TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona appeared just like the inexperienced staff early, not one which performed for a nationwide championship a yr in the past. Even when the Wildcats shook off the jitters, that they had a tough time pulling away from UNLV.
As soon as the fourth quarter arrived, Canadian Shaina Pellington and Cate Reese took over, ensuring Arizona’s long-awaited NCAA Event homecoming wasn’t a dud.
Pellington and Reese scored all however two of Arizona’s factors within the fourth quarter, main the Wildcats to a gritty 72-67 win over UNLV on Saturday evening within the opening spherical of the ladies’s NCAA Event.
Pellington, from Pickering, Ont., completed with 30 factors and Reese had 16 after lacking the earlier three video games with a separated shoulder.
“When the sport was on the road, we would have liked to come back collectively as a staff and get some stops,” stated Pellington, who had 4 assists and 4 steals. “We wanted to attach stops with scores and that is what we did.”
The Wildcats (21-7), the No. 4 seed within the Greensboro Area, had been jittery early of their first house NCAA Event recreation since 1998, when coach Adia Barnes was nonetheless enjoying. Arizona bounced again after Barnes went deep into her bench _ 11 gamers within the first half _ however had a tough time shaking UNLV even because the McKale Middle crowd roared.
Two of Arizona’s greatest gamers had been the distinction down the stretch.
Taking turns late, Pellington and Reese keyed a 15-3 run and mixed for 22 fourth-quarter factors to ship the Wildcats into Monday’s second spherical towards North Carolina.
“It might be ugly, it might be no matter, however a win’s a win and this can be a good approach to begin,” Barnes stated.
UCONN 83, MERCER 38
STORRS, Conn. — Paige Bueckers began and scored 12 factors as UConn started its run towards a twelfth NCAA Event title with a first-round rout of No. 15 seed Mercer.
Final season’s nationwide participant of the yr performed 25 minutes, essentially the most in six video games since getting back from a left knee harm that saved her out for greater than two months. She additionally had 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Christyn Williams had 13 factors to guide the Huskies (26-5), who opened the event with a win for the twenty eighth straight yr. Dorka Juhasz added 10 factors and 9 rebounds.
Shannon Titus had 12 factors to guide Mercer (23-7), which was making its fourth straight look within the NCAA Event. The Southern Convention champion Bears have by no means gained an NCAA Event recreation.
The Huskies, who play UCF within the second spherical, held Mercer to simply 13 baskets on 56 pictures (23%).
Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., had seven factors and 6 rebounds for UConn.
UCF 69, FLORIDA 52
STORRS, Conn. — Brittney Smith got here off the bench to attain a career-high 26 factors and No. 7 seed UCF beat in-state rival Florida for the primary time after 26 consecutive losses.
Diamond Battles added 18 factors and Masseny Kaba had 14 for the Knights (26-3).
Nina Rickards had 17 factors and Zippy Broughton added 12 for injury-riddled Florida (21-11), which performed the second half with out middle Religion Dut. She went down simply earlier than halftime with a proper leg harm.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 96, LONGWOOD 68
RALEIGH, N.C. — Raina Perez scored 16 factors to guide 5 North Carolina State gamers in double digits because the No. 1 Wolfpack pulled away from No. 16 Longwood.
Perez made seven of her eight pictures for N.C. State, which gained a program-record thirtieth recreation this season. Jakia Brown-Turner had 15 factors and 7 rebounds, and Elissa Cunane tallied 13 factors and 7 boards. Diamond Johnson and Jada Boyd added 12 factors apiece.
Longwood (22-12) obtained 25 factors from Akila Smith and 19 from Kyla McMakin.
N.C. State performs Kansas State within the second spherical.
KANSAS STATE 50, WASHINGTON STATE 40
RALEIGH, N.C. — Ayoka Lee had 20 factors and 15 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas State overcame a irritating defensive scheme to outlast No. 8 Washington State
Lee, a second-team AP All-America choice, made only one shot from the ground within the first half however rallied within the second to guide the Wildcats (20-11) to their first event victory since 2017. Brylee Glenn added 14 factors for Kansas State.
