Tennessee suffers historic loss at home
Tennessee lost for the first time at home in women’s NCAA tournament history when Marie Gulich had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead sixth-seeded Oregon State to a 66-59 upset win.
The third-seeded Lady Vols had been 57-0 at their Knoxville home with most of those victories coming under late Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, who led the team to eight national championships.
It’s the second straight season that Tennessee (24-8) lost in the second round of the NCAAs and will miss the Sweet 16 in back-toback seasons for the first time in the program’s 37year tournament history.
“You come here wanting to win championships and the expectations are extremely high. Sometimes the things thrown at these kids are unfair,” Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said. “They come wanting to learn and get better and just play the game. They get criticized quite a bit.”
Oregon State (26-7) advanced to the regional semifinals for the third straight year.
Mercedes Russell finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds in the final game of her Tennessee career. Fellow senior Jaime Nared scored nine points on three-for-14 shooting.
Louisville 90, Marquette 72: Myisha Hines-Allen had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Asia Durr scored 19 points and host Louisville quickly pounced on Marquette. The Cardinals (34-2) advanced to their second consecutive Sweet 16 and will play 80 miles east in next weekend’s regional in Lexington, Ky. Hines-Allen and Durr made sure of that right away by combining for 26 points on 12-for-14 shooting in the first half after the duo totaled just 13 points in a first-round rout of Boise State. Hines-Allen earned her 16th double-double this season.
Texas A&M 80, DePaul 79: Freshman Chennedy Carter hit a three with 3.2 seconds left, capping a 37point performance, to help host Texas A&M rally from a 17-point, second-half deficit. Carter had 32 of her points after halftime and the fourth-seeded Aggies pulled off another stunning, second-half comeback for the second consecutive year. It was the largest comeback ever in the second round of the tournament and the fourth-largest ever.
North Carolina State 74, Maryland 60: Kiara Leslie had 21 points and 11 rebounds against her former team. Leslie, who spent three seasons at Maryland before graduating and transferring to N.C. State, finished one point shy of a career high. Kalia Ealey and Chelsea Nelson added 12 points apiece while Akela Maize scored 11 to help the fourth-seeded and host Wolfpack (26-8) earn their first Sweet 16 appearance since the late Kay Yow led an inspirational run in 2007.
Notre Dame 98, Villanova 72: With top-seeded Notre Dame struggling to a halftime tie, coach Muffet McGraw put in Kathryn Westbeld, who had been sidelined with a sprained ankle, to start the second half. Westbeld sparked the Irish as they went on a 12-3 run and outscored the visiting Wildcats (23-9) by a 28-8 margin for a 73-53 lead after three quarters. Notre Dame advanced to the regional semifinals for the ninth straight season, where it will face Texas A&M.
South Carolina 66, Virginia 56: A’ja Wilson had 25 points and 11 rebounds in her last college home game to lead South Carolina to its fifth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. Wilson, the threetime SEC player of the year, posted her 23rd double-double of the season and 53rd of her career for the secondseeded Gamecocks (28-6).
Baylor 80, Michigan 58: Lauren Cox had 18 points with 16 rebounds, and host Baylor is going to the Sweet 16 for the 10th year in a row after a convincing win over Michigan. The Big 12 champion and No. 2 seed Bears (33-1) put Michigan, the seventh seed, away by scoring 13 consecutive points in the third quarter.
Oregon 101, Minnesota 73: Sabrina Ionescu had 29 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and secondseeded Oregon advanced to the Sweet 16, routing No. 10 Minnesota. It was the 11th straight victory for the Ducks, who are headed to the round of 16 for the second straight season. Last year they went to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.