Staying focused
» UT’S Collier shrugs off ‘Overrated!’ chant in win.
Jakia Brown-turner scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina State shrugged off a challenge from No. 8 South Florida with a big third quarter, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 79-67 victory on Tuesday.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (22-2), who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall. They will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 12thseeded Belmont.
USF (19-4) led by a point early in the third quarter before N.C. State used two big runs to pull away and take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
The Bulls pulled within eight points with 3½ 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.
“We did a good job of defending with some urgency and finishing with a box out for the most part in the third,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “It’s good when you can see the ball go through the net — it helps on the other end of the floor. We tend to play better defense when we’re hitting shots.”
The game was played at the Alamodome in front of a handful of people, including NCAA President Mark Emmert, who has been on the defensive since players took to social media to point out inequities in the NCAA’S treatment of women’s teams.
Elena Tsineke had 22 points to lead the Bulls, who were in the tournament for the seventh time. They made six 3-pointers in the first half to spark hope of an upset but hit just three more after halftime.
N.C. State overcame the absence of Kayla Jones, who injured her left knee on Sunday, and an off day by star center Elissa Cunane, who went 3 for 15 from the field. Cunane was 6 of 7 at the free-throw line and finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds as all five Wolfpack starters scored in double figures.
The Wolfpack used a 10-2 spurt, with four points from Boyd, to take a 47-40 lead midway through the third quarter. USF got within two before N.C. State erupted for a 12-0 run that made it 59-45 late in the quarter.
The Wolfpack took advantage of three turnovers in that stretch and USF coach Jose Fernandez received a technical foul to help them add to the lead.
MICHIGAN 70, TENNESSEE 55
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead the No. 6 seeded Wolverines to their first Sweet 16 appearance with a victory over the third-seeded Lady Vols at the Alamodome.
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 (16-5) held Tennessee to just one field goal the rest of the second quarter and built a 28-19 halftime lead. The Lady Vols missed their final seven shots of the period and ended their drought 1:18 into the third quarter. The Lady Vols’ deficit grew to 17 points as Michigan went on a 22-7 run spanning the quarters.
Tennessee (17-8) trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter and was able to cut its deficit to 54-44 with under 5 minutes left before a 3-pointer by Danielle Rauch and a steal and layup by Brown restored the 15-point cushion. Tennessee couldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
Tennessee, which has a storied NCAA tradition with eight national championships, fell to 28-3 in the second round.
Rennia Davis scored 12 points to lead the Lady Vols.
IOWA 86, KENTUCKY 72
Freshman Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points after outscoring the Wildcats on her own in the first half, and the fifthseeded Hawkeyes advanced to the women’s Sweet 16 with a victory at Bill Greehey Arena.
Iowa (20-9) 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 Wildcats (18-9). She was 1 of 7 shooting in the first half, but finished 8 of 21 with five 3-pointers, along with eight assists.
After fourth-seeded Kentucky finally got its first basket of the game, Clark passed ahead to Monika Czinano for a breakaway layup. Surrounded by defenders later in the first half, Clark whipped a cross-court pass to Mckenna Warnock wide open on the left wing for a 3-pointer that made it 44-20.
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 six 3-pointers, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Czinano added 14 points and Warnock 10 as the Hawkeyes shot 57 percent (35 of 61) from the field, including 53 percent (10 of 19) from beyond the arc.
Iowa led 49-22 at halftime of the River Walk Region game. Clark got the last of her 24 points before the break on two free throws with 3 seconds left.
Dre’una Edwards added 16 points for Kentucky, and Jazine Massingill had 10.
GEORGIA TECH 73 WEST VIRGINIA 56
Lotta-maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the No. 5 seeded Yellow Jackets used a big third quarter to beat the No. 4 Mountaineers in a secondround game at the UTSA Convocation Center.
The Yellow Jackets needed a second-half rally in the opening round against Stephen F. Austin — the fourth-largest comeback in tournament history — but had this game well in control with a 17-point lead over the Mountaineers to start the fourth.
Their European inside-outside combo of Cubaj, from Italy, and Lahtinen, of Finland, led the way.
Lahtinen was 9 of 16 from the field and struck for 17 points in the first half to dig the Yellow Jackets out of an early hole.
Georgia Tech (17-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history and first since 2012. The Yellow Jackets will meet Tuesday night’s winner between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 8 Oregon State in the Hemisfair Region.
Esmery Martinez scored 13 points to lead West Virginia (22-7).