Washington State (19-11) was powered by Charlisse Leger-Walker’s 20 factors on offense. Ula Motuga grabbed 14 rebounds and scored 5 factors.
The Wildcats did not enable the Cougars to make a area aim within the last 5 minutes of the sport.
INDIANA 85, CHARLOTTE 51
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 factors to guide Indiana previous Charlotte on the Hoosiers’ house court docket.
Serving as hosts for the primary time within the girls’s event, the third-seeded Hoosiers (23-8) used a 22-2 run throughout an almost six-minute, first-half stretch to blow the sport open.
The 6-foot-3 junior ahead and second-team All-Large Ten choice made 9 of 15 pictures to assist IU shoot 54.7%. She additionally grabbed eight rebounds. Grace Berger added 18 factors.
Octavia Jett-Wilson’s 19 factors led the 49ers (22-9), who shot 37%.
Indiana performs Princeton within the second spherical.
PRINCETON 69, KENTUCKY 62
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Abby Meyers had career-high 29 factors to guide No. 11-seed Princeton to its second-ever NCAA Event win, beating sixth-seeded Kentucky.
Kaitlyn Chen added 17 factors for the Tigers (25-4), who’ve gained 18 straight and by no means trailed after the primary quarter.
Three-time All-American Rhyne had 17 factors to guide the Wildcats (19-12), who entered the event winners of 10 straight, the final three towards groups ranked within the AP High 25.
Dre’una Edwards added 16 factors and 12 rebounds, however the redshirt junior made simply 6 of 15 pictures as Kentucky shot simply 35.7%.
NOTRE DAME 89, MASSACHUSETTS 78
NORMAN, Okla. — Olivia Miles had a triple-double assist No. 5 seed Notre Dame over No. 12 seed Massachusetts.
Miles had 12 factors, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the 18th triple-double in an girls’s event recreation and the tenth in class historical past.
Maddy Westbeld scored 19 factors and Maya Dodson and Dara Mabrey every added 18 for the Preventing Irish (23-8), who will play No. 4 seed Oklahoma or No. 13 seed IUPUI on Monday within the second spherical.
Sam Breen, the Atlantic 10 Participant of the 12 months, matched her profession excessive with 31 factors for UMass (26-7).
OKLAHOMA 78, IUPUI 72
NORMAN, Okla. — Taylor Robertson scored 17 of her 22 factors within the second half to assist Oklahoma beat IUPUI.
Madi Williams added 21 factors for the Sooners (25-8), who obtained a event win for first-year coach Jennie Baranczyk. Oklahoma will host Notre Dame in a second-round recreation on Monday. Notre Dame defeated Massachusetts 89-78 earlier within the night.
Rachel McLimore scored 18 factors for IUPUI. Macee Williams, the four-time Horizon League Participant of the 12 months, had 17 factors, 13 rebounds and 6 assists for the Jaguars (24-7), who performed of their first-ever event recreation.
VILLANOVA 61, BYU 57
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Maddy Siegrist scored 25 factors as Eleventh-seeded Villanova rallied to beat No. 6 seed BYU.
Kaitlyn Oriehl added 10 factors and Lucy Olsen had 9 for the Wildcats, who completed second within the Large East.
Paisley Harding scored 21 factors for BYU with Teagan Graham including 11. Shaylee Gonzales was held to eight factors, lacking 11 of her 14 pictures.
MICHIGAN 74, AMERICAN 39
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Naz Hillmon had 24 factors and 11 rebounds to assist third-seeded Michigan beat No. 14 seed American.
Emily Kiser added 13 factors and Leigha Brown had 11 for the Wolverines, who will face No. 11 seed Villanova on Monday within the second spherical.
American led 8-4 early earlier than Hillmon and the Wolverines obtained going. Michigan scored 48 of its 74 factors within the paint with Hilmon anchoring the inside offense. The Wolverines took the lead with just below two minutes left within the first quarter and by no means relinquished it, main by as many as 39.
Lauren Stack completed with 10 factors for Patriot League champion American.
TENNESSEE 80, BUFFALO 67
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Alexus Dye scored 18 factors and grabbed 11 rebounds as fourth-seeded Tennessee held off No. 13 seed Buffalo to stay good within the NCAA Event on their very own flooring.
