Yamal's goal and assist propel Barcelona to Champions League round of 16

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lamine Yamal came through for Barcelona again.

With an assist and a goal, Yamal led Barcelona's comeback against Copenhagen and helped the Catalan club secure a top-eight finish in the league phase of the Champions League on Wednesday.

With a 4-1 victory at home, Barcelona ended in fifth place to reach an automatic spot in the round of 16.

“These are the nights you dream of playing in and winning when you are a kid," said Yamal, who was chosen the man of the match. “A fantastic night and we achieve our objective.”

Copenhagen surprised early with 17-year-old Viktor Dadason scoring for the visitors in a breakaway four minutes into the match in Barcelona, but Yamal started Barcelona's rally by assisting on Robert Lewandowski's 48th-minute goal and then scored the go-ahead goal himself in the 60th.

“He has to adapt because the opponent almost always has two or three players on him," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said of Yamal. "Today his speed for the first goal and that he attacked the deep space was fantastic. He also ran back and tracked and worked defensively. Copenhagen couldn’t go straight to our goal that one time because he was there. He’s improved but he has absolutely fantastic quality. He’s amazing.”

Raphinha and Marcus Rashford later sealed Barcelona's victory — its 14th in its last 15 matches in all competitions.

The 18-year Yamal has been the top Barcelona player in the last few years and he proved his worth again on Wednesday.

He dribbled into the area before setting up Lewandowski's equalizer, then hit a curling shot from the right side of the box to add the second goal. The ball deflected on a defender before hitting the top corner by the far post.

Dadason's goal was his third in the Champions League before turning 18. Yamal had the most ever in the tournament with five.

Copenhagen ended 31st in the 36-team league phase.

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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates with Raphinha his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates his side's second goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates with Lamine Yamal his side's third goal from a penalty kick during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal fights for the ball against Copenhagen's goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Barcelona and Copenhagen in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Marta Suarez began her collegiate career at Tennessee, spent two seasons at California and chose to take one last shot at a tournament run with TCU this season.

After a 33-point, 10-rebound effort, she got what she came for — a trip to the Elite Eight.

Suarez and Olivia Miles were nearly unstoppable, and TCU overwhelmed 10th-seeded Virginia with a third-quarter burst that turned a nip-and-tuck game into a convincing win, 79-69 over the Cavaliers on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.

TCU (32-5), making its second straight appearance in a regional final, will face No. 1 seed South Carolina on Monday for a trip to the Final Four.

Suarez’s career-best scoring night — and her 12th double-double of the season — was complemented by fellow senior and All-American Miles, who finished with her own gaudy stat line of 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

A few weeks from now, both will likely be WNBA draft picks, but for now, their decision to come to TCU has paid off.

“I’m feeling very grateful and very blessed,” said Suarez, a stretch forward from Spain who has proven adept at creating mismatches inside and on the perimeter. “But also, at the same time, it’s like, ‘Next game.’ It’s a pretty quick turnaround. I’m excited to get the win, but I’m ready to get going on the next one.”

TCU coach Mark Campbell has built his program into a national power through the transfer portal. In the past three seasons, TCU has brought in 18 transfers — none as impactful as the combination of Suarez and Miles, who scored 61 of the team’s 79 points on Saturday.

“Olivia, there’s maybe five players on the planet that can do what she does, men or women,” Campbell said. “And then Marta is a unicorn in her own way. She is a stretch-4 that’s powerful and strong and can post and then she has guard skills and can shoot 3s. It’s been really fun to figure out how to create a two-man game with these two players.

“I’m just thankful I get another 40 minutes to go to battle with them.”

The Horned Frogs opened the second half with a 17-4 run to pull ahead for good. The Cavaliers pressed aggressively and cut the lead to six points with 27.1 seconds to go, but TCU closed it out.

Cumulatively this season, the Horned Frogs have outscored opponents by more than 200 points in the third quarter.

“The third quarter has been great to us all year,” Campbell said. “I think we settled into a rhythm. Every third quarter this group comes out and hoops and that was the separator.”

Paris Clark scored 20 points and Kymora Johnson had 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Virginia (22-12), the lone double-digit seed to reach the Sweet 16.

The Cavaliers’ journey began in the First Four and continued with a road win over No. 2 seed Iowa in the second round. And Virginia looked like it hadn’t run out of magic when it took a 36-35 lead into at halftime behind 10 points each from Clark and Johnson.

Suarez had 18 points in the first half for the Frogs and Miles had 12, but the rest of the team scored only five.

Ultimately, TCU’s size — Virginia was out-rebounded 38-27 — and the one-two punch of Suarez and Miles were too much to overcome.

“I thought we had some really good moments in that game,” Virginia coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “But the third quarter got away from us. ... We came up short, but that doesn’t take away from our season or the growth we’ve had with our program.”

TCU’s matchup against South Carolina will be the second in the past two seasons. South Carolina beat TCU 85-52 in December 2024.

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TCU forward Marta Suárez prepares to shoot from the corner during the first half against Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)