March Madness
More automatic bids awarded to NCAA tournament; bubble takes shape.
Raina Perez hit a jumper from the left elbow with 2.1 seconds left to help the No. 3 N.C. State women beat fifth-ranked Louisville (23-3), 58-56, in Greensboro, N.C., in the ACC championship game.
Perez’s shot broke a tie game in a tense finish between two of the nation’s top teams in which neither led by more than one point over the final 4 minutes.
And it secured the Wolfpack’s first back-to-back titles in program history.
Elissa Cunane scored 20 points to lead the Wolfpack (20-2), earning tournament MVP honors while beating the Cardinals for the second time this season.
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Southeastern: Aliyah Boston had 27 points and 10 rebounds as No. 7 South Carolina (22-4) pulled away in the third quarter to beat No. 16 Georgia (20-6), 67-62, in Greenville, S.C., and win its second conference tournament title in a row. It was a historic matchup that featured two Black head coaches in the title game for the first time in SEC history with South Carolina’s Dawn Staley and Georgia’s Joni Taylor.
Southern: Jaron Dougherty had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals as No. 2 seed Mercer (19-6) used a 28-0 run to ease past fourthseeded Wofford (13-11), 60-38, in Asheville, N.C. to claim the tournament title. Mercer won its third conference title in the past four years.
Pac-12: Kiana Williams led Stanford (24-2) with 26 points and Lacie Hull added 24 as the Cardinal rolled to a 75-55 win against UCLA (16-4) to claim the tournament title in Las Vegas, Nev. Haley Jones scored 10 points and had a game-high 13 rebounds for Stanford. The Cardinal has made the championship game 18 times in 20 total tournaments. Men Missouri Valley: Cameron Krutwig and Braden Norris scored 20 points apiece to lead No. 20 Loyola Chicago to a 75-65 win against Drake (25-4) in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game in St. Louis. The Ramblers (24-4) will be making their first NCAA appearance since the 2018 team reached the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.
Big South: D.J. Burns scored 22 points and Winthrop took off in the second half to an 80-53 victory against Campbell in Rock Hill, S.C. for its second consecutive conference tournament championship. The Eagles (23-1) ran away from Campbell (17-10) for their 13th championship in 17 appearances in the title game. Atlantic Sun: Darius McGhee scored 21 points and eight rebounds and top-seeded Liberty held on for a 79-75 win against North Alabama (13-11) in Jacksonville, Fla. Liberty (23-5) has won 12 consecutive games.