Top-seeded Wolfpack avoid upset
Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina State shrugged off a challenge from No. 8 South Florida with a big third quarter, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 79-67 victory on Tuesday in San Antonio.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (22-2), who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall.
USF (19-4) led by a point early in the third quarter before N.C. State used two big runs to pull away and take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
The Wolfpack held the Bulls to 11 points in the third quarter.
“We did a good job of defending with some urgency and finishing with a box out for the most part in the third,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “It’s good when you can see the ball go through the net — it helps on the other end of the floor. We tend to play better defense when we’re hitting shots.”
The Bulls pulled within eight points with 3 ½ minutes to go. But the Wolfpack scored the next five points, capped by a 3 from Brown-Turner that made it 73-60 with 90 seconds to go.
Elena Tsineke had 22 points to lead the Bulls, who were in the tournament for the seventh time. They made six 3-pointers in the first half to spark hope of an upset, but hit just three more after halftime.
N.C. State overcame the absence of Kayla Jones, who injured her left knee on Sunday. Her status for the next game is uncertain.
Michigan makes 1st Sweet 16: Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first Sweet 16 appearance with a 70-55 win over third-seeded Tennessee.
The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory. As the final buzzer sounded, the Michigan players jumped into a group hug at center court and sang “it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.”
Leading 18-16 with eight minutes left in the first half, Michigan (16-5) held Tennessee to just one field goal the rest of the second quarter and built a 28-19 halftime lead. The Lady Vols missed their final seven shots of the period and ended their drought 1:18 into the third quarter. The Lady Vols’ deficit grew to 17 points as Michigan went on a 22-7 run spanning the quarters.
Tennessee (17-8) trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter and was able to cut its deficit to 54-44 with under 5 minutes left before a 3-pointer by Danielle Rauch and a steal and layup by Brown restored the 15-point cushion. Tennessee couldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
Hillmon, the Big Ten player of the year, also had 15 rebounds as the Wolverines more than held their own on the glass against the Lady Vols, outrebounding them 42-40.
Clark still clicking for Iowa: Freshman Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and six 3-pointers and outscored opponent Kentucky on her own in the first half, leading Iowa to an 86-72 victory.
The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-9) scored the game’s first 11 points — with all five starters getting a basket, Clark’s being a 3-pointer.
They led throughout to advance past the second round for only the third time in their 14 NCAA appearances during coach Lisa Bluder’s 21 seasons. They did go to the Elite Eight in the last tourney two years ago before losing to eventual champion Baylor.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats finished their season 18-9.
Clark, the nation’s top scorer, also had seven rebounds and six assists. Her 35 points and six 3s were both NCAA tournament records for Iowa.