UConn begins quest for 12th title with easy win
Paige Bueckers started and scored 12 points as UConn began its run toward a 12th NCAA Tournament title with an 83-38 first-round rout of No. 15 seed Mercer in Storrs, Conn.
Last season’s National Player of the Year played 25 minutes, the most in six games since coming back from a left knee injury that kept her out for more than two months. She also had five assists and four rebounds.
Christyn Williams had 13 points to lead the Huskies (26-5), who opened the tournament in the Bridgeport Region with a win for the 28th straight year. Dorka Juhasz added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Shannon Titus had 12 points to lead Mercer (23-7), which was making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Southern Conference champion Bears have never won an NCAA Tournament game.
The Huskies held Mercer to just 13 baskets on 56 shots (23%).
Mercer played much of the game without leading scorer Amoria Neal-Tysor (17 points per game), who went down hard on her left elbow while driving to the basket in the second quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. She finished with four points and came out for the second half with her arm in a sling.
BRIDGEPORT REGION
North Carolina State 96, Longwood 68: Raina Perez scored 16 points to lead five North Carolina State players in double digits as the No. 1 Wolfpack pulled away from
No. 16 Longwood for a victory in Raleigh, N.C.
Perez made seven of her eight shots for N.C. State, which won a program-record 30th game this season. Jakia BrownTurner had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Elissa Cunane tallied 13 points and seven boards. Diamond Johnson and Jada Boyd added 12 points apiece.
Longwood (22-12) got 25 points from Akila
Smith and 19 from Kyla McMakin.
The Lancers kept things close with the Wolfpack early on, trailing by just four points with 4:57 to play in the second quarter. Then, following a timeout, N.C. State flipped the switch and broke off a 19-2 run to end the half. Perez had seven points, an assist and a steal during that span, and she didn’t miss a shot until the third quarter.
N.C. State would grow its lead to as much as 29 points in the second half.
Kansas State 50, Washington State 40: Ayoka Lee had 20 points and 15 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas State overcame a frustrating defensive scheme to outlast No. 8 Washington State in Raleigh, N.C.
Lee, a second-team AP All-America selection, made just one shot from the floor in the first half but rallied in the second to lead the Wildcats (2011) to their first tournament victory since 2017. Brylee Glenn added 14 points for Kansas State.
Washington State (1911) was powered by Charlisse Leger-Walker’s 20 points on offense. Ula Motuga grabbed 14 rebounds and scored five points.
Indiana 85, Charlotte 51: Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 points to lead Indiana to an 85-51 victory over Charlotte in Bloomington, Ind.
Serving as hosts for the
AAAfirst time in the women’s tournament, the thirdseeded Hoosiers (23-8) used a 22-2 run across a nearly six-minute firsthalf stretch to blow the game open. Aleksa Gulbe scored the final five in the spurt to make it 33-13 with 6:44 remaining in the half.
The lead never dipped below 20 in the second half as Holmes scored 15 of her points after halftime.
Princeton 69, Kentucky 62: Abby Meyers set a career-high with 29 points to lead No. 11-seed Princeton to its secondever women’s tournament win with a victory over sixth-seeded Kentucky in Bloomington, Ind.
The Tigers (25-4) have won 18 straight games and never trailed after the first quarter. They led by as many as nine points three times in the fourth quarter. However, it was a grueling battle to knock off the Wildcats (19-12), who entered the tournament winners of 10 straight — and the last three against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
This was Princeton’s first trip to the NCAA since 2019 after the 2020 tournament was canceled by the coronavirus pandemic and the Ivy League opted not to play sports last year. The Tigers won their other NCAA game in 2015 when they were undefeated heading to the tournament. They lost to Maryland in the second round that year.
Princeton shot 60% in the first half. That helped offset 12 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The Tigers held on despite missing seven of their last eight shots and going without a bucket for the final 4:37.
UCF 69, Florida 52: Brittney Smith came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points and lead No. 7 seed UCF past in-state rival Florida in Storrs, Conn.
It was UCF’s first-ever win over the Gators in program history after 26 consecutive losses. Diamond Battles added 18 points and Masseny Kaba had 14 for the Knights (26-3).
Nina Rickards had 17 points and Zippy Broughton added 12 point for an injury-riddled Florida (21-11).
UCF led just 18-13 after a quarter before getting the ball to Smith early in the second. The American Athletic Conference’s sixth woman of the year scored her team’s first four baskets of that frame and helped extend the lead to 30-15.
A jumper by Florida’s Nina Rickards just before the buzzer sent the teams into halftime with UCF leading 34-23.
AAWICHITA REGION
Villanova 61, BYU 57: Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points as 11th-seeded Villanova rallied to beat No. 6 seed BYU in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Kaitlyn Oriehl added 10 points and Lucy Olsen had nine for the Wildcats,
Awho finished second in the Big East.
Paisley Harding scored 21 points for BYU with Teagan Graham adding
11. Shaylee Gonzales was held to eight points, missing 11 of her 14 shots.
Tennessee 80, Buffalo 67: Alexus Dye scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the fourthseeded Tennessee Lady Vols held off No. 13 seed Buffalo to remain perfect in the NCAA Tournament on their own floor in Knoxville, Tenn..
Tennessee (24-8) improved to 24-0 in the first round at home, though the Lady Vols’ first game here since 2018 was much tighter than any of the orange-clad fans wanted. The Lady Vols will play either No. 5 seed Oregon or 12th-seeded Belmont in the second round Monday for a berth in the Wichita Region semifinal.
Senior Rae Burrell scored 15 after halftime, including nine in the third quarter helping Tennessee to a 57-51 lead going into the final quarter. Then the Lady Vols sealed the victory outscoring Buffalo 12-3 to open the fourth, including 10 straight.
Tamari Key’s putback gave Tennessee its biggest lead at 73-58 with 5:09 left. Key finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Burrell finished with 19 points, and Jordan Walker added 11.
Buffalo (25-9) snapped a nine-game winning streak overall and a twogame streak in the first round of this tournament.
Michigan 74, American 39: Naz Hillmon had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help third-seeded Michigan beat No. 14 seed American 74-39 in the first round in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Emily Kiser added 13 points and Leigha Brown had 11 for the Wolverines, who will face No. 11 seed Villanova on Monday in the second round.
American led 8-4 early before Hillmon and the Wolverines got going. Michigan scored 48 of its 74 points in the paint with Hilmon anchoring the interior offense. The Wolverines took the lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter and never relinquished it.
AASPOKANE REGION
Ohio State 63, Missouri State 56: Jacy Sheldon had 25 points and five steals, and No. 6 seed Ohio State overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat 11th seed Missouri State in Baton Rouge, La.
Sheldon also made 10 of 12 free throws for the Buckeyes (24-6), who didn’t take the lead for good until Taylor Mikesell made a 3-pointer form the left corner to make it 54-52 with 3:10 left.
Missouri State (25-8) got as close as 58-56 with 41 seconds left on a Brice Calip putback. But Sheldon, who averaged nearly 20 points per game this season, responded with a layup and two free throws to help seal the victory for the Buckeyes.
A