It was quite a debut for the Duquesne women's team in the NCAA Tournament Saturday. The No. 9 seed in the Bridgeport Regional thoroughly beat No. 8 seed Seton Hall. Their reward? UConn, which is on a 70-game winning streak and seeking its fourth straight national title.
A glance at Day 2:
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BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL
NO. 1 UCONN 101, NO. 16 ROBERT MORRIS 49
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Freshman Katie Lou Samuelson scored 22 points as UConn began its quest for a fourth consecutive national title with a rout of Robert Morris.
Two-time national player of the year Breanna Stewart added 18 points for the Huskies (33-0), who are working toward the program's 11th NCAA championship.
Anna Niki Stamolamprou had 11 for Robert Morris (20-13) in the final game for coach Sal Buscaglia, who is retiring after a 38-year career.
The Huskies have won 70 consecutive games, which matches the second-longest winning streak in team and NCAA history.
They play Duquesne on Monday night.
NO. 9 DUQUESNE 97, NO. 8 SETON HALL 76
STORRS, Conn. (AP) —Deva'Nyar Workman scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Duquesne to a successful NCAA debut with a win over Seton Hall.
Workman led four players in double figures for the Dukes (28-5), who used a 15-0 third-quarter run to stretch a six-point halftime lead.
Kadri-Ann Lass scored 20 points, Amadea Szamosi added 16 and April Robinson scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had seven assists.
Tabatha Richardson-Smith scored 17 points, while Shakena Richardson and Aleesha Powell each added 13 for Seton Hall (23-9).
NO. 3 UCLA 66, NO. 14 HAWAII 50
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nirra Fields scored 16 points and Monique Burke added 15 as UCLA defeated a cold-shooting Hawai'i.
Jordin Canada added 10 points while the 10th-ranked Bruins (25-8) employed an aggressive zone defense that held the Rainbow Wahine (21-11) to a season-low 12 baskets on 19 percent shooting, also a season low.
Megan Huff scored 11 points to lead Hawai'i, which was able to make just 6 of 47 shots over the final 30:07 of the game.
The Bruins will take on No. 6 seed South Florida on Monday.
NO. 6 SOUTH FLORIDA 48, NO. 11 COLORADO STATE 45
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Courtney Williams came off the bench and scored 31 points and South Florida held on late to defeat Colorado State.
Williams, a non-starter for the first time this year, scored 18 of the Bulls' 25 second-half points to carry South Florida into the second round.
Jamie Patrick scored 17 points and Ellen Nostrum added 12 for Colorado State (31-2), the Mountain West Tournament champions.
South Florida forced Colorado State into 13 turnovers, and outscored the Rams 18-4 in points off those miscues.
NO. 10 MISSOURI 78, NO. 7 BYU 69
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Freshman Sophie Cunningham scored 20 points, most of it in a dominant third quarter, and Missouri upset BYU for the Tigers' first NCAA Tournament win since 2001.
Cunningham scored 16 in the third as Missouri built an 11-point lead then held on down the stretch when BYU (26-7) got within 62-60 midway through the fourth.
BYU's Lexi Rydalch, the West Coast Conference career scoring leader, had 22 points for the Cougars, but had just seven after halftime and fouled out with less than 2 minutes to play and her team trailing by five.
Jordan Frericks added 19 points for Missouri (22-9). The Tigers will play No. 2 seed Texas on Monday.
NO. 2 TEXAS 86, NO. 15 ALABAMA STATE 42
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Ariel Atkins scored 15 points and Texas used a dominant third quarter on its home court to roll to a win over Alabama State.
Texas raced to a big early lead but defensive lapses and poor shooting let Alabama State hang around longer than the Hornets probably expected. That all changed with a 26-5 Texas run in the third that had the Longhorns cruising into the NCAA Tournament's second round.
Empress Davenport scored 13 points for Texas (29-4), which lost a first-round game the last time it hosted the tournament in 2010.
Danielle Clark scored 13 points for Alabama State (19-12).
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DALLAS REGIONAL
NO. 5 FLORIDA STATE 72, NO. 12 MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 55
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Junior guard Leticia Romero scored 17 points for Florida State to help lead the Seminoles past Middle Tennessee.
The Seminoles overcame 21 turnovers, 14 in the first half, to advance to the second round.
The Blue Raiders kept the game close until the Seminoles went on an 11-4 run late in the third quarter. In the final 10 minutes, FSU coach Sue Semrau's squad extended the lead to as many as 20 over Rick Insell and Middle Tennessee.
MTSU freshman forward Alex Johnson led all players in scoring with 22 points.
The Seminoles will face No. 4 seed Texas A&M Monday.
NO. 4 TEXAS A&M 74, NO. 13 MISSOURI STATE 65
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Freshman Anriel Howard set an NCAA Tournament record with 27 rebounds, Courtney Walker scored 29 points and Texas A&M overcame the suspension of starter Courtney Williams to beat Missouri State.
Before the game the fourth-seeded Aggies suspended Walker and Shlonte Allen indefinitely for a violation of team rules. They are eligible to practice with the team while suspended.
For the first half, the 13th-seeded Lady Bears hung tough with Texas A&M, but then Walker and the Aggies (22-9) took over.
Howard shattered the NCAA record for rebounds of 23 set by Cheryl Taylor in 1985 for Tennessee Tech against Georgia.
Tyonna Snow scored 22 points to lead Missouri State (24-10).
