Iowa topples Kentucky, advances to Sweet 16
SAN ANTONIO – Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points after outscoring Kentucky (18-9) on her own in the first half, and the fifthseeded Hawkeyes (20-9) advanced to the women’s NCAA Sweet 16 with a 86-72 victory Tuesday.
The Hawkeyes scored the game’s first 11 points and 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 went to the Elite Eight in the last tourney two years ago before losing to eventual champion Baylor.
Two-time AP All-American guard Rhyne Howard finished with 28 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats. She was 1 of 7 shooting in the first half, but finished 8 of 21 with 5 three-pointers, along with eight assists.
A second-team AP All-American who entered the game as the national leader with 26.5 points per game, Clark finished 13 of 21 from the field with 6 three-pointers, along with seven rebounds and six assists.
North Carolina State 79, South Florida 67: Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina State (22-2) shrugged off a challenge from No. 8 South Florida (19-4) with a big third quarter.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall. They will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 12thseeded Belmont.
The Bulls pulled within eight points with 31⁄2 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.
Michigan 70, Tennessee 55:
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan (16-5) to its first Sweet 16 appearance with a win over thirdseeded Tennessee (17-8).
The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the
second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Vols. 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 held Tennessee to just one field goal the rest of the second quarter and built a 28-19 halftime lead.
Georgia Tech 73, West Virginia 56: Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech used a big third quarter to beat No. 4 West Virginia (22-7).
The Yellow Jackets (17-8) needed a second-half rally in the opening round against Stephen F. Austin but had this game in control with a 17-point lead to start the fourth quarter.
Georgia Tech advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history.
Baylor 90, Virginia Tech 48: Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington both had 21 points as reigning women’s national champion Baylor (27-2) advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 with a victory over Virginia Tech (15-10).
Queen Egbo had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with seven blocked shots for the Lady Bears. DiDi Richards had nine assists.
Georgia Amoore had 18 points with 4 three-pointers to lead Virginia Tech.
South Carolina 59, Oregon State
42: Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and top seed South Carolina (24-4) dominated after a close first quarter to beat eighth-seeded Oregon State (12-8), advancing to its seventh straight Sweet 16.
The Gamecocks led by a point after one quarter but had built a 12-point lead by halftime and were up 53-29 by the start of the fourth.
South Carolina, which won a national title in 2017, improved to 8-1 in the second round under coach Dawn Staley and will appear in the regional semifinals for the 11th time overall.