Rutgers knocked out by BYU

Paisley Johnson Harding scored 28 points and 11thseeded BYU gave the women’s NCAA Tournament its first upset with a 69-66 victory over sixth-seed Rutgers on Monday in San Marcos, Texas.

After Sunday’s 16-0 start for the higher seeds, the Cougars (19-5) — believed to be the last team to make the field — came out Monday morning to knock off the 21st-ranked Scarlet Knights (14-5) and advance to Wednesday’s second round against third-seeded Arizona.

“We just missed shots. It’s as simple as that,” Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. “Sometimes it happens. I don’t think it was anything they did, they were predictable the way they played. They played hard. We didn’t give up, I thought our attitude was great. Sometimes you make shots and sometimes you don’t.”

Harding scored eight straight points and Lauren Gustin the next four in a 12-0 run over 5 ¹/2 minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 57-54 lead while Rutgers was committing five turnovers. BYU held on from there, matching the one-woman offense of Ariella Guirantes, who scored 13 straight Rutgers points in the quarter.

Guirantes threw a bad pass that led to West Coast Conference player of the year Shaylee Gonzales’ last of her six straight free throws with 13.4 seconds left and a fivepoint lead. Liz Martino hit a baseline 3-pointer but Harding added another free throw and the Scarlet Knights wouldn’t get another shot off.

Louisville 74, Marist 43

In San Antonio, Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points, helping second-seeded Louisville (24-3) overcome early jitters against Marist (18-4). Sarah Barcello scored eight points for the Red Foxes.

Arizona 79, Stony Brook 44

In San Antonio, Aari McDonald scored 20 points and Trinity Baptiste had 18, sending Arizona (17-5) to the runaway win over Stony Brook (15-6). Asiah Dingle scored 14 points for the Seawolves.