Louisville

Women's NCAA Tournament: The Latest

Results from the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Saturday:

___

BRIDGEPORT REGION

Napheesa Collier and Kia Nurse each scored 24 points as top-seeded UConn routed Albany 116-55 on Saturday for the program's 108th straight win and 25th straight in the NCAA Tournament.

Gabby Williams added 20 points for UConn. She and Collier each pulled down 10 rebounds for the Huskies (33-0), who are going for their fifth consecutive NCAA title. They haven't lost in the first round since 1993.

Imani Tate had 19 points and Jessica Fequiere scored 16 to lead Albany, which ends the season at 21-12.

The Great Danes, who upset Florida in the opening round of last year's tournament, were never really in this game

UConn opened each of the first three quarters with 9-0 runs. The Huskies hit 62 percent of their shots and outscored Albany 52-18 in the paint.

TEXAS A&M 63, PENN 61

Khaalia Hillsman scored 27 points and Texas A&M overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Penn for the biggest comeback in women's NCAA Tournament history.

Hillsman scored the go-ahead basket with 19.1 seconds left as the fifth-seeded Aggies finished the game on a 25-1 run to beat the 12th-seeded Quakers.

The rally surpassed the previous record for largest comeback at 16 points that happened twice in the tournament according to the NCAA.

The Quakers (22-8), sparked by Sydney Stipanovich's 20 points and some horrendous shooting by the Aggies, dominated the game through three quarters.

But after going down by 21, the Aggies (22-11) went to full-court pressure. The Quakers turned the ball over 12 times and then went cold from the field, not converting a basket for the final 8:58 of the game. The Quakers missed their final 10 shots.

SYRACUSE 85, IOWA STATE 65

Brittney Sykes scored 28 points and Alexis Peterson added 25 to lead eighth-seeded Syracuse to a win over Iowa State.

Freshman Gabby Cooper added a season-high 24 points, all from 3-point range, for the Orange (22-10), who will face top-seeded UConn on Monday in a rematch of last year's national championship game.

Seanna Johnson hit seven of her 10 shots and had 21 points for Iowa State, which finishes its season at 18-13.

Iowa State actually outscored Syracuse 57-52 over the final three quarters, but the game was decided in the first 10 minutes.

Cooper, who came in averaging just under nine points a game, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and had five of them in the first 7 minutes as the Orange ran out to a 17-3 lead.

She finished the game with eight baskets from behind the arc on 15 attempts.

OREGON 71, TEMPLE 70

Ruthy Hebard hit a jumper with 5.5 seconds remaining to lift Oregon past Temple.

Hebard finished with 23 points and Sabrina Ionescu added 16 points to help the 10th-seeded Ducks (21-13) win a wild game that had three lead changes in the final 30 seconds and advance to Monday night's second round.

Alliya Butts scored 28 points and Feyonda Fitzgerald added 16 for the seventh-seeded Owls (24-8). Fitzgerald put Temple up 70-69 with a jumper with 14.3 seconds remaining.

Oregon called a timeout and worked the ball in to Hebard, who hit the go-ahead jumper from the edge of the lane.

Fitzgerald then raced coast-to-coast but Hebard got a piece of her last-gasp layup attempt at the buzzer.

UCLA 83, BOISE STATE 56

Monique Billings scored 19 points and Jordin Canada had 15 points and 16 assists to help fourth-seeded UCLA roll to a win over Boise State.

The Bruins (24-8) opened the game with a 15-0 run and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way.

UCLA used a balanced scoring attack, with four players finishing in double-figures. Kennedy Burke and Nicole Kornet each added 14 points for the Bruins.

The victory snapped a 10-game winning streak for Boise State (25-8).

Guard Brooke Pahukoa 13 points for Boise State, but the Broncos' leading scorer hit only one of 11 3-point attempts. Riley Lupfer matched her with 13 points.

UCLA shot 58.2 percent for the game, to Boise State's 30.0 percent.

DUKE 94, HAMPTON 31

Rebecca Greenwell had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Duke routed Hampton.

Freshman Leaonna Odom added a season-best 23 points, while Lexie Brown and Oderah Chidom finished with 11 apiece for the second-seeded Blue Devils (28-5).

They lost guard Kyra Lambert to a left knee injury in the second quarter but otherwise had no trouble advancing to face 10th-seeded Oregon (21-13) in the second round Monday night.

Duke held the 15th-seeded Pirates to 18 percent shooting and allowed just one field goal during the second quarter, outscoring Hampton 31-2 during that period to push the lead well into the 30s.

