Wright State upsets Arkansas
Baker’s late 3-pointer helps Raiders pull upset
Angel Baker made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds left, and No. 13 Wright State beat No. 4 Arkansas 66-62 on Monday in the biggest upset so far in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Jada Roberson made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left to seal the victory for the Horizon League Tournament champions.
Baker scored 26 points to help the Raiders (19-7) become the first No. 13 seed to beat a No. 4 since 2012.
Chelsea Dungee had 27 points for Arkansas (19-9).
Belmont 64, Gonzaga 59: Belmont freshman Destinee Wells had 25 points and seven assists, and the 12th-seeded Bruins earned their first victory ever in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Belmont (21-5), which had been 0-5 in the NCAA Tournament, plays No. 4 seed Indiana in the second round Wednesday in the Mercado Region. Jill Townsend had 17 points for Gonzaga (23-4).
BYU 69, Rutgers 66: Paisley Johnson Harding scored 28 points, leading 11thseeded BYU to the win against No. 6 seed Rutgers. Shaylee Gonzales had 17 points for the Cougars (19-5) on 3-for-17 shooting. Lauren Gustin finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Next up for BYU is No. 3 seed Arizona.
Texas A&M 84, Troy 80: Jordan Nixon scored nine points over the final six minutes, and No. 2 seed Texas A&M escaped an upset bid by No. 15 Troy. Destiny Pitts made four free throws over the final six seconds, giving the Aggies the last cushion they needed to avoid what would have ranked among the biggest surprises in tournament history.
Alabama 80, North Carolina 71: Jordan Lewis had 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, helping Alabama to the victory. It was a triumphant return to the NCAAS for the Crimson Tide, who were playing their first game in the tournament since 1999.
Northwestern 62, UCF 51: Lindsey Pulliam scored 25 points to lead seventhseeded Northwestern to the school’s first women’s NCAA Tournament victory in 28 years. Northwestern (16-8) is in the tournament for the first time since 2015 and just the third time since 1993, when the Wildcats beat Georgia Tech before falling to Tennessee in the second round.
Maryland 98, Mount St. Mary’s 45:
Ashley Owusu had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, helping Maryland to the victory. Diamond Miller added 19 points for second-seeded Maryland (25-2), which will take a 14-game win streak into a second-round game with seventh-seeded Alabama in the Hemesfair Region on Wednesday.
(21-6) Georgia 67, Drexel 53: Jenna Staiti scored each of her 19 points in the second half, helping Georgia (21-6) overcome a slow start.
Indiana 63, VCU 32: Grace Berger scored 13 of her 20 points in the first half, and No. 4 seed Indiana held 13th-seeded VCU to 22.8 percent shooting. Ali Patberg had 17 points for Indiana (19-5).
Arizona 79, Stony Brook 44: Aari Mcdonald scored 20 points and Trinity Baptiste had 18, sending Arizona to the runaway win over the America East champ.
Iowa State 79, Michigan State 75: Ashley Joens scored an Iowa State NCAA Tournament record 33 points, including the clinching free throw with 3.1 seconds left, to lift the Cyclones to an opening-round win over Michigan State.
Missouri State 70, UC Davis 51: Brice Calip had 18 points and Missouri State used a huge third-quarter run to beat UC Davis. Jasmine Franklin added 17 points and 17 rebounds, helping No. 5 seed Missouri State dominate inside.
Louisville 74, Marist 43: Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Dana Evans added 15 to help second-seeded Louisville overcome some early jitters and beat No. 15 seed Marist of the MAAC.
Texas 81, Bradley 62: Charli Collier had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and No. 6 seed Texas beat Bradley.