12thseeded Belmont surprises Gonzaga
Belmont freshman Destinee Wells scored 25 points and had seven assists in a turnoverfree game as the Bruins, a 12th seed, picked up their first victory ever in the women’s NCAA Tournament, pulling off a 6459 upset over fifthseeded Gonzaga in San Marcos, Texas, on Monday.
The Bruins (215) sealed the game with 19 seconds left when Wells, on a drive with the shot clock winding down, passed inside to Madison Bartley. The fellow freshman had to rip the ball from the defender, but made the layup while being fouled and added the free throw for a fivepoint lead.
Jill Townsend had 17 points for Gonzaga (234), which had cut a 10point deficit in the fourth quarter to 5755 on Abby O’Connor’s 3pointer with just more than four minutes left. The Bulldogs got no closer.
Belmont, which had been 05 in the NCAA Tournament, plays fourthseeded Indiana in the second round Wednesday in the Mercado Region. The Bruins are the first Ohio Valley Conference team to win an NCAA Tournament game since Tennessee Tech in 1990.
Indiana 63, VCU 32: In San Antonio, Grace Berger scored 13 of her 20 points in the first half, and the Hoosiers (19-5) held the 13th-seeded Rams (16-11) to 22.8% shooting.
Arizona 79, Stony Brook 44: Also in San Antonio, Aari McDonald scored 20 points and Trinity Baptiste had 18 as the third-seeded Wildcats (17-5) overwhelmed the Seawolves (15-6). BYU 69, Rutgers 66: In San Marcos, Texas, Paisley Johnson Harding scored 28 points, leading the Cougars (19-5) past the Scarlet Knights (14-5), who got 30 points from Arella Guirantes. Iowa State 79, Michigan State 75: Ashley Joens scored 33 points, powering the Cyclones (17-10) in San Antonio. Madison Wise had 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Spartans (15-9) cut their deficit to one on Alyza Winston’s layup with 25 seconds left, but Lexi Donarski made two foul shots and Joens also made a free throw to help Iowa State close out the win.
Texas A&M 84, Troy 80: In Austin, Texas, Jordan Nixon scored nine points over the final six minutes, finishing with 21, and the second- seeded Aggies (24-2) escaped an upset bid by the 15th-seeded Trojans (22-6). Destiny Pitts made four free throws over the final six seconds, giving the Aggies the cushion they needed to avoid what would have ranked among the biggest surprises in tourney history. No 15 seed has ever beaten a No. 2. Alexus Dye scored 26 points for Troy, but fouled out with 31 seconds to play.
Alamo Region
Wright State 66, Arkansas 62: Angel Baker scored 26 points and made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds left as the Raiders (19-7), a 13 seed, upset the Razorbacks, a 4 seed, in Austin for the biggest upset of the tournament’s first round. Wright State is the first 13 seed to win since 2012. Chelsea Dungee had 27 points for Arkansas (19-9).
Oregon 67, South Dakota 47: Erin Boley scored 22 points for the sixthseeded Ducks (14-8) in San Antonio. The 11th-seeded Coyotes (19-6) missed their last 25 shots of the first half and were held to a near-record low in trailing 34-9 at the break.
Louisville 74, Marist 43: Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Dana Evans added 15, helping the second-seeded Cardinals (24-3) overcome some early jitters in San Antonio. The 15th-seeded Red Foxes (18-4) cut it to 31-28 early in the third before Louisville went on a 22-1 run.
Missouri State 70, UC Davis 51: In San Antonio, Brice Calip had 18 points and the fifth-seeded Bears (22-2) used a 16-0 third-quarter run to beat the Aggies (13-3). Evanne Turner led UC Davis with 16 points.
Northwestern 62, Central Florida 51: In San Antonio, Lindsey Pulliam scored 25 points to lead the seventhseeded Wildcats (16-8) over the Knights (16-5), who lost secondleading scorer Diamond Battles to what appeared to be a right knee injury in the second quarter.
Georgia 67, Drexel 53: In San Antonio, Que Morrison had 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists for the Bulldogs (21-6), the third seed, who topped the Dragons (14-9).
Hemisfair Region
UCLA 69, Wyoming 48: In Austin, Michaela Onyenwere scored 25 points and the third-seeded Bruins (17-5) were not threatened by the Cowgirls (14-10). Onyenwere, a 6-foot senior, has averaged more than 24 points in her last five games. Charisma Osborne added 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Alba Sanchez Ramos had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Wyoming.
Texas 81, Bradley 62: WNBA prospect Charli Collier had 23 points and 15 rebounds, swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end the first quarter, capping a 13-0 run that put the Longhorns (19-9) ahead to stay in San Marcos, Texas, after the Braves (17-12) took their only lead in their first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Lasha Petree scored a season-high 33 points for Bradley.
Alabama 80, North Carolina 71: In San Antonio, Jordan Lewis had 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, helping the Crimson Tide (17-9), the seventh seed, to a victory over the Tar Heels (13-11), who got 29 points from Stephanie Watts.
Maryland 98, Mount St. Mary’s 45: In San Antonio, Ashley Owusu had 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as the Terrapins (25-2) extended their winning streak to 14 games. Mount St. Mary’s fell to 17-7.