Jephany Brown had 18 points to lead Hampton (20-13). The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions were back in the NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence.

___

LEXINGTON REGION

STANFORD 72, NEW MEXICO STATE 64

Alanna Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Karlie Samuelson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points, and No. 2 seed Stanford survived a spirited upset bid to beat No. 15 seed New Mexico State.

Playing nearly 1,800 miles from home due to a scheduling conflict at Maples Pavilion, the Cardinal (29-5) looked lost most of the afternoon, trailing the Aggies (24-7) by as many as nine early on.

Smith finally gave them their first lead midway through the third quarter, and Brittany McPhee gave Stanford the lead for good when she began pouring in baskets midway through the fourth.

The Cardinal held on down the stretch to narrowly avoid becoming the first No. 2 seed to lose in the opening round.

KANSAS STATE 67, DRAKE 54

Breanna Lewis had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kindred Wesemann added 16 points and seventh-seeded Kansas State beat No. 10 seed Drake.

The Wildcats (23-10) took the lead in the game's opening minutes and never relinquished it, even though the Bulldogs (28-5) never made things easy. That allowed Kansas State to ease into a matchup with No. 2 seed Stanford on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Like they had against Drake, the Wildcats will again have the benefit of playing at home.

The NCAA selection committee awarded them the right to host the opening rounds when Stanford had a conflict at Maples Pavilion, a testament to the crowd support Kansas State has enjoyed over the years.

Lizzy Wendell scored 17 for Drake, which carried the nation's second-longest winning streak at 22 games into the tournament. Becca Hittner added 13 points and Sammie Bachrodt had 10.

___

OKLAHOMA CITY REGION

BAYLOR 119, TEXAS SOUTHERN 30

Kalani Brown scored 21 points and top-seeded Baylor overwhelmed much smaller Texas Southern in the most lopsided women's NCAA Tournament game ever.

The Lady Bears (31-3) were ahead 22-0 after Alexis Jones, on her first shot in her first game since Feb. 20, hit a 3-pointer just more than 6 minutes into the game.

The 89-point margin broke the previous record 74-point win by Tennessee over North Carolina A&T (111-37) in 1994.

Baylor's 119 points were the most ever scored in regulation of a women's NCAA Tournament game, surpassing the previous record 116. Ohio State scored 116 in a 1998 game, and UConn matched twice, including earlier Saturday.

Texas Southern (23-10) made the NCAA Tournament for the first time after win the SWAC Tournament.

CALIFORNIA 55, LSU 52

Asha Thomas scored 18 points and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:19 left to end a long California scoring drought, and the Bears held on.

California (20-13) had gone 4 1/2 minutes without scoring until Thomas made her sixth 3 of the game, from the right corner just in front of the Bears bench for a 53-50 lead.

Chloe Jackson made a jumper for LSU with 59 seconds left, and the Tigers (20-12) had another chance after Cal was unable to get the ball inbounded or a timeout called before a 5-second violation with 32 seconds left.

LSU's Alexis Hyder was tripped when fouled with 17 seconds left, but the Tigers weren't in the bonus and had to inbound the ball again. Hyder was then blocked by Kristine Anigwe, and a scramble for the ball led to a tie-up with California having possession.

Anigwe had 15 points for the Bears. She made all seven of her free throw attempts, including two with 6 seconds left.

Raigyne Moncrief's 3-pointer at the buzzer for LSU ricocheted off the side of the rim.

LOUISVILLE 82, CHATTANOOGA 62

Asia Durr scored 27 points to lead fourth-seeded Louisville to a victory over Chattanooga.

The rematch of a regular season contest played out a little differently. The Cardinals (28-7) didn't have anyone score in double figures in their 63-47 victory here on Nov. 21. On Saturday, they had four who did and were led by their sophomore guard.

Myisha Hines-Allen added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Jazmine Jones came off the bench to get 14. Those three fueled an offense that saw the Cardinals shoot a season best 61 percent. Louisville also notched a season-best 28 assists, with Mariya Moore dishing out 10. Hines-Allen and Briahanna Jackson added five each.

Lakelyn Bouldin led the Mocs (21-11) with 16 points.

TENNESSEE 66, DAYTON 57

Diamond DeShields scored 24 points to lead fifth-seeded Tennessee over Dayton.