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LEXINGTON REGIONAL
NO. 1 NOTRE DAME 95, NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA A&T 61
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Brianna Turner scored 16 points, Madison Cable added 14 points and seven rebounds and Notre Dame dominated inside to beat North Carolina A&T as the Fighting Irish began their pursuit of a sixth-straight Final Four appearance.
Kathryn Westbeld added 12 points as the Fighting Irish (32-1) shot 59 percent to win their 29th straight at home, the third longest streak in school history. They will play No. 9 seed Indiana on Monday.
The Irish jumped quickly to a 7-0 lead and pulled away throughout most of the game, leading by 28 at halftime and 41 at the end of three quarters.
Kala Green, who missed her first 10 shots, led the Aggies with 12 points on 5 of 18 shooting.
NO. 9 INDIANA 62, NO. 8 GEORGIA 58
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Tyra Buss scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half to lead Indiana to a win over Georgia.
Amanda Cahill added 14 for Indiana (21-11), which is making its first appearance in the tournament since 2002.
The Hoosiers' 21 wins match a program-best for a season.
Tiaria Griffin led Georgia (21-10) with 18 points and Caliya Robinson added 14.
NO. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 74, NO. 5 MIAMI 71
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Macy Miller and Gabby Boever combined for three free throws over the final 35.6 seconds to bail out their teammates' poor shooting late at the line, and South Dakota State stunned Miami.
Miller finished with 18 points, while Madison Guebert scored 19 points and matched an NCAA program-best with five 3-pointers as the Jackrabbits survived despite their second-half struggles handling the Hurricanes' trapping full-court press and 22 turnovers.
Ellie Thompson hit a key 3-pointer with 3:58 remaining and South Dakota State (27-6) advanced to the second round for the first time since 2009 and will play No. 4 Stanford for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Adrienne Motley scored 19 points for Miami (24-9).
NO. 4 STANFORD 85, NO. 13 SAN FRANCISCO 58
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Tara VanDerveer and Jennifer Azzi held their embrace a bit longer than a typical pregame greeting between coaches, then the Hall of Fame Stanford coach guided the Cardinal into the second round by beating her former star player and Azzi's San Francisco team.
Lili Thompson scored 17 points, Erica McCall had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Stanford (25-7) advanced on its home floor in Maples Pavilion.
Rachel Howard came off the bench to score 14 points in USF's first NCAA berth since 1997 under sixth-year coach Azzi.
NO. 6 OKLAHOMA 61, NO. 11 PURDUE 45
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Peyton Little scored 20 points, Maddie Manning added 12 and Oklahoma blocked 13 shots to shut down 11th-seeded Purdue 61-45 for a first-round NCAA Tournament victory on Saturday.
The Sooners' double-digit block total was their highest since rejecting 10 against Baylor on Feb. 21, 2009, and they fell just two short of matching their 15 blocks against Texas on March 7, 2007. But shot-blocking was just one highlight of an Oklahoma defensive effort that also held Purdue to just 28 percent shooting.
The Sooners (22-10) were better from the field at 43 percent but improved to 4-0 all-time against the Boilermakers (20-12). Little set the offensive tone by making 7 of 12 from the field including four 3-pointers range, while Manning made 5 of 11 with a 3.
Oklahoma will face No. 3 Kentucky on Monday.
NO. 3 KENTUCKY 85, NO. 14 UNC ASHEVILLE 31
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Makayla Epps scored 24 points and Kentucky routed UNC Asheville for its biggest NCAA Tournament victory margin in school history.
The Wildcats (24-7) shot 50 percent from the field to easily win their ninth straight opening-round game. The past seven wins have come under coach Matthew Mitchell, whose team also allowed their fewest points in a tournament game and lowest shooting percentage (20.6).
Epps shot effectively all day in making 10 of 20 from the field for Kentucky. Taylor Murray and Evelyn Akhator each shot 5 of 7 to combine for 21 points, while Janee Thompson had 13 on 4-of-11 shooting.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, held UNC Asheville (26-7) to just 21 percent from the field and dominated the boards 50-31 in rolling to its third straight first-round win by 40-plus points.
NO. 2 MARYLAND 74, NO. 15 IONA 58
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 19 points, and Maryland ruined Iona's debut in the NCAA Tournament with a sloppy 74-58 victory Saturday.
Seeking to ultimately make a third straight appearance in the Final Four, the Terrapins got off to a rocky start on their own court. Maryland (31-3) let a 19-point lead dwindle to 60-53 early in the fourth quarter before finally pulling away from the Gaels (23-12).
The Terrapins committed 19 turnovers, 11 before halftime. But the two-time Big Ten champions finished with a 42-27 rebounding advantage and outscored Iona 15-6 at the foul line to extend its winning streak to 10. They will face No. 7 seed Washington Monday.
Philecia Gilmore made seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for Iona.
NO. 7 WASHINGTON 65, NO. 10 PENN 53
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Kelsey Plum and Washington finally got going on offense and prevented an Ivy League surprise in the women's NCAA Tournament, with the nation's third-leading scorer producing 24 points and seven assists in the Huskies' victory over Penn.
Like the rest of her team in the first-round game, Plum did not shoot all that well — 9 for 25, including 1 for 8 on 3s — but she took over when it mattered most, scoring or assisting on Washington's first 14 points of the fourth quarter, breaking open a tight game.
Talia Walton added 18 points for Washington (23-10).
Penn (24-5) led 25-24 at halftime in its bid to become only the third Ivy League school to win a game in the history of the women's tourney.
