Canada's Aaliyah Edwards scores career-high 28 points as UConn cruises past Vermont
Baylor overcomes 18-point deficit to defeat Alabama
Canada's Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points, Dorka Juhasz added a double-double and No. 2 seed UConn routed 15th seed Vermont 95-52 on Saturday, giving the Huskies a 29th straight win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Juhasz scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the Hungarian's 13th double-double this season for the seventh-ranked Huskies.
Catherine Gilwee scored 14 points, while Emma Utterback and Maria Myklebust each had 13 for Vermont (25-7), which had its 17-game winning streak snapped.
UConn will play No. 7 seed Baylor on Monday. The Bears came back from an 18-point first quarter deficit to beat Alabama 78-74 on Saturday night.
What a day for Aaliyah Edwards <a href="https://t.co/nD9rOsTmU9">pic.twitter.com/nD9rOsTmU9</a>
—@UConnWBBThis was the fourth straight game the Huskies have had 10 available players, after spending much of the season with just seven.
Azzi Fudd (five points), who missed 22 games, including the final 14 of the regular season with knee injuries, made her first start since Dec. 4 and scored the first basket on a short jumper from the lane. That started a 7-0 run and the Huskies never trailed.
Edwards, a 20-year-old from Kingston, Ont., had 12 of her points in the first 10 minutes as the Huskies led 27-12 after a quarter.
"From the jump ball I knew personally, individually that I'd be able to dominate inside," Edwards said. "And I think Dorka held her own too and I think we just flowed together as a team."
UConn took its first 20-point lead at 32-12 and a fast-break layup from Aubrey Griffin made it 48-18. The Huskies shot 67 per cent over the first 20 minutes (62 per cent for the game) and it was 53-20 at halftime.
The Huskies extended that to as many as 46 in the second half.
WATCH | Edwards on her Canadian support and inspiration:
Baylor completes big comeback against Alabama
Ja'Mee Asberry scored 26 points, including three key foul shots in the final minute, and Baylor overcame an early 18-point deficit to beat Alabama 78-74.
Sarah Andrews and Caitlin Bickle each added 14 for the Bears (20-12), whose rally tied for the third biggest comeback in tournament history. Baylor closed the game on a 7-0 run, all from the foul line.
Brittany Davis tied a career high with 33 points for Alabama (20-11), which closes its season on a five-game losing streak.
Miami rallies past Oklahoma State
Haley Cavinder scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and made what proved to be the decisive free throw with 8.9 seconds left to pull off a 17-point second half rally Saturday that gave ninth-seeded Miami a 62-61 victory over eighth-seeded Oklahoma State.
The comeback wasn't over until Naomie Alnatas' 10-footer rolled off the rim at the buzzer following a 5-second call on the Hurricanes.
Miami (20-12) will play top-seeded Indiana on its home court Monday night with a ticket to the Sweet 16 at stake.
Cavinder also had eight rebounds and six assists while Jasmyn Roberts added 12 points and Destiny Harden had 11 points and five rebounds.
Canada's Lashae Dwyer added two points for Miami.
Anna Gret Asi led Oklahoma State with 16 points and four three-pointers including one with 5.3 seconds to go that gave the Cowgirls a shot to win it. Alnatas had 10 points and Taylen Collins had 16 rebounds for Oklahoma State (21-12).
Toledo upsets Iowa State
Quinesha Lockett scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as 12th-seeded Toledo knocked off No. 5 seed Iowa State 80-73 for Saturday's second big upset of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Toledo became the second 12 seed to win Saturday, joining Florida Gulf Coast not long after its win over Washington State. Toledo now will play No. 4 seed Tennessee, a 95-50 winner over 13th-seeded Saint Louis, on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16 in the Spokane 3 region.
Jayda Jansen scored 17 points for Toledo, Sophia Wiard added 15 points and Nan Garcia 12.
Iowa State got within 78-73 on Denae Fritz's 3 with 29.4 seconds left. Toledo didn't make a bucket after Lockett's layup with 3:35 to go, but the Rockets sealed the win hitting its final eight free throws over the final 63 seconds.
When Lexi Donarski's three missed with 24 seconds left, Toledo got the rebound and Justina King just held the ball as the final seconds ticked off before the Rockets started celebrating.
12th-seeded FGCU tops Washington State
Maddie Antenucci's three-pointer bounced four times before going through the net as part of her game-changing spree from beyond the arc that sent 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 74-63 win Saturday over No. 5-seed Washington State.
Sha Carter scored 24 points and Tishara Moorehouse had 16 for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament champion Golden Eagles (33-3).
Canada's Tara Wallack led the Cougars with 16 points.
FGCU will play the winner of Saturday's late game between fourth-seeded Villanova and No. 13 seed Cleveland State at the Wildcats' on-campus arena, the Pavilion.
The Eagles sent the Shania Twain karaoke club out of Washington State (23-11) home early after a surprising run to win the Pac-12 Tournament.
Canada's Russell helps Louisville defeat Drake
Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points over the final five minutes, including five in a row in the final 16 seconds, and Louisville held off Drake's frantic March Madness upset bid with an 83-81 win.
Van Lith's three-point play off a layup out of timeout put Louisville up by four before Drake answered with a 3-pointer by Sarah Beth Gueldner. Van Lith then made two more free throws to all but seal the win for the Cardinals.
Van Lith finished with 26 points and Mykasa Robison scored 14 for Louisville (24-11).
Canada's Merissah Russell scored nine points for Louisville while also adding two rebounds and two assists.
Katie Dinnebier scored 20 points for Drake (22-10), which confused Louisville's defence early with a series of backdoor cuts that had the Bulldogs shooting layup after layup. Anna Miller scored 17 for Drake.
North Carolina holds off St. John's
Deja Kelly had a go-ahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and No. 6 seed North Carolina hung on for a 61-59 win over 11th-seeded St. John's in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The Tar Heels faced their first deficit of the game when Danielle Patterson sank a three-pointer with 6:39 left to play.
The Red Storm led for the next four-plus minutes until Paulina Paris was fouled in transition and made the ensuing free throw to tie the game at 54.
The score tied twice in the final minute as Mimi Reid made a layup with 6 seconds left to knot the game at 58.
Kelly drove the left lane and made the free throw to complete the game-winning score. Patterson then was fouled after a timeout shooting a three-pointer with just over a second left that gave the Red Storm one last chance.
She missed the first two free throws and then inexplicably made third one ending any chance the Red Storm had to tie the game.
Kelly led North Carolina with 18 points on 7-of-16 shooting, Kennedy Todd-Williams finished with 14 points and Alyssa Ustby totaled 13. The Tar Heels shot 42.1 per cent from the field.
Indiana rolls past Tennessee Tech
Sydney Parrish scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead No. 1 Indiana past Tennessee Tech for a 77-47 win.
All-American centre Mackenzie Holmes cheered on her Indiana teammates from the bench while resting a sore knee. Grace Berger had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks and Lilly Meister added seven points and three blocks in her first career start.
Maaliya Owens had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead Tennessee Tech (23-10), which had won its previous eight games.
Duke routs Iona for 1st tournament win since 2018
Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun each scored 13 points and Duke marked its return to NCAA Tournament action with an 89-49 romp past Iona.
Canada's Shayeann Day-Wilson collected seven assists, four rebounds and three points for Duke.
It was the first NCAA Tournament win for Duke since 2018, when it last had a spot in the tournament. Duke has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in all 25 seasons when it has been in the field.
Kennedy Brown and Jordyn Oliver added 10 points apiece as the Blue Devils (26-6) shot 57.1 per cent from the field.
Ketsia Athias led No. 14 seed Iona (26-7) with 20 points. Juana Camilion had 12.
Villanova's Siegrist reaches milestone in win over Cleveland State
Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women's player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-American had 35 points to lead Villanova into the NCAA Tournament's second round with a 76-59 win over Cleveland State.
The Wildcats (29-6) will play No. 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast (33-3) on Monday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. The Eagles topped Washington State 74-63 in Saturday's first game.
Villanova's 29 wins this season tie the 1981-82 team for most in program history.
The two-time Big East Player of the Year, Siegrist got hot early and reached her milestone 1,000th-point bucket in style. Siegrist followed her shot after she missed a jumper from the elbow, crashed the boards and stripped the ball from a Cleveland State defender that had grabbed the rebound. She tossed up a fadeaway and banked in the bucket.
Destiny Leo scored 25 points for the Horizon League Tournament champion Vikings.
Ohio State defeats James Madison
Cotie McMahon scored 18 points to help No. 3 seed Ohio State pull away for an 80-66 win over No. 14 seed James Madison in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
McMahon made her team's first three-pointer with 5:18 left in the third quarter to give Ohio State (26-7) a 44-43 lead, and the Buckeyes didn't give up the advantage from there on out. They trailed by as many as 16 in the first half before going on a 12-0 run.
Jacy Sheldon scored three of her 17 points during an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter. Taylor Thierry shot 7 of 8 and fouled out with 15 points. Taylor Mikesell added 14 points.
James Madison (26-8) led 26-14 and was making 50 per cent of its shots at the end of the first quarter. The Dukes shot 37.9 per cent in the second half and turned it over 21 times, their most in 10 games.
Kiki Jefferson led the Dukes with 17 points and Jamia Hazell added 10.
The Buckeyes trailed 37-34 and were shooting 31.3 per cent at the half.
With files from CBC Sports
