James, Rivers help N.C. State hold off Tennessee
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored 22 points and No. 3 seed North Carolina State blew nearly all of a 20-point lead before holding off No. 6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Monday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament, sending the Wolfpack back to the Sweet 16.
Saniya Rivers added 20 points for the Wolfpack (29-6), who dominated the second quarter to build that huge margin before the Lady Vols (20-13) started creeping their way back.
Tennessee got as close as two points in the fourth, but N.C. State did just enough to protect its lead. That sent the Wolfpack on to a date with No. 2 seed Stanford in the Portland 4 Region.
James came up big in the critical moment amid the Lady Vols’ surge. First the 5-foot-9 junior scored on a floater over the outstreched arms of 6-6 post Tamari Key. Then, after Baldwin blocked a shot from Rickea Jackson from behind, James curled around the left wing to catch and feed from Saniya Rivers and stick a huge 3-pointer for a 70-63 lead at the 2:48 mark.
Tennessee didn’t get it back to a one-possession game again.
Jackson had 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead Tennessee, which was trying for its third straight trip to the regional semifinals. And the Lady Vols flirted with tying the secondbiggest comeback in women’s tournament history, fighting back to within a single bucket with about 4 minutes left.
N.C. State appeared on its way with a strong finish to the first quarter and an absolutely dominant second. After trailing 23-17 early, N.C. State outscored Tennessee 32-8 for the rest of the half — including a 16-2 burst
that carried right into the locker room with reserve Maddie Cox’s catch-and-fire corner 3 giving the Wolfpack an 18-point margin.
Mimi Collins scored in the first minute of the third quarter, pushing N.C. State to its biggest lead at 51-31 before the Lady Vols started the long climb back.
The game marked the first meeting between the programs, as well as deeply intertwined sidelined connections. There was Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper facing off against a program she led for four years in the difficult aftermath of the passing of late Hall of Famer Kay Yow.. There was also coaching against Wolfpack coach Wes
Moore after working on his staff at Chattanooga.
Albany 1 Region
No. 2 Notre Dame 71, No. 7 Mississippi 56: At South Bend, Ind., Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and Hannah Hidalgo added 19 to help Notre Dame beat Mississippi.
Sonia Citron added 17 for the Fighting Irish (28-6), who advanced to the Sweet 16 where they will play No. 3 seed Oregon State in the Albany 1 Region semifinals.
Kennedy Todd-williams and Madison Scott led Ole Miss with 15 points each.
Notre Dame hit Ole Miss with an intense attack from the opening
tip, establishing an up-tempo tone on offense and a relentless but controlled defense early.
The Fighting Irish bolted to a 21-9 lead after one quarter, harassing Ole Miss into 4-of-17 shooting in the first quarter while connecting on 6 of 12 shots.
Notre Dame expanded its lead to 19 points at 33-14 on a 3 by Westbeld from the top of the key with 5:10 left. The Fighting Irish led by 17 points, 43-26, at halftime. Ole Miss committed 13 turnovers and only hit 38% of its shots (11-of-29).
Notre Dame connected on 59 percent of its field-goal attempts (16-for-27) and turned the ball over only six times.
Ole Miss used an 8-2 run to cut the Notre Dame lead to 63-50 with 5:46 left in the game, but Anna Dewolfe’s jumper and a breakaway basket by Hidalgo pushed the Fighting Irish lead to 67-50, with 4:08 remaining that sealed the game.
No. 4 Indiana 75, No. 5 Oklahoma 68: At Bloomington, Ind., Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points, including six in a row, to give Indiana a late lead as the Hoosiers rallied past Oklahoma.
Sydney Parrish added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Hoosiers (26-6), who advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years and now face undefeated South Carolina in Albany.
Indiana’s players celebrated by racing into the student section and up the steps at Assembly Hall as music blared and fans pumped their hands in the air,
Big 12 Player of the Year Skylar Vann led the Sooners (23-10) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Aubrey Joens had 16 points for Oklahoma, which walked off the floor dejectedly after a fourth consecutive second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
The more than 12,000 fans in Assembly Hall roared loudly in the final minutes — and after the final buzzer — as the Hoosiers seized control to avoid a repeat of last March’s shocking second-round loss to Miami.
But for much of the night, it looked like the Hoosiers might be staring at the sequel.
Again, they ran into a lowerseeded team that appeared athletic and more physical. Again, they struggled to get open shots or to stay in front of the Sooners on defense.