NCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT Spokane Region No. 1 N. Dame 99, No. 16 Northridge 81
Albany Region No. 2 South Carolina 63, No. 15 N.C. A&T 52
A'ja Wilson had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a victory over North Carolina A&T on Friday night after the 15th-seeded Aggies threw a serious scare into the defending national champions. South Carolina (27-6) was up 39-21 at the half and seemed ready to cruise to their seventh straight NCAA win and ninth consecutive opening-round game. Instead, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament champ outhustled and outplayed the Southeastern Conference tourney winners much of the final 20 minutes.
No. 10 Virginia 68, No. 7 California 62
Dominique Toussaint hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:08 to go and Virginia held off Cal for its first NCAA win in nine years.
Lexington Region No. 1 Louisville 74, No. 16 Boise State 42
Kylee Shook had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench to lead Louisville to a blowout of Boise State. Beginning NCAA play as a top seed for the first time in school history, the Cardinals (33-2) used quick spurts early in both halves, along with defense, to cruise to victory.
No. 2 Baylor 96, No. 15 Grambling St. 46
Lauren Cox had a career-high 30 points and 17 rebounds to lead four players in double figures, and Baylor beat Grambling State. The Lady Bears (32-1) scored 17 of the game's first 18 points and were never challenged in picking up their 29th straight win. Cox tied the Lady Tigers' offensive output of 19 points in the first half by herself and tied for a team-high five assists.
No. 3 Tennessee 100, No. 14 Liberty 60
Freshman Rennia Davis scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in her NCAA debut as Tennessee pulled away in the second half to beat Liberty.
Tennessee (25-7) plays No. 6 Oregon State in the second round of the Lexington Regional on Sunday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. Oregon State beat No. 11 Western Kentucky 82-58 in the opening game.
Kansas City Region No. 5 Maryland 77, No. 12 Princeton 57
Kaila Charles scored 20 points and Maryland beat Princeton.
Eleanna Christinaki added 16 points, Kristen Confroy finished with 14 and Brianna Fraser had 11 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Terrapins (26-7). Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points and Notre Dame beat Cal State Northridge.
The Irish did suffer another injury as senior captain Kathryn Westbeld went down early in the game with a rolled left ankle and did not return. There was no immediate word whether Westbeld would be ready for Sunday's game. Notre Dame played most of the season without four players who suffered season-ending ACL injuries.
No. 4 Texas A&M 89, No. 13 Drake 76
Freshman Chennedy Carter scored 26 points, powering Texas A&M to a victory over Drake. Khaalia Hillsman added 22 to help send the Aggies to the second round against DePaul. Carter also had 11 assists and six steals.
No. 5 DePaul 90, No. 12 Oklahoma 79
Amarah Coleman and Kelly Campbell each scored 17 points and DePaul held off a second-half comeback by Oklahoma. Ashton Millender and Mart'e Grays both added 16 for the Blue Demons (27-7), which used 3-pointers to jump to an early lead that it never lost.
No.8 Villanova 81, No. 9 S. Dakota St. 74
Adrianna Hahn scored 24 points, including a key 3-pointer in overtime to help Villanova beat South Dakota State. This was the first NCAA Tournament win for the Wildcats since 2004 when they beat Mississippi State 66-63 in the opening round. Villanova had to work for the victory. South Dakota State trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game on Madison Guebert's 3-pointer from the wing just before the buzzer at the end of regulation.