Wright State stuns No. 4 Arkansas in women's basketball NCAA tournament
Texas A&M avoids historic upset, Louisville overcomes slow start to beat Marist
Angel Baker made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds left and No. 13 Wright State stunned No. 4 Arkansas 66-62 on Monday in the biggest upset so far of the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Jada Roberson made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left to seal the victory for the Horizon League tournament champions, who were playing in just their third NCAA Tournament.
Baker scored 26 points and the Raiders (19-7) are the first No. 13 seed to beat a No. 4 since 2012. Coming into the tournament, No. 13 seeds were 9-104 all time.
This one had the making of an upset from the start, when the Raiders were the more aggressive and confident team in bolting to a big lead by the end of the first quarter.
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With Baker leading the way, Wright State used a frantic early pace to build the lead, then counterpunched late to secure the win after falling behind. Roberson's clinching free throws came on her only trip to the line.
Arkansas, a seasoned team that had knocked off No. 1 seed UConn and No. 2 seed Baylor during the season, rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to take a 59-58 lead on Chelsea Dungee's 3-pointer with 1:51 to play. The teams traded the lead two more times before Baker swished the long 3-pointer from the right wing.
Baker then grabbed a critical defensive rebound off an Arkansas miss with 12 seconds left before a foul sent Roberson to the line for the two clinching free throws.
Dungee finished with 27 points for Arkansas (19-9) and led the comeback that nearly won it for the Razorbacks.
Texas A&M avoids historic upset
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair watched one historic upset in the NCAA Tournament from up close. He was nearly part of one 23 years later.
Blair, who was with his former Arkansas program watching No. 16 seed Harvard upend No. 1 Stanford in 1988 in what is still the biggest upset in tournament history, had to coax his Aggies to a wild 84-80 first-round win over No. 15 Troy.
"To advance in this tournament, you have to have games like this," Blair said. "You have to look at yourself in the mirror and find out the answers."
No 15 seed has ever beaten a No. 2, and it took a gritty effort by Aggies guard Jordan Nixon over the final six minutes to turn away a historic result.
Nixon scored nine points in the final quarter, trading baskets and free throws with the Trojans after Troy had taken the lead with 5:51 left.
"We showed resiliency. I mean, survive and advance. That's what it's all about," Nixon said. "Obviously, we didn't play our best game in any way shape or form."
Next up is a second-round matchup against No. 7 Iowa State, which beat No. 10 Michigan State 79-75.
Louisville overcomes early jitters
Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Dana Evans added 15 to help second-seeded Louisville overcome some early jitters and beat No. 15 seed Marist 74-43.
Despite being one of the top teams in the country, the Cardinals didn't have much tournament experience. Only the All-American Evans and Mykasa Robinson had played in the NCAAs in a Louisville uniform before Monday.
It showed early on as the team missed eight of its first nine shots, including some layups. Marist took advantage and built a 21-12 early in the second quarter.
Then the Cardinals (24-3) finally settled down, going on a 17-3 run to close out the half as their full-court pressure started to bother the Red Foxes.
Louisville took its first lead of the game on Robinson's three-point play that made it 26-23. Van Lith followed with her own basket and foul shot — letting out a scream in celebration as the ball went through the basket. The Cardinals led 29-24 at the half.
Marist (18-4) cut it to 31-28 early in the third before Louisville went on a 22-1 run. Ahlana Smith had seven straight points during that spurt all coming off Red Foxes turnovers. Marist didn't have a field goal for the final 8:19 of the quarter.
Onyenwere leads 3rd-seeded UCLA past Wyoming
Michaela Onyenwere scored 25 points and third-seeded UCLA was never threatened en route to a 69-48 victory over Wyoming.
Onyenwere, a 6-foot senior, converted 9 of 17 shots from the field. She has averaged more than 24 points in her last five games, five more than her mark for the season.
Charisma Osborne supported Onyenwere with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Natalie Chou also scored 15.
Alba Sanchez Ramos led Wyoming with 15 points and 10 rebounds. McKinley Bradshaw scored 13.
Neither team has a starter taller than 6-foot-1, but UCLA (17-5) has more height and dominated in the paint, outscoring Wyoming 34-20.
Maryland race past Mount St. Mary
Ashley Owusu scored 20 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, Chloe Bibby had a double-double and seventh-ranked Maryland raced to a 98-45 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Monday in the opening round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Owusu scored six points during an 18-0 run that was part of a 25-4 blitz in the second quarter that decided the outcome. The Terrapins then on to their largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament, surpassing an 89-54 win in 1989.
Diamond Miller added 19 points for second-seeded Maryland (25-2), which will take a 14-game winning streak into a second-round game with seventh-seeded Alabama in the Hemesfair Region on Wednesday.
Arizona rolls past Stony Brook
Arizona coach Aida Barnes need not worry. Her Wildcats were more than ready for their first women's NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years.
Aari McDonald scored 20 points, Trinity Baptiste added 18 and Cate Reese 16 as Arizona rolled past tournament newcomer Stony Brook 79-44.
The America East champion and 14th-seeded Seawolves (15-6) led at 4-2 but were then left behind by the 11th-ranked and third-seeded Wildcats, who will take on 11th-seeded BYU on Wednesday.
Bruins stun Gonzaga for 1st-ever victory
Belmont freshman Destinee Wells scored 25 points and had seven assists in a turnover-free game as the younger and smaller 12th seeded Bruins held on for their first victory ever in the women's NCAA Tournament, pulling off a 64-59 upset over fifth-seeded Gonzaga.
The Bruins (21-5) sealed the game with 19 seconds left when Wells, on a drive with the shot clock winding down, passed inside to Madison Bartley. The fellow freshman had to rip the ball away from the defender, but made the layup while being fouled and added the free throw for a five-point lead.
Jill Townsend had 17 points for Gonzaga (23-4), which had cut a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to 57-55 on Abby O'Connor's 3-pointer with just over four minutes left. The Bulldogs never got closer.
Alabama make victorious return
Jordan Lewis had a career-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help seventh-seeded Alabama beat No. 10 seed North Carolina 80-71 on Monday in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
"The world saw today why Jordan Lewis is the best point guard in the SEC," Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. "She shares and cares and finds ways to impact us in so many different categories."
It was a triumphant return to the NCAAs for the Crimson Tide (17-9), who were playing their first game in the tournament since 1999.
BYU dishes 1st upset
Paisley Johnson Harding scored 28 points and 11th-seeded BYU gave the women's NCAA Tournament its first upset with a 69-66 victory over sixth-seed Rutgers.
After Sunday's 16-0 start for the higher seeds, the Cougars (19-5) — believed to be the last team to make the field — came out Monday morning to knock off the 21st-ranked Scarlet Knights (14-5) and advance to Wednesday's second round against Arizona who defeated Stony Brook..
Harding scored eight straight points and Lauren Gustin the next four in a 12-0 run over 5 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 57-54 lead while Rutgers was committing five turnovers. BYU held on from there, matching the one-woman offence of Ariella Guirantes, who scored 13 straight Rutgers points in the quarter.
Georgia works past slow start to beat Drexel
Jenna Staiti scored all 19 of her points in the second half, making seven straight shots, Que Morrison had 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists, and No. 3 seed Georgia overcame a slow start to beat No. 14 seed Drexel 67-53 on Monday in the women's NCAA Tournament.
Georgia advances in the Alamo Region to face the winner of the Oregon-South Dakota game.
