Mississippi State cruises past Nicholls
KANSAS CITY REGION NO. 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE 95, NO. 16 NICHOLLS 50
In Starkville, Miss., Victoria Vivians scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Mississippi State past Nicholls.
Mississippi State (33-1) started the game slowly, but scored 33 points in the second quarter to take a 54-24 lead into halftime and eventually cruise to the win. Teaira McCowan scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Blair Schaefer also scored 18 points.
Mississippi State shot 50 percent from the field, including 47 percent from 3-point range, and had a 51-29 rebounding advantage.
The Bulldogs bounced back from their only loss of the season, a 62-51 setback to South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference tournament final. Mississippi State won a program-record 32 straight games to open the season.
Nicholls (19-14) was led by Tykeria Williams, who scored 16 points.
NO. 2 TEXAS 83, NO. 15 MAINE 54
In Austin, Texas, Jatarie White scored 17 points and Texas used an overwhelming first half to romp to a win over Maine.
Hosting the first two rounds for the third consecutive year, Texas smothered the America East Conference tournament champions from the opening tip. The Longhorns led 45-18 by halftime with a combination of dominant rebounding and speed in transition led by guards Lashann Higgs and Brooke McCarty. Higgs scored 15 and Ariel Atkins scored 16 for Texas.
The Longhorns (27-6) didn’t let Maine (23-10) even grab a rebound the first eight minutes. Higgs had 11 points and Atkins scored 10 by halftime as the Longhorns emptied their bench early in the second quarter. Texas shot 68 percent and outrebounded Maine 25-4 in the first half.
NO. 3 UCLA 71, NO. 14 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY 60
In Los Angeles, Monique Billings scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds, Kennedy Burke added 15 points to lead UCLA to a win over American University.
Jordin Canada had 10 points and 11 assists for the Bruins (25-7), who advance to the second round.
Cecily Carl led American (26-7) with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Elina Koskimies added 13 points and Maria Liddane scored 12 points.
After the Eagles took an early lead to start the game, the Bruins countered with a 22-3 run over the final 4:33 of the opening quarter to build a double-digit advantage and take control.
NO. 7 ARIZONA STATE 73, NO. 10 NEBRASKA 62
In Austin, Texas, Robbi Ryan scored 16 points and Kianna Ibis added 14 to lead Arizona State over Nebraska.
The Sun Devils opened up a tight, defensive struggle with a 14-0 run late in the third quarter. Jamie Ruden scored five in the stretch and the Sun Devils pushed the lead as high as 16 early in the fourth quarter when Reili Richardson converted a 3-point play.
Arizona State moves on to the second round for the fifth straight season with a chance to make the Sweet 16 for the second time in four years.
Taylor Kissinger scored 15 points for Nebraska (21-11).
NO. 9 OKLAHOMA STATE 84, NO. 8 SYRACUSE 57
In Starkville, Miss., freshman Jaden Hobbs scored a career-high 27 points, Loryn Goodwin and Kaylee Jensen added 19 and Oklahoma State beat Syracuse.
The 5-foot-8 Hobbs made 8 of 9 3-point attempts, blowing the game open single-handedly by making four 3-pointers in quick succession late in the third quarter.
Oklahoma State (21-10) ended the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 40-32 halftime lead. The rally was punctuated in the final seconds by a perfect pass from Goodwin to Maria Castro, who made a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
The Cowgirls never trailed again, thanks to solid defense and Hobbs, who had never scored more than 12 points in a college game before Saturday. Oklahoma State shot 13 of 23 (56 percent) from 3-point range.
LEXINGTON REGION NO. 4 STANFORD 82, NO. 13 GONZAGA 68
In Stanford, Calif. Alanna Smith scored 20 points, freshman Kiana Williams made a sensational women’s NCAA Tournament debut, and Stanford beat cold-shooting Gonzaga.
Williams scored 21 points and calmly pushed the pace on offense as the Cardinal created opportunities in transition. Early in the third, she stole the ball from Gonzaga’s Emma Stach and drove it the length of the court for a layup.
Stanford (23-10) used a 9-0 run late in the third to pull away and overcame a tough shooting performance by Brittany McPhee, who had 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting. She also contributed 11 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals.
NO. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 80, NO. 5 MISSOURI 70
In Stanford, Calif., China Dow scored 21 points and played stingy defense in the paint against Missouri star Sophie Cunningham, and Florida Gulf Coast pulled off an upset in the Lexington Regional.
Cunningham took over on the low block to get Missouri (24-8) going and scored a season-high 35 points — most by a Tigers player in an NCAA tournament game — and made 14 of 16 free throws. But she didn’t get much help.
Dow made two free throws with 1:12 left as the Eagles kept pushing until the final buzzer to run their winning streak to 11 games with a 21st victory in the last 22 games.