Jones, 3-pointers send No. 1 Stanford past Cowgirls 73-62 and into Sweet 16
SAN ANTONIO — Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford unleashed another barrage of 3-pointers as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament booked yet another trip to the Sweet 16 with a 73-62 win over No. 8 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night.
The Cardinal made 13 3-pointers after making 15 in their firstround win. All of those against Oklahoma State came in the first three quarters as Stanford built the lead as high as 20.
Stanford made the Sweet 16 for the 27th time in pursuit of its first national title since 1992. The Cardinal advance to play the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between No. 5 Missouri State and No. 13 Wright State in the Alamo Region.
The Cardinal (27-2) had four players score in double figures and all five starters made at least one 3-pointer as the Cowgirls struggled to cover every shooter.
Neferatali Notoa scored 14 for Oklahoma State (19-9).
The Stanford 3-pointers came from everywhere from the opening minute.
Anna Wilson opened the scoring with consecutive shots from long range for a quick 10-3 Stanford lead. The Cowgirls committed five turnovers in the first quarter then briefly turned momentum with a 9-2 run.
Energized by the run, Oklahoma State’s quick hands on defense were disrupting the Cardinal on both ends and Notoa tied it at 23 with a deep 3-pointer.
Then Stanford unleased from virtually everywhere in a longrange tidal wave for a 19-4 run that had all the Cardinal scoring weapons on display.
Cameron Brink started it from the left wing before Kiana
Williams made three in a row. Williams then made a nifty 30foot pass to sprinting Francesca Belibi for a transition basket. Wilson knocked down her third 3-pointer of the half and Stanford led 42-27.
Stanford stretched the lead as high as 20 before Oklahoma State made one last push with a 12-3 run to close the quarter keyed by Lexy Keys’ 3-pointer. Stanford then got a scare when Williams limped off after twisting her knee on a block, but she quickly returned early in the fourth.
Stanford wasn’t only about 3-pointers. The Cardinal opened the final period with Brink’s soaring put back of a miss, and a muscular post-move layup from Haley Jones and the lead was back to 15.
NO. 1 UCONN 83, NO. 8 SYRACUSE 47
Paige Bueckers scored 20 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 19 to help UConn beat Syracuse.
Once again the Huskies were missing coach Geno Auriemma, who is recovering from COVID-19. Chris Dailey filled in for the Hall of Fame coach, who celebrated his 67th birthday on Tuesday and could potentially rejoin the team this weekend for its next game.
NO. 5 IOWA 86, NO. 4 KENTUCKY 72
Iowa freshman Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points after outscoring Kentucky on her own in the first half, and the Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Hawkeyes (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.
NO. 2 BAYLOR 90, NO. 7 VIRGINIA TECH 48
Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington both had 21 points as reigning women’s national champion Baylor advanced to its 12th consecutive Sweet 16 with a victory over Virginia Tech.
Queen Egbo had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with seven blocked shots for the Lady Bears. DiDi Richards had nine assists.
NO. 1 S. CAROLINA 59, NO. 8 OREGON ST. 42
Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and South Carolina dominated after a close first quarter to beat Oregon State, advancing to its seventh straight Sweet 16.
The Gamecocks (24-4) led by a point after one quarter but had built a 12-point lead by halftime and were up 53-29 by the start of the fourth.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN 70, NO. 3 TENNESSEE 55
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead Michigan to its first Sweet 16 appearance with a win over Tennessee.
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.
NO. 1 NC ST. 79, NO. 8 S. FLORIDA 67
Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and North Carolina State shrugged off a challenge from South Florida with a big third quarter, advancing to the Sweet 16 with a victory.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall. They will face fourth-seeded Indiana or 12th-seeded Belmont.
USF 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.
NO. 5 GEORGIA TECH 73, NO. 4 W. VIRGINIA 56
Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech used a big third quarter to beat No. 4 West Virginia 73-56 on Tuesday in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
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.