Fair returns from injury to rally ’Cuse
STORRS, Conn. — Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair scored 32 points, including 13 after she returned from a second-half injury, to lead the Orange to a 74-69 come-from behind win over No. 11 seed Arizona in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The third team All-American scored all of her team’s points during a game-winning run that began with the Orange trailing 66-61 with 3:16 left. Alyssa Latham added 10 points for Syracuse (24-7).
Skyler Jones had 24 points while Jada Williams and Helena Pueyo each added 14 for Arizona (18-16).
The Wildcats led by as many as nine points in the first half at 31-22 after a 3-pointer from Williams. But Fair scored five points in the final 41 seconds of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 37-32 at intermission.
Syracuse will face UConn in the second round on Monday night.
No. 3 UConn 86, No. 14 Jackson State 64: At Storrs, Conn., Paige Bueckers scored 28 points and freshman Ashlynn Shade added 26 as UConn celebrated coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday with a over Jackson State.
Aaliyah Edwards, wearing a mask after missing two games with a broken nose, had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (30-5), who won in the opening round of the tournament for a 30th straight time.
Ti’Ian Boler scored 25 points and Angel Jackson had 13 for 14th seeded Jackson State (26-7), which lost for the first time in 22 games.
No. 8 Kansas 81, No. 9 Michigan 72, OT: At Los Angeles, Zakiyah Franklin scored 22 points, including a tying 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped with 12 seconds left in regulation, and Kansas beat Michigan in overtime.
Wyvette Mayberry and S’Mya Nichols added 15 points each and Taiyanna Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the eighth-seeded Jayhawks (20-12).
The Jayhawks advanced to a second-round game against
Southern California.
At Los Angeles, JuJu Watkins scored 23 points in her NCAA Tournament debut, leading Southern California to a blowout victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Trojans (27-5) also got 23 points from McKenzie Forbes in a first-round game they dominated from the opening tip.
The Islanders (23-9) scored the first basket, then the Trojans took over. Watkins hit a 3-pointer for her first points to launch a 21-0 run in which five different players scored.
No 3 N.C. State 64, Chattanooga 45: At Raleigh, N.C, Aziaha James scored all of her 19 points in the second half, and North Carolina State pulled away from Chattanooga.
Saniya Rivers scored 16 points and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds, boosting N.C. State coach Wes Moore to a victory against his former team.
Next up for No. 3 seed N.C. State (28-6) is ex-Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper and sixth-seeded Tennessee (20-12) on Monday. No. 6 Tennessee 92, No. 11 Green Bay 63: At Raleigh, N.C. Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Tennessee rolled past Green Bay.
Sarah Puckett added 14 points,
Jewel Spear had 13 and reserve Tess Darby 11 for the sixth-seeded Lady Vols, who are the only team to participate in all 42 women’s NCAA Tournaments. It was the first game back in Raleigh, North Carolina for Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who coached North Carolina State for four seasons from 2009-13.
Maddy Schreiber led Green Bay (27-7) with 13 points, but the Phoenix remained without an NCAA Tournament victory since 2012 by suffering their most-lopsided loss of the season. Veteran coach Kevin Borseth gave a salute to teary-eyed fans as he walked off the court.
No. 2 Notre Dame 81, No. 15 Kent State 67: At South Bend, Ind., Sonia Citron scored 29 points and Hannah Hidalgo added 14 points and 11 assists to help Notre Dame beat Kent State.
Citron was 13 of 20 from the field while Hidalgo added six steals for the Irish (27-6), who play Monday in the second round.
The Irish play Ole Miss in the second round.
No. 7 Mississippi 67, No. 10 Marquette 55: At South Bend, Ind., Madison Scott scored 20 points and Mississippi used a late run to beat Marquette.
Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Rebels (24-8). Tyia Singleton
had 12 points and Kharyssa Richardson scored 10.
Liza Karlen led Marquette (23-9) with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Rose Nkumu scored 18 points, and Mackenzie Hare had 10 points.
No. 4 Indiana 89, No. 14 Fairfield 56: At Bloomington, Ind., senior Sara Scalia scored 27 points, hitting five of Indiana’s 10 3-pointers, to lead Indiana to a victory over Fairfield.
Yarden Garzon, Chloe MooreMcNeil and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 13 points for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers (25-5) will face Oklahoma on Monday night.
Fairfield (31-2) saw its 29-game winning streak come to an end. Janelle Brown led the Stags, who earned the first Top 25 ranking in school history earlier this month, with 19 points. Meghan Andersen was the only other Fairfield player in double figures with 10 points.
No. 5 Oklahoma 73, No. Florida Gulf Coast 70: At Bloomington, Ind., Skylar Vann scored 24 points and Oklahoma held off Florida Gulf Coast.
Payton Verhulst gave the Sooners a 72-70 lead on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 48 seconds left. After a Eagles’ turnover, Vann hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to push the Sooners’ lead to 73-70.
Dolly Cairns 3-point shot was blocked by Vann with 3 seconds left. The Eagles got the rebound with a second left. Uju Ezeudu missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
No. 8 West Virginia 63, No. 9 Princeton 53: At Iowa City, Iowa, JJ Quinerly scored 29 points as West Virginia defeated Princeton.
Quinerly, who was 10 of 19 from the field, scored West Virginia’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter as Mountaineers (25-7) pulled away from the to advance to Monday’s second-round game against No. 1 seed Iowa.
West Virginia ended Princeton’s five-game winning streak by rallying in the second half as its pressure defense disrupted the Tigers.