Tennessee (24-8) improved to 24-0 within the first spherical at house
Senior Rae Burrell scored 15 factors after halftime, together with 9 within the third quarter serving to Tennessee to a 57-51 lead going into the ultimate quarter. The Woman Vols sealed the victory, outscoring Buffalo 12-3 to open the fourth.
Tamari Key completed with 16 factors and 11 rebounds and Burrell completed with 19 factors.
Bulls junior guard Dyaisha Honest, the nation’s fourth-leading scorer, topped her scoring common with 25 factors.
BELMONT 73, OREGON 70
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Destinee Wells knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:02 left in double extra time, and the Belmont Bruins knocked off No. 5 seed Oregon (20-12) for his or her second straight win as a 12 seed to open an NCAA Event.
Belmont (23-7) upset 14th-ranked Gonzaga within the Texas bubble final yr within the girls’s NCAA Event. With loads of Woman Vols followers hanging round to cheer a fellow Tennessee college, the Bruins gained their thirteenth straight and nineteenth of their final 21 video games general.
They’ll play fourth-seeded Tennesseon Monday within the second spherical.
This was the primary double-overtime recreation within the NCAA Event since Dayton and St John’s within the first spherical in 2013. This was a thriller from begin to end with 10 ties and Wells’ go-ahead free throws was the seventh lead change and the one time Belmont led within the second extra time.
OHIO STATE 63, MISSOURI STATE 56
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jacy Sheldon had 25 factors and 5 steals, and No. 6 seed Ohio State overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat Eleventh seed Missouri State.
Sheldon additionally made 10 of 12 free throws for the Buckeyes (24-6), who did not take the lead for good till Taylor Mikesell made a 3-pointer from the left nook to make it 54-52 with 3:10 left.
Missouri State (25-8) obtained as shut as 58-56 with 41 seconds left on a Brice Calip putback. However Sheldon responded with a layup and two free throws to assist seal the victory for the Buckeyes.
Mikesell completed with 14 factors for Ohio State, which can play LSU within the second spherical.
Brice Calip scored 15 factors, Ifunanya Nwachukwu grabbed 17 rebounds and Abigayle Jackson scored 11 factors for Missouri State.
LSU 83, JACKSON STATE 77
BATON ROUGE, La. — Khayla Pointer capped a 26-point efficiency with a tie-breaking 3-pointer within the last minute as No. 3 seed LSU rallied from 10 factors down within the last 4:42 to outlast 14th seed Jackson State.
Jailin Cherry scored 24 for LSU (26-5), hitting a number of key baskets throughout a stirring comeback that halted Jackson State’s profitable streak at 21 and prevented what was practically the primary victory by a No. 14 seed or a Southwestern Athletic Convention staff in a girls’s NCAA Event.
Faustine Aifuwa had 17 factors and 14 rebounds for LSU, which made six of its final eight pictures after having missed 15 of 18 proper earlier than its last, game-flipping flourish.
Miya Crump scored 21 factors for Jackson State (23-7), which erased a 17-point deficit within the third quarter. Ameshya Williams-Holliday added 15 factors and 12 rebounds for Jackson State, which tied the sport at 77 when Daja Woodard put again Keshuna Luckett’s missed free throw with 1:10 to go.
NORTH CAROLINA 79, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 66
TUSCON, Ariz. — Deja Kelly scored 28 factors, Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 and North Carolina pulled away within the fourth quarter to beat Stephen F. Austin.
The Tar Heels (24-6), the No. 5 seed within the Greensboro Area, struggled with turnovers and defensive rebounding whereas falling into an early 10-point gap. However they dominated the fourth quarter, hitting 7 of 13 pictures and utilizing a 10-0 run to construct an 11-point lead after trailing a lot of the afternoon.
The Tar Heels, who had been ranked seventeenth within the last Related Press ballot, transfer on to face both Arizona or UNLV within the second spherical on Monday.
Zya Nugent scored 26 factors for No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin (28-5), which was eyeing one other in a string of lower-seed wins on this yr’s bracket. The Ladyjacks led by 10 halfway via the second quarter and had been nonetheless up heading into the fourth.