The Lady Vols (20-11) used a strong second half to pull away from the 12th-seeded Flyers (22-10), shooting 52 percent after halftime to earn the victory. DeShields and Mercedes Russell wouldn't let the Flyers couldn't mount a comeback. They scored 23 of Tennessee's 37 points in the second half to lead the way.

Dayton started the game miserably. After getting two free throws in the opening 14 seconds to take an early lead, the Flyers made just one of their first 16 shots. That enabled the Lady Vols to take an 18-4 lead after a Schaquilla Nunn layup with 1:33 left in the opening quarter.

But that's when Tennessee went into a cold streak of its own. The Lady Vols made just 4-of-16 shots in the second quarter. The Flyers went on a 9-2 run midway through the period, with Jordan Wilmoth's 3-pointer cutting Tennessee's lead to just 25-22 with 2:21 remaining in the half. They continued chipping away from there, with Lauren Cannatelli's free throws with 16 seconds left tying the game at 29.

Dayton again took the lead in the opening seconds of the third quarter, on an Alex Harris layup. However, the Flyers scored just three points over the last six minutes of the quarter as Tennessee led 51-42 after three.

OKLAHOMA 75, GONZAGA 62

Vionise Pierre-Louis had 17 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots and No. 6 seed Oklahoma used its early hot shooting to hold off 11th-seeded Gonzaga.

Pierre-Louis controlled the interior throughout, making sure the Sooners' torrid shooting from behind the 3-point line in the first quarter withstood all of Gonzaga's charges. The Sooners (23-9) led by as many as 15 and watched Gonzaga (26-7) trim the deficit to five in the fourth quarter before holding on in the final minutes.

Oklahoma hit six 3-pointers and scored 29 points in the first quarter, a season-high in points for the opening 10 minutes.

Laura Stockton led Gonzaga with 14 points and Jill Barta added 13.

WASHINGTON 91, MONTANA STATE 63

Kelsey Plum scored 17 of her 29 points in the second half, Chantel Osahor had her 28th double-double of the season with 16 points and 19 rebounds, and No. 3 seed Washington pulled away in the second half for a 91-63 win over 14th-seeded Montana State.

Plum, the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history, didn't quite match the output of her last game on the Huskies home court when she scored a school record 57 points to become the premier scorer in NCAA history. Against the Bobcats, Plum settled for going to the rim, hitting 10 of 20 shots, but just one 3-pointer. Plum is now 21 points shy of breaking Jackie Stiles' record of 1,062 points in a single season.

Perhaps more impressive than Plum was the performance of Montana State's Peyton Ferris, who tied her career-high with 33 points in her final college game and kept the Bobcats hanging around into the third quarter before Washington pulled away.

___

STOCKTON REGION

QUINNIPIAC 68, MARQUETTE 65

Jennifer Fay scored 20 points and 12th-seeded Quinnipiac held on in a frantic final minute to upset fifth-seeded Marquette.

Paula Strautmane scored seven of her 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Bobcats (28-6), who opened on an 18-4 run and were up 52-33 midway through the third quarter before Marquette roared back and got within two.

But Strautmane made a pair of free throws with 17.6 seconds left to give Quinnipiac a 67-63 lead, added another with 2.8 seconds left and the Bobcats — who never trailed — escaped when Natisha Hiedeman's 3-pointer rimmed out as time expired.

Erika Davenport scored a game-high 21 points for Marquette (25-8), the Big East tournament champions whose eight-game winning streak was snapped. Allazia Blockton scored 14 and Heideman finished with 13 for the Golden Eagles, who were making their first NCAA trip since 2011.

MIAMI 62, FLORIDA GULF COAST 60

Keyona Hayes scored 16 points, including the go-ahead basket inside with 1.5 seconds remaining, and fourth-seeded Miami rallied to beat 13th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast.

Hayes added 10 rebounds for the Hurricanes (24-8), who wasted a 13-point lead and found themselves trailing twice in the final 2 minutes before rallying.

Taylor Gradinjan's 3-pointer for FGCU with 8.6 seconds left tied the game at 60. Miami advanced the ball out of a timeout, and the ball went to Hayes — who bulled her way in and scored on a post-up.

FGCU (26-9) set up a play and threw an inbounds pass toward the basket, and Miami's Keyanna Harris knocked the ball away as time expired. The Eagles argued there was contact, but no foul was called and Miami advanced.

Emese Hof scored 14 points for the Hurricanes, who move on to the second round on Monday night and a matchup with 12th-seeded Quinnipiac — a 68-65 upset winner over Marquette earlier in the day.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us