Red Storm fall in thriller to Carolina
Deja Kelly had a go-ahead threepoint play with 2 seconds left and No. 6 seed North Carolina hung on for a 61-59 win over 11th-seeded St. John’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
The Tar Heels (22-10) faced their first deficit of the game when Danielle Patterson sank a 3-pointer with 6:39 left to play.
The Red Storm led for the next four-plus minutes, until Paulina Paris was fouled in transition and made the ensuing free throw to tie the score at 54.
Twice, after North Carolina went back up, Mimi Reid made tying shots for St. John’s, sinking a layup with 6 seconds left to knot the score at 58.
Kelly then drove the left lane and made the free throw to complete the game-winning score. Patterson then was fouled after a timeout while shooting a 3-pointer with just over a second left that gave the Red Storm (23-9) one last chance.
She missed the first two free throws and then made third one, ending any chance the Red Storm had to tie the score.
Connecticut 95, Vermont 52
In Storrs, Conn., Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points and No. 2 UConn (30-5) routed 15 seed Vermont, giving the Huskies a 29th straight win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee 95, Saint Louis 50
In Knoxville, Tenn., Jordan Horston scored 21 points as No. 4 Tennessee (24-11) remained perfect when opening the NCAA Tournament on their home court, routing 13 seed Saint Louis.
Villanova 76, Cleveland State 59
In Villanova, Pa., Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-American had 35 points to lead No. 4 Villanova (29-6) into the NCAA Tournament’s second round with a win over Cleveland State.
Duke 89, Iona 49
In Durham, N.C., Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun each scored 13 points and Duke (26-6) marked its return to the NCAA Tournament — its first since 2018 — with a romp past Iona.
Ketsia Athias led No. 14 seed Iona (26-7) with 20 points. Juana Camilion had 12.