Reese helps defending champ LSU get by feisty Rice
Angel Reese had 10 points and 19 rebounds, and thirdseeded LSU overcame a feisty performance by No. 14 seed Rice for a 70-60 victory on Friday in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament in Albany Regional 2 action.
Aneesah Morrow added 15 points, while Flau'Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 14 for the defending national champion Tigers (29-5), who had a hard time putting the away the Owls (19-15), in no small part because they committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
The Owls didn't make anything easy on LSU, which didn't lead by more than 11 all game and was up by just six after Maya Bokunewicz's left side 3 and Sussy Ngulefac's layup made it 62-56 with 1:56 left.
Destiny Jackson scored 15 and Malia Fisher had 13 points and three steals for Rice.
Albany Regional 2 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 71, LOUISVILLE
69 >> Savannah Wheeler scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and the No. 11-seeded Blue Raiders overcame an 18-point, second quarter deficit to defeat the sixth-seeded Cardinals.
Jalynn Gregory scored 24 for Middle Tennessee (30-4), which won its 20th straight game.
Olivia Cochran had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Louisville (24-10).
NO. 17 COLORADO 86, DRAKE
72 >> Aaronette Vonleh had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the fifth-seeded Buffaloes to a victory over the 12th-seed Bulldogs. The Buffaloes will face fourth-seeded Kansas State in the second round Sunday.
Colorado (23-9) also got 16 points from Jaylyn Sherrod and Kindyll Wetta, and Maddie Nolan had 12. The Buffs held a 39-18 advantage on the boards.
Drake (29-6) got 24 points from Katie Dinnebier.
Portland Regional 3
DUKE 72, RICHMOND 61 >> Reigan Richardson scored 25 points and had seven rebounds as the No. 7-seeded Blue Devils rallied in the second half to overtake the 10thseeded Spiders. Duke (21-11) advances to play Ohio State on Sunday. The Blue Devils battled back from a ninepoint deficit at halftime, going ahead 42-41 with 4:42 left in the third quarter .
Grace Townsend led Richmond (29-6) with 18 points.
Portland Regional 4 ALABAMA 82, FLORIDA STATE
74 >> Freshman Essence Cody had season highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the eighth-seeded Crimson Tide defeated the Seminoles. Cody made a layup on a pickand-roll to give Alabama (249) a 74-69 lead with 2:33 left.
Ta'Niya Latson led Florida State (23-11) with 25 points and Makayla Timpson scored 23.
Alabama will face No. 1 seed Texas on Sunday. IOWA STATE 93, MARYLAND
86 >> Freshman Audi Crooks scored a career-high 40 points on 18-for-20 shooting in her sensational NCAA Tournament debut, and the No. 7-seeded Cyclones (2111) hit all the big shots in the second half to rally from 20 points down and beat the 10th-seeded Terrapins.
The 20-point comeback marked the second-largest all-time in an NCAA Tournament game trailing only Texas A&M overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat Penn in 2017.
Allie Kubek knocked down all five of her 3-pointers in the first half and finished with seven from long range on the way to a seasonbest 29 points for Maryland (19-14).
Albany Regional 1 NORTH CAROLINA 59, MICHIGAN
STATE 56 >> Deja Kelly had 13 points and the No. 8 seed Tar Heels held off a late run by the No. 9 seed Spartans to start the NCAA Tournament.
Maria Gakdeng had 17 points and 10 rebounds while Alyssa Ustby had 16 points and 17 rebounds.
It looked like the Tar Heels (20-12) had this sewn up, opening a 16-point lead early and still leading 5442 with 3:22 to go. But the Spartans (22-9) had a final rally in them and cut things to 57-56 on Theryn Hallock's 3-pointer from the right corner with 5.4 seconds to go. Hallock and Julia Ayrault had 14 points apiece for Michigan State.
SOUTH CAROLINA 91, PRESBYTERIAN 39 >> Chloe Kitts tied her career high with 21 points on 9-of-9 shooting as the No. 1 overall seed Gamecocks easily overcame the absence of starters Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall to beat the No. 16-seeded Blue Hose (21-15).
South Carolina (33-0) overwhelmed the Blue Hose (21-15) for a second time this season. Next comes another rematch against No. 8 seed North Carolina on Sunday.
Paige Kindseth and Tilda Sjokvist had nine points each for Presbyterian.
OREGON STATE 73, EASTERN WASHINGTON 51 >> Raegan Beers had 19 points and nine rebounds before she was hurt at the end of the third quarter and the third-seeded Beavers (25-7) advanced to the second round with a victory over the No. 14 Eagles. Beers fell to the court as time expired in the third quarter, clutching her right ankle and crying in pain. She was able to