NCAA women in action
Both schools’ Sweet 16 run is a first ever
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament has some upsets too, as No. 11 seed Buffalo stuns No. 3 Florida State to highlight Tuesday’s games
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Cierra Dillard scored 22 points and 11th-seeded Buffalo shocked No. 3 seed Florida State 86-65 on Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
The Bulls, who were one of the last four to earn an at-large berth in the 64-team field, shot 47.4 percent from the field and went 24 of 26 from the foul line. They also held the Seminoles to 3 of 25 on 3-pointers and 33.8 percent from the field.
Buffalo (29-5) won’t have far to go for the regional semifinal as it will face defending champion and second-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in Albany, New York.
It is the first time that in eight games that Florida State (26-7) has dropped an NCAA Tournament contest when it has been the host.
In Columbus, Ohio, Presley Hudson scored 28 points and No. 11 seed Central Michigan stunned No. 3 Ohio State to earn the school’s first ever trip to the Sweet 16.
Cassie Breen threw the ball high in the air as the clock wound down and the joyous Central Michigan players jumped, screamed and hugged as they celebrated the biggest win in school history.
The Chippewas had won their first tournament game ever in Saturday’s first-round upset of No. 6 Louisiana State. With the upset of Ohio State, they advance to face No. 2 Oregon in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday.
Central Michigan (30-4) outrebounded and out-hustled Ohio State, played taut defense, hit a season-high 14 3-pointers and kept the Buckeyes at bay late in the game. In Storrs, Conn., Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and top-seeded UConn beat instate neighbor Quinnipiac to advance to a 25th straight Sweet 16.
Azura Stevens added 14 points and Kia Nurse chipped in with 13 for the Huskies (340), who found themselves in a much slower-paced game than their 140-52 first-round rout of Saint Francis (Pa.).
But Connecticut was not threatened in this one either. They opened with a 9-2 run and never trailed.
Jen Fay had 12 points to lead the ninth-seeded Bobcats (286), who saw their school-record 23-game winning streak snapped.
In Athens, Ga., Leaonna Odom scored 16 points and fifth seed Duke’s defense was dominant, holding fourth seed Georgia to two second-quarter points in a win.
Lexie Brown and Erin Mathias each had 14 points for Duke (24-8), which will play UConn in the Albany Regional on Saturday.
Georgia (26-7) made only 1 of 19 shots in the second period. The Lady Bulldogs set season lows for fewest points in a period and game and lowest field-goal percentage (24.0) in a game.
The Lady Bulldogs missed their first 13 3-pointers before Simone Costa sank a 3 midway through the final period.
In Starkville, Miss., Victoria Vivians scored 23 points, Teaira McCowan added 21 points and 18 rebounds and Mississippi State earned a hard-fought win over Oklahoma State.
Top-seeded Mississippi State (34-1) also got 17 points from Morgan William, who hit several crucial baskets throughout the game. McCowan scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and shot 8 of 12 from the field.
Oklahoma State (21-11) was hurt when starting guard Loryn Goodwin picked up her fourth foul with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter. She stayed in the game, but her defensive presence was limited and that was around the time that Mississippi State went on a 10-2 lead to open up a 51-43 advantage.
William made a jumper a few seconds before the third-quarter buzzer to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead in the game at 55-45 and they slowly pulled away.
In Stanford, Calif., Alanna Smith scored 28 points with four 3-pointers, Brittany McPhee added 17 points and nine rebounds and No. 4 seed Stanford is headed back to the Lexington Regional for a third straight March after beating scrappy 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast.
Freshman Kiana Williams shined on the big stage for the second time in three days with 12 points and six assists for the Cardinal (24-10), on to the Sweet 16 for the 11th straight season.
Florida Gulf Coast (31-5) set the single-season 3-point record with 431, breaking Sacramento State’s mark of 424 from 2014-15, but didn’t have the depth or talent to keep up against a taller Stanford team that made it hard for the Eagles to do their signature move: drive and dish.
Stanford will take on No. 1 Louisville — the first matchup between the power programs — on Friday in the regional semifinals. Playing previously in Lexington, the Cardinal lost to Washington in the 2016 Elite Eight then advanced to the Final Four from that regional last season. In Los Angeles, Jordin Canada scored 21 points and Japreece Dean added 16 points to lead third-seeded UCLA to a victory over No. 11 seed Creighton.
UCLA (26-7) reaches the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year and advances to the Kansas City Regional and will face Texas on Friday.
Canada, made six of seven shots and dished out eight assists to lead the Bruins. The senior guard, the Pac 12 defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Conference guard, has scored 20 or more points in six of her last eight games.
Monique Billings scored 15 points and Kennedy Burke added 11 points for UCLA.
Audrey Faber led Creighton with 20 points and Olivia Elger added 13 for the Bluejays.
In Austin, Texas, Lashann Higgs scored 19 points and Brooke McCarty scored 15 as Texas booked its fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 with a win over Arizona State.
Higgs scored 15 in the first half, and McCarty took over in the third quarter with 10 points in a 14-2 run that pushed the Longhorns to a big lead and never let the Sun Devils recover. McCarty had a pair of 3-pointers in the run and her nifty drives and assists made sure the No. 2-seed Longhorns (28-6) avoided the same kind of home court upsets that hit several host teams earlier in the evening.
The No. 7-seed Sun Devils had played eventual national champion South Carolina within a minute of a huge upset in the second round last season, but saw any hopes of catching the Longhorns disappear in the decisive third quarter.