Canada's Aaliyah Edwards helps lead No. 1 UConn past Syracuse
Kingston, Ont., native scores 19 points as Huskies advance to Sweet 16
Paige Bueckers scored 20 points and Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., added 19 to help No. 1 seed UConn beat eighth-seeded Syracuse 83-47 on Tuesday night and advance to the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Once again the Huskies were missing coach Geno Auriemma, who is recovering from COVID-19. Chris Dailey filled in for the Hall of Fame coach, who celebrated his 67th birthday on Tuesday and could potentially rejoin the team this weekend for its next game.
The UConn players sang "Happy Birthday" to Auriemma earlier Tuesday in a video posted on Twitter. They also gave him a present by again showing how well they could play without him.
The Huskies (26-1) got off to a slow start, a bit flummoxed by Syracuse's zone defence.
With the game tied 8-8, Christyn Williams banked in a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and then Bueckers scored off a steal to give the Huskies a five-point lead. They led 19-14 after one quarter and slowly pulled away from the Orange (15-9) to a 15-point halftime lead.
Bueckers, the freshman All-America guard, had 16 points in the half.
In the second half, the Huskies tore the zone apart with precision passing that led to easy layups. While Bueckers wasn't scoring as much in the second half, she was passing the ball. She had a nifty no-look pass for a layup and foul, pumping her fist in celebration.
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The Huskies led 64-35 after three quarters and cruised into the Sweet 16 for the 27th straight year.
Syracuse was led by its own talented freshman in 6-foot-7 centre Kamilla Cardoso. She had 12 points and seven rebounds.
The loss ended the stellar career of Syracuse guard Tiana Mangakahia, who returned from breast cancer this season. She finished as the Orange's all-time assist leader and one of the best players in school history.
She finished the game with seven points.
Michigan women reach Sweet 16 for 1st time
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first Sweet 16 appearance with a 70-55 win over third-seeded Tennessee on Tuesday in the women's NCAA Tournament.
The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Vols. As the final buzzer sounded, the Michigan players jumped into a group hug at centre court and sang "it's great to be a Michigan Wolverine."
Tennessee (17-8) trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter and was able to cut its deficit to 54-44 with under 5 minutes left before a 3-pointer by Danielle Rauch and a steal and layup by Brown restored the 15-point cushion.
Hillmon, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also had 15 rebounds as the Wolverines more than held their own on the glass against the Lady Vols, outrebounding them 42-40.
A trip to the regional semifinals was just another first for the Wolverines this year. The team started 10-0 for the first time in school history. They were also in the rankings all season for the first-time, as well as having Hillmon be the first player to earn All-America honours as a second-teamer.
Tennessee, which has a long storied NCAA tradition with eight national championships, fell to 28-3 in the second round.
Rennia Davis scored 12 points to lead the Lady Vols, who were playing Michigan for the first time.
Jones, 3-pointers lift No. 1 Stanford over Oklahoma State
Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford unleashed another barrage of 3-pointers as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament booked yet another trip to the Sweet 16 with a 73-62 win over No. 8 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
The Cardinal made 13 3-pointers after making 15 in their first-round win. All of those against Oklahoma State came in the first three quarters as Stanford built the lead as high as 20.
Stanford made the Sweet 16 for the 27th time in pursuit of its first national title since 1992. The Cardinal advance to play the winner of Wednesday's matchup between No. 5 Missouri State and No. 13 Wright State in the Alamo Region.
The Cardinal (27-2) had four players score in double figures and all five starters made at least one 3-pointer as the Cowgirls struggled to cover every shooter.
Caitlin Clark scores 35 for Iowa in win over Kentucky
Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark is stepping up on the big stage of the women's NCAA Tournament, and really stood out in a small gym to send the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16.
Clark finished with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and six 3-pointers after outscoring fourth-seeded Kentucky on her own in the first half, and the Hawkeyes advanced with an 86-72 victory Tuesday in the second-round game played in the cozy arena on the campus of Division II school St. Mary's University.
The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-9) had what coach Lisa Bluder called a perfect start, scoring the game's first 11 points — with all five starters getting a basket, Clark's being a 3-pointer.
They led throughout to advance past the second round for only the third time in their 14 NCAA appearances during Bluder's 21 seasons. They did go to the Elite Eight in the last tourney two years ago before losing to eventual champion Baylor.
Two-time AP All-American guard Rhyne Howard finished with 28 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats (18-9). She was 1 of 7 shooting in the first half, but finished 8 of 21 with five 3-pointers, along with eight assists. Dre'Una Edwards added 16 points and Jazmine Massengill 10.
A second-team AP All-American who entered the game as the national leader with 26.5 points per game, Clark also had seven rebounds and six assists. Her 35 points and six 3-pointers were both NCAA tournament records for Iowa.
No. 1 seed South Carolina dismantles Oregon State
Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and top seed South Carolina dominated after a close first quarter to beat eighth-seeded Oregon State 59-42 in the women's NCAA Tournament, advancing to its seventh straight Sweet 16.
The Gamecocks (24-4) led by a point after one quarter but had built a 12-point lead by halftime and were up 53-29 by the start of the fourth.
Laeticia Amihere of Mississauga, Ont., added six points as South Carolina took advantage of six turnovers.
South Carolina, which won a national title in 2017, improved to 8-1 in the second round under coach Dawn Staley and will appear in the regional semifinals for the 11th time overall.
Taylor Jones scored 13 points for Oregon State (12-8), which ended a streak of four straight Sweet 16 appearances. Jones fouled out with about three minutes remaining.
Baylor thumps Virginia Tech
Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington both had 21 points as reigning women's national champion Baylor advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Sweet 16, beating Virginia Tech.
Queen Egbo had 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with seven blocked shots for the Lady Bears (27-2). DiDi Richards had nine assists.
All-America forward NaLyssa Smith finished with 15 points, all but two of those coming after halftime for Baylor.
Georgia Amoore had 18 points with four 3-pointers to lead Virginia Tech (15-10), which had opened its first NCAA Tournament since 2006 with a win over Marquette.
Top-seeded NC State shrugs off South Florida
Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina State shrugged off a challenge from No. 8 South Florida with a big third quarter, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament with a 79-67 victory on Tuesday.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (22-2), who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall. They will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 12th-seeded Belmont.
USF (19-4) led by a point early in the third quarter before N.C. State used two big runs to pull away and take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
The Bulls pulled within eight points with 3 1/2 minutes to go. But the Wolfpack scored the next five points, capped by a 3 from Brown-Turner that made it 73-60 with 90 seconds to go.
Elena Tsineke had 22 points to lead the Bulls, who were in the tournament for the seventh time. They made six 3-pointers in the first half to spark hope of an upset, but hit just three more after halftime.
Georgia Tech rolls over West Virginia
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech used a big third quarter to beat No. 4 West Virginia 73-56 on Tuesday in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
The Yellow Jackets needed a second-half rally in the opening round against Stephen F. Austin — the fourth-largest comeback in tournament history — but had this game well in control with a 17-point lead over the Mountaineers to start the fourth. Their European inside-outside combo of Cubaj, from Italy, and Lahtinen, of Finland, led the way.
Lahtinen was 9 of 16 from the field and struck for 17 points in the first half to dig the Yellow Jackets out of an early hole.
Georgia Tech (17-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history and first since 2012. The Yellow Jackets will meet Hemisfair Region No. 1 South Carolina.
Esmery Martinez scored 13 points to lead West Virginia (22-7).
