The 2014 Sprint Cup rookie of the year was checked out at Martinsville Memorial Hospital after he fainted at Chevy Stage in the fan area, but doctors felt like he should see a neurologist to be safe.

Martinsville Memorial did not have one available, so Larson made the short trip to Carolina’s Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He arrived Saturday evening, felt fine and was awaiting a final evaluation before deciding whether to return to Martinsville.

Team owner Chip Ganassi was hopeful Larson would be cleared to race Sunday afternoon. Larson qualified seventh for the 500-lap race.

DEVILS-HURRICANES

Staal, Faulk score in 3rd, lead Hurricanes past Devils 3-1

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Eric Staal and Justin Faulk scored in the third period, and Carolina beat New Jersey 3-1 on Saturday night.

Patrik Elias gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, but the Hurricanes tied it late in the second. Chris Terry scored on a rising shot from inside the right circle that caught the upper far corner. It came with 1:27 left in the period and was Terry’s ninth goal of the season.

Cam Ward finished with 21 saves for Carolina, while New Jersey backup Keith Kincaid made 29 saves.

HAWKS-HORNETS

Hornets beat Hawks backups 115-100

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 21 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat an Atlanta Hawks team missing all five starters, 115-100 on Saturday night.

Gerald Henderson scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and Mo Williams hit four 3-pointers and had 18 points as the Hornets snapped a three-game losing streak.

Marvin Williams chipped in with 17 points for Charlotte (31-41), which moved back within a game of eighth place in the tight Eastern Conference.

Kent Bazemore scored 20 points and Dennis Schroder had 17 points and 11 assists for the Hawks, who sat all five starters one night after clinching the top seed in the East playoffs.

DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver, Al Horford and Paul Millsap were given a night to rest, while Jeff Teague sat out with a sprained ankle for Atlanta (55-18). Bazemore, Mike Muscala, John Jenkins and Elton Brand started alongside Schroder.

NHRA

Courtney Force tops Funny Car qualifying

CORCORD, N.C. (AP) — Courtney Force top Funny Car qualifying Saturday in the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

Force moved from the 16th spot to first with the quickest Funny Car run of the weekend at the controls of her 10,000-horsepower Chevy Camaro SS. She covered the distance in 4.011 seconds at 312.35 mph to take her second No. 1 of the season and ninth of her career.

Friday’s racing was canceled because of rain and NHRA pro teams had only two runs to qualify for Sunday’s eliminations. She will race Chad Head, Dale Creasy Jr. and Del Worsham in the first round.

J.R. Todd led the Top Fuel field, Chris McGaha was the fastest in Pro Stock, and Hector Arana Jr. topped the Pro Stock Motorcycle competition in the unique event that features racing a in a four-lane configuration.

NCAA-DUKE-MARYLAND

No. 1 seed Maryland ousts Duke in regional semifinals 65-55

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 18 of her 24 points in the second half, Laurin Mincy scored all 15 of her points in the first half, and top-seeded Maryland advanced to the Spokane Regional final with a 65-55 victory over No. 4 seed Duke on Saturday.

Walker-Kimbrough took over the scoring load carried by Mincy in the first half as the Terrapins (33-2) reached the Elite Eight for the sixth time under coach Brenda Frese, taking down their former foe from the ACC in the process. The Terrapins had lost eight of their previous 10 games against Duke. But Maryland is 2-0 against the Blue Devils in the NCAA Tournament.

Elizabeth Williams led Duke (23-11) with 18 points and nine rebounds.

NCAA-GONZAGA-DUKE

Gonzaga’s 1st regional final in 16 years vs top-seeded Duke

HOUSTON (AP) — Gonzaga and coach Mark Few have been a constant presence in the NCAA Tournament, even if the Zags rarely get this deep into March Madness.

The mid-major Bulldogs were a No. 1 seed only two years ago, and who can forget floppy-haired, big-scoring Adam Morrison in 2006, when the trendy pick blew an early double-digit lead in a Sweet 16 loss to UCLA.

Now they are a win away from their first Final Four, with omnipresent Duke and Coach K’s top-seeded Blue Devils (32-4) up next Sunday in the South Regional final. This is Duke’s 20th Elite Eight appearance.

This is the 17th consecutive NCAA trip for the No. 2 seed Bulldogs (35-2), but their first regional final since 1999. Their only previous games against Duke are two regular-season losses.

NASCAR-MARTINSVILLE-TRUCKS

Logano uses restart to win truck race at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) — Joey Logano passed Matt Crafton entering the first turn to start a two-lap sprint to the finish and won an exciting NASCAR truck race at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday.

The Daytona 500 champion won for the first time in the series to become the 26th driver to win in all three of NASCAR’s top series.

The green-white-checker finish came after a wild near ending in which 17-year-old Cole Custer slammed into the back of Crafton’s truck in the first turn, sending both Crafton and Logano wide while Custer took an inside line for the lead.