No. 2 UConn 83, No. 15 Mercer 38
UConn outscored the Bears 20-0 in the third quarter and four Huskies scored in double figures, led by Christyn Williams with 13, in a blowout win on their homecourt in Storrs, Conn., during a Bridgeport Region first-round game.
Paige Bueckers scored 12 and Dorka Juhasz and Caroline Ducharme added 10 apiece for the Huskies (26-5). Mercer (23-7) was led by Shannon Titus, who scored 12 points.
BRIDGEPORT REGION
No. 1 NC State 96, No. 16 Longwood 68
Raina Perez had 16 points and the Wolfpack (30-3) ended the first half on a 19-2 run to fuel a convincing win over the Lancers (22-12) in Raleigh, N.C. Jakia Brown-Turner added 15 points as NC State won its 11th straight game. Longwood, in its first NCAA Tournament, got 25 points from Tra’Dayja Smith.
No. 3 Indiana 85, No. 14 Charlotte 51
Mackenzie Holmes had 19 points and eight rebounds and Grace Berger added 18 points as the Hoosiers (23-8) had no trouble against the 49ers (22-10) in Bloomington, Ind. Octavia Jett-Wilson scored 19 to lead Charlotte, which made just 1 of 8 3-pointers.
No. 9 Kansas State 50, No. 8 Washington State 40
Ayoka Lee had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Wildcats (20-12) rallied from a nine-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Cougars (19-11) in Raleigh, N.C. Brylee Glenn added 14 points for Kansas State, which outscored Washington State 33-16 in the second half. Charlisse Leger-Walker led the Cougars with 20 points.
No. 7 UCF 69, No. 10 Florida 52
Brittney Smith pumped in 26 points in just 24 minutes as the Knights bumped off the in-state rival Gators in the matchup in Storrs, Conn., setting up a second-round crack at second-seeded Connecticut Monday night. Diamond Battles added 18 points and seven assists for the Knights (26-3), while Nina Rickards paced the Gators (21-11) with 17 points.
No. 11 Princeton 69, No. 6 Kentucky 62
Abby Meyers poured in a game-high 29 points as the Ivy League champion Tigers upset the Wildcats in a contest in Bloomington, Ind., earning a second-round matchup Monday night against Indiana. Kaitlyn Chen scored 17 for the Tigers (25-4). Rhyne Howard tallied 17 points for the Southeastern Conference tournament champion Wildcats (19-12), who made only 35.7 percent of their field goals.
No. 5 Notre Dame 89, No. 12 UMass 78
Olivia Miles collected a 12-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple double as the Fighting Irish outgunned the Minutewomen in Norman, Okla. Maddy Westbeld scored 19 points for the Fighting Irish (23-8), who connected on 57.6 percent of their field-goal tries. Sam Breen was brilliant in defeat for the Minutewomen (26-7) with a game-high 31 points.
No. 4 Oklahoma 78, No. 13 IUPUI 72
Taylor Robertson scored a game-high 22 points as the Sooners held off the Jaguars in Norman, Okla., earning a second-round contest Monday night against Notre Dame. The Sooners (26-8), who owned a 22-2 advantage in fast-break points, also got 21 points from Madi Williams. Rachel McLimore paced the Jaguars (24-6) with 18 points.
WICHITA REGION
No. 11 Villanova 61, No. 6 BYU 57
Maddy Siegrist scored 10 of her game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Wildcats (24-8) to an upset of the Cougars (26-4) in Ann Arbor, Mich. Siegrist made two free throws with 16 seconds left to make it 60-57 and then blocked a 3-point attempt by Tegan Graham at the other end. Paisley Harding scored 21 for BYU.
No. 4 Tennessee 80, No. 13 Buffalo 67
The Volunteers needed a late push to pull away from the Bulls, who trailed by five early in the fourth quarter before Tennessee put the game away with a 10-0 run on its homecourt in Knoxville, Tenn. Alexus Dye had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Volunteers (24-8), while Rae Burrell added 19 points and six rebounds. Buffalo (25-9) was led by Dyaisha Fair and Georgia Woolley, who scored 25 and 15 points, respectively.
No. 12 Belmont 73, No. 5 Oregon 70, 2OT
Tuti Jones scored 22 points and hit all four of her 3-pointers as the Bruins upset the Ducks in Knoxville, Tenn., advancing them to an in-state clash Monday night at Tennessee. Destinee Wells added 16 points and seven assists for the Bruins (23-7), while the Ducks (20-12) got 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots from Nyara Sabally.
No. 3 Michigan 74, No. 14 American 39
Naz Hillmon had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Wolverines outscored the Eagles 28-5 in the second quarter en route to a blowout win in Ann Arbor, Mich. Emily Kiser had 13 points and Leigha Brown added 11 for Michigan (23-6), which led by as many as 39 points and scored 25 off American’s 21 turnovers. The Eagles (23-9) were led by Lauren Stack, who scored 10 points but fouled out after just 20 minutes.
SPOKANE REGION
No. 6 Ohio State 63, No. 11 Missouri State 56
The Buckeyes ended the game on a 12-4 run to rally for a victory over the upset-minded Bears (25-8), who led by as many as 12 in the first half in Baton Rouge, La. Jacy Sheldon had a game-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds and Taylor Mikesell added 14 for the Buckeyes (24-6), who scored 25 points off the Bears’ 22 turnovers, overcoming Missouri State’s Brice Calip, who had 15 points and five rebounds, and Ifunanya Nwachukwu, who posted nine points and a season-high 17 rebounds.
No. 3 LSU 83, No. 14 Jackson State 77
The Tigers trailed the Lady Tigers after three quarters before rallying for a first-round win in Baton Rouge, La. Khayla Pointer’s 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists paced LSU (26-5), while Jailin Cherry added 24 points. Miya Crump scored 21 points to lead Jackson State (23-8) and Ameshya Williams-Holiday contributed a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double.
GREENSBORO REGION
No. 5 North Carolina 79, No. 12 Stephen F. Austin 66
Down by two points after three quarters, the Tar Heels used a 25-10 fourth quarter to eliminate the Ladyjacks in Tucson, Ariz. Deja Kelly pumped in 28 points for the Tar Heels (24-6), leading four starters in double figures. Zya Nugent drilled five 3-pointers and scored 26 points for the Ladyjacks (28-5), who made just 33.8 percent from the field.
No. 4 Arizona 72, No. 13 UNLV 67
Shaina Pellington pumped in a game-high 30 points as the Wildcats rallied in the fourth quarter to subdue the Lady Rebels in Tucson, Ariz. Cate Reese scored 16 for the Wildcats (22-7), who outscored the Rebels 24-14 in the final 10 minutes. Desi-Rae Young scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for UNLV (26-7).
–Field Level Media
