Arizona State defense shines
Michigan State offense no match
Quinn Dornstauder scored 16 points to lead No. 8 Arizona State to a 73-61 win over ninth-seeded Michigan State on Friday night in the Stockton Regional.
In a matchup between the stingy defense of the Sun Devils (20-12) and the high-powered offense of the Spartans, Arizona State won easily. Without a 26-point fourth quarter, it would have been the lowest point total of the season for Michigan State (21-12).
It didn’t take Arizona State long to take control. Kiara Russell’s threepointer tied the game 6-6, and the Sun Devils went on a 16-2 run over the next 6 minutes to take a 22-8 lead. They would lead by double digits the rest of the game.
Dornstauder went 6 for 6 from the field and hit all four of her free throws. Sabrina Haines scored 15 points and Reili Richardson added 13 for the Sun Devils.
South Carolina 90, UNC Asheville 40: Allisha Gray scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds to lead top-seeded South Carolina to a win over No. 16 UNC Asheville (19-15).
The Gamecocks (28-4) were missing Alania Coates, their best rebounder and half of their twin-tower frontcourt. But Gray, a 6-foot guard and transfer from North Carolina, scored 20 of her points in the paint and tied her best rebounding night of her career.
Oregon State 56, Long Beach State 55: Breanna Brown scored 12 points and second-seeded Oregon State (30-4) held off feisty No. 15 seed Long Beach State (23-11) in the final minute to eke out a victory.
Mikayla Pivec and Marie Gulich each added 10 points for Oregon State, which was also seeded second last season when they made a run to the Final Four.
Missouri 66, South Florida 64: Sierra Michaelis scored 16 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.6 seconds remaining, and No. 6 Missouri rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat No. 11 South Florida (24-9).
Missouri (22-10) scored the first seven points of the third quarter as part of a 12-3 run. The Tigers would eventually tie it at 50-50 on Michaelis’ three-pointer with 7:59 remaining.
Florida State 87, Western Illinois 66: Shakayla Thomas scored 23 points to help third-seeded Florida State (26-6) beat No. 14 Western Illinois (26-7).
Thomas, who was the coaches’ choice for Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, had 10 points in the third quarter as the Seminoles broke open a close game in the second half. Florida State led 36-34 at halftime but went on a 14-5 run at the beginning of the third quarter to take control.
Creighton 76, Toledo 49: Marissa Janning had 15 of her 19 points in the first quarter and seventhseeded Creighton (24-7) built an early lead and went on to rout No. 10 seed Toledo (25-9). BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL
West Virginia 75, Elon 62: Tynice Martin scored 26 points and Katrina Pardee made a pair of pivotal three-pointers to lead sixth-seeded West Virginia (24-10) over Elon (27-7).
Maryland 103, Bucknell 61: Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 28 points, Brionna Jones had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Maryland (31-2) beat Bucknell (27-6) to earn its seventh consecutive trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. LEXINGTON REGIONAL
Kentucky 73, Belmont 70: Maci Morris made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 37 seconds, including two with 3.2 seconds remaining, to help fourth-seeded Kentucky (22-10) edge No. 13 Belmont (27-6).
Wildcats seniors Makayla Epps and Evelyn Akhator did their parts to get Kentucky ahead with 52 combined points that were needed to hold off the determined Bruins, who got within 69-68 on two Sally McCabe free throws with 13 seconds remaining.
North Carolina State 62, Auburn 48: Dominique Wilson scored 23 points and Miah Spencer added 13 to help No. 6seed North Carolina State (23-8) roll over coldshooting No. 11 Auburn (17-15).
Texas 78, Central Arkansas 50: Brooke McCarty scored 15 points and No. 3 Texas (23-8) overwhelmed No. 14 Central Arkansas (26-5) in the first half before cruising to victory.
Ohio State 70, Western Kentucky 63: Kelsey Mitchell and Asia Doss each scored 15 points, Shayla Cooper grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds and fifth-seeded Ohio State (27-6) withstood a late charge from No. 12 Western Kentucky (27-7).
Notre Dame 79, Robert Morris 49: Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale scored 15 points each to help top-seed Notre Dame (31-3) beat Robert Morris (22-11). OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL
DePaul 88, Northern Iowa 67: Tanita Allen scored 25 points, Lauren Prochaska and Brooke Schulte each added 12 and seventh-seeded DePaul (27-7) beat Northern Iowa (24-9).
DePaul kept up a torrid scoring pace despite fairly quiet games from Schulte and Jessica January, the team’s two leading scorers. Instead, it was Allen and Prochaska who were often the go-to options.
Mississippi State 110, Troy 69: Blair Schaefer scored a career-high 21 points, Ameshya Williams added 15, and secondseeded Mississippi State (30-4) used a 29-6 run in the second quarter to beat No. 15 Troy (22-11).