NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2016: Friday Sweet 16 Scores, Updated Bracket

While the NCAA men's basketball tournament will narrow down to eight teams by the end of the night, the Sweet 16 on the women's side tipped off Friday night with two No. 1 seeds in action.

The Sioux Falls Region began with the top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks facing the fourth-seeded Syracuse Orange, while the third-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and seventh-seeded Washington Huskies faced off in the Lexington Region.

The top-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish and fourth-seeded Stanford Cardinal were set to cap off the night in the Lexington Region, while the Ohio State Buckeyes were set to face the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, with the winner clinching the final Elite Eight spot in the Sioux Falls Region.

Make sure to check back throughout the night to see who will be the first four women's teams to reach the Elite Eight.

No. 4 Syracuse vs. No. 1 South Carolina	Syracuse, 80-72
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 3 Kentucky	Washington, 85-72
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 1 Notre Dame	Stanford, 90-84
No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Ohio State	Tennessee, 78-62

No. 4 Syracuse 80, No. 1 South Carolina 72

The first top seed of the tournament has been eliminated, as Syracuse stunned the top-seeded Gamecocks in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Alexis Peterson scored a game-high 26 points, and Brianna Butler scored 18 points in 36 minutes to send the Orange to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history. They did it by clamping down on South Carolina from distance in the second half, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Syracuse started out fast, taking a 16-15 lead, but it wouldn't take long for South Carolina to take over.

The Gamecocks went on a 12-3 run to take a 39-27 lead with two minutes remaining in the second quarter thanks in part to back-to-back three-pointers by Tina Roy. Alyssa Lang of WLTX in South Carolina was impressed:

South Carolina's official Twitter account couldn't help but get excited over its star player's first-half performance:

But the Orange did not go away. Peterson scored six points in the third quarter to close the gap and pull Syracuse to within six points.

Syracuse climbed all the way back with 4:53 remaining thanks to a Cornelia Fondren jumper, giving the Orange a 63-61 lead, their first lead since the second quarter. After South Carolina took a 65-63 lead, Butler's three-pointer with 3:01 remaining put Syracuse in the lead for good and sent the Gamecocks home.

It's a year of magical runs for the Syracuse programs. The women are one win away from their first Final Four, while the men are looking for a spot in the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed. 

No. 7 Washington 85, No. 3 Kentucky 72

The Huskies ran their way into the Elite Eight behind a convincing win over the Wildcats, despite Kentucky's apparent home-court advantage.

Talia Walton scored a game-high 30 points on 14-of-25 shooting to put Washington into the Lexington Regional final. Three Huskies scored in double figures, including Chantel Osahor (19 points and 17 rebounds). Kelsey Plum also scored 23 points and had seven assists for Washington.

ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo raved about Osahor's play:

Despite Kentucky shooting better in the second half, UK Hoops showed how much of a gap there was between the two teams in the final 20 minutes:

Makayla Epps also scored 30 points for Kentucky, but the Wildcats shot only 40 percent from the floor in the loss.

Upsets are usually aplenty in the women's tournament, but this one is major from the standpoint of its being in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Kentucky. Washington defeating a historic program like Kentucky will also send shockwaves to the rest of the field.

No. 4 Stanford 90, No. 1 Notre Dame 84

Two top seeds up, two top seeds down.

Stanford had four players in double figures, led by Erica McCall's game-high 27 points in 38 minutes as the Cardinal upset the top-seeded Fighting Irish to earn a spot in the Elite Eight.

Karlie Samuelson also provided 20 points while making five three-pointers for the Cardinal as Stanford shot 55.9 percent from the floor. Stanford will play in its 18th Elite Eight in program history on this shocking day in women's college basketball, per Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated:

Notre Dame led for only two minutes, 15 seconds in this game despite recording 15 offensive rebounds and having three players score in double figures. Lindsay Allen led the Fighting Irish with 20 points on 15 shots.

With Stanford's win, coupled with Washington's stunning victory over Kentucky, one Pac-12 team is guaranteed a spot in the Final Four. Two more teams—Oregon State and UCLA play Saturday—have ensured how good the conference is this year, per Gina Mizell of the Oregonian:

The Kentucky women have never made a Final Four, and with Stanford winning, Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio thinks the Wildcats squandered a great opportunity:

Stanford has been a historically great program, so to see the Cardinal deep in the tournament once again is good for the women's game. One more win and Stanford will reach its fifth Final Four in seven years. It's not Connecticut standards, but that's still successful.

No. 7 Tennessee 78, No. 3 Ohio State 62

The Lady Vols got a 25-point, 15-rebound performance from Mercedes Russell, and Tennessee reached its 28th Elite Eight in program history after a 16-point win over the Buckeyes.

Tennessee out-rebounded Ohio State 53-26 and also got 11 rebounds from Jaime Nared. The Buckeyes were held to 32.8 percent shooting from the floor. While the Lady Vols made history by making the Elite Eight again, it's been a historic year in this year's NCAA tournament, per ESPNW:

Lady Vols guard Te'a Cooper led Tennessee's bench with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Two Ohio State players (Ameryst Alston and Kelsey Mitchell) scored at least 20 points, but the other three Buckeyes starters combined to shoot 5-of-27.

It's also another payday for Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick, per Steve Berkowitz of USA Today:

Long gone are the days of Pat Summitt running Tennessee, but the Volunteers still know when to play at a high level in March. The chance of another UConn/Tennessee national championship stays alive for at least one more day.