Indiana women into Sweet 16
SAN ANTONIO — Indiana had barely earned its biggest win in NCAA Tournament history when coach Teri Moren emerged from her locker room soaked from head to toe.
There could still be a lot of basketball ahead for the Hoosiers, but Moren saw no reason to stop the party after Indiana secured its first Sweet 16 appearance with Wednesday’s 70-48 win over Belmont.
“Those kids were pretty excited, got me pretty good in the locker room,” Moren said. “That’s OK. Wet pants, wet shirt, wet hair ... Just to watch the pure joy these kids have right now is well worth it.”
Grace Berger scored 17 points and fourth-seeded Indiana delivered another suffocating defensive effort after holding first-round opponent VCU to just 32 points.
Indiana (17-9) was just as efficient on offense as four Hoosiers scored in double figures. Indiana advances to play North Carolina State, the No. 1 seed in the Mercado Region.
Destinee Wells scored 16 points to lead Belmont (21-6).
After taking a 15-12 lead into the second quarter, the Hoosiers allowed just six more points until halftime. Belmont went scoreless over the final 4:27, missed all 13 attempts from long range and made 2 of 17 shots in the quarter.
MARYLAND 100, ALABAMA 64
Angel Reese scored 19 points, leading a wave of scoring off the bench, as No. 2 seed
Maryland and its offensive juggernaut overwhelmed No. 7 Alabama.
The Terrapins (27-2) came into the tournament with the nation’s highest-scoring offense and have yet to take their foot off the gas. The Terps are averaging 99 points in their two tournament wins after scoring 91.3 per game in the regular season.
Maryland hit the 100-point mark for the seventh time this season and got 46 points off the bench. The Terps were so dominant, season scoring leader Ashley Owusu didn’t make her first basket until the lead was already 46-23 in the second quarter. Five Maryland players scored in double figures.
OREGON 57, GEORGIA 50
Sedona Prince scored 22 points, Nyara Sabally took over late and sixth-seeded Oregon beat No. 3 Georgia 57-50 to advance to its fourth straight Sweet 16.
Sabally scored six straight points — including a putback of her own missed shot — to break open a tie game and give the Ducks a 54-48 lead with less than a minute to go. She finished with 15 points, including 10 in the second half, and nine rebounds.
MISSOURI ST. 64, WRIGHT ST. 39
Elle Ruffridge had a career-high 20 points with five 3-pointers, Jasmine Franklin had a double-double and the fifth-seeded Lady Bears are going to their second consecutive Sweet 16.
The Lady Bears pulled away in the second half when Ruffridge had 17 of her points.
Franklin finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
L’VILLE 62, NORTHWESTERN 53
Kianna Smith scored 16 points and No. 2 seed Louisville advanced to the Sweet 16 by rallying from an early 18-point deficit.
The Cardinals (25-3) got off to another rough start, trailing 25-7 late in the first quarter. The deficit was 40-28 midway through the third quarter before the Cardinals scored 17 straight points.
The game was tied at 40 heading into the fourth, and Louisville increased its first lead to 45-40 before Lindsay
Pulliam — Northwestern’s third-ever 2,000-point scorer — got her only basket of the game.
TEXAS A&M 84, IOWA STATE 82
Jordan Nixon banked in a short jump shot at the buzzer in overtime, giving her a career-high 35 points and lifting No. 2 Texas A&M over seventh-seeded Iowa State.
Nixon scored seven of A&M’s nine points in OT, pushing the Aggies (25-2) into the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. She also led the rally in the fourth quarter, scoring the last four points of regulation.