Top-seeded N.C. State rolls
Boyd scores 15 of 18 points in 2nd half of 1st-round victory
Jada Boyd scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half and top-seeded North Carolina State overcame a slow start to beat 16thseeded North Carolina A&T 79-58 on Sunday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
N.C. State (21-2) was making its fourth straight tournament appearance and 26th overall, but earned a No. 1 seed for the first time. N.C. State will face the South Florida-washington State winner on Tuesday night in the Mercado Region.
The Aggies led by as many as six in the second quarter. But N.C. State used a big run to take a seven-point lead into halftime before Boyd scored the first six points of the second half to make it 50-37 with 71⁄2 minutes left in the third.
The Wolfpack had pushed the lead to 15 later in the third before wrapping up the quarter with a 7-2 run to make it 64-44.
Chanin Scott led N.C. A&T (14-3) with 23 points.
River Walk Region
Uconn 102, High Point 59: Uconn did just fine without coach Geno Auriemma, with Paige Bueckers scoring 24 points to lead the top-seeded Huskies. Auriemma is recovering from the coronavirus and missed the opener. Associate head coach Chris Dailey filled in for the Hall of Famer, who is also going to miss the second-round game Tuesday versus Syracuse. Dailey is 11-0 filling in for Auriemma over their time together at Uconn (25-1). The Huskies also were missing assistant coach Shea Ralph, who left San Antonio after one of her relatives contracted COVID-19.OLIVIA Nelson-ododa added 22 points for Uconn. Skyler Curran led the Panthers (22-7) with 14 points.
Syracuse 72, South Dakota State 55: Emily Engstler scored 18 points and eighthseeded Syracuse pulled away to beat ninth-seeded South Dakota State. Engstler made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for Syracuse (15-8). Paiton Burckhard had 17 points for South Dakota State (21-4).
Baylor 101, Jackson State 52: Moon Ursin scored a career-high 24 points and secondseeded Baylor routed Jackson State. All-american Nalyssa Smith added 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and had 10 rebounds for the Bears (26-2). They will face Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Keshuna Luckett led the 15thseeded Tigers (19-6) with 15 points.
Virginia Tech 70, Marquette 63: Elizabeth Kitley had 23 points and seventh-seeded Virginia Tech built a big lead and held off 10th-seeded Marquette. Kitley also had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks for Virginia Tech (15-9). Van Kleunen led Marquette (19-7) with 18 points.
Tennessee 87, Middle Tennessee 62: Rennia Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds and No. 3 seed Tennessee used a dominant second half to beat 14th-seeded Middle Tennessee. Rae Burrell scored 22 points and Jordan Walker had nine points and 14 rebounds for Tennessee (17-7). The Vols outrebounded the Blue Raiders (17-8) 56-21. Tennessee will face Michigan in the second round. Anastasia Hayes scored 26 points for Middle Tennessee.
Michigan 87, Florida Gulf Coast 66: Leigha Brown scored 28 points, including 17 straight for sixth-seeded Michigan, and the Wolverines beat 11th-seed Florida Gulf Coast. Big Ten player of the year Naz Hillmon finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Wolverines (15-5). Kierstan Bell had 25 points for Florida Gulf Coast (26-3). The Eagles has won 15 in a row.
Kentucky 71, Idaho State 63: Rhyne Howard and Chasity Patterson scored 14 points apiece and fourth-seeded Kentucky beat 13th-seeded Idaho State. Blair Green added 10 points for the Wildcats (18-8). They will Iowa in the second round. Diaba Konate led the Big Sky champion Bengals (22-4) with 16 points.
Iowa 87, Central Michigan 72: Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and fifth-seeded Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan. Monika Czinano also scored 23 points for Iowa (19-9). Micaela Kelly had 23 points for Central Michigan (18-9).
Alamo Region
Oklahoma State 84, Wake Forest 61: Natasha Mack had 27 points and 15 rebounds in eighth-seeded Oklahoma State’s victory over ninthseeded Wake Forest. Mack was 13 of 22 from the field for Oklahoma State (19-8). Ja’mee Asberry added 18 points with four 3-pointers. Oklahoma State will face the Stanford-utah Valley winner. Christina Morra led Wake Forest (12-13) with 18 points.
Hemisfair Region
Georgia Tech 54, Stephen F. Austin 52 (OT): Lorela Cubaj recovered from a scary fall to score 14 points, including the go-ahead free throws in overtime, and fifth-seeded Georgia Tech overcame a 17point halftime deficit to beat 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin. The Yellow Jackets (16-8) will face the West Virginia-lehigh winner. Avery Brittingham had 16 points with 13 rebounds for the Ladyjacks (24-3).
South Carolina 79, Mercer 53: South Carolina coach Dawn Staley got her 500th career victory when Aliyah Boston and the top-seeded Gamecocks beat Mercer. Staley is 328-102 in 13 seasons at South Carolina, after going 172-80 in eight seasons at Temple. Boston had 20 points and 18 rebounds for South Carolina (23-4). Victaria Saxton also scored 20 points.
Oregon State 83, Florida State 59: Aleah Goodman had 24 points, five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers, and eighth-seeded Oregon State beat ninth-seeded Florida State. Taylor Jones added 18 points and eight rebounds for Oregon State (12-7). Bianca Jackson had 17 for Florida State (10-9).
West Virginia 77, Lehigh 53: Kysre Gondrezick scored 26 points and fourth-seeded West Virginia beat 13th-seeded Lehigh. Kirsten Deans had 19 point, eight rebounds and five assists for West Virginia (22-6). Emma Grothaus scored 14 points for Lehigh (11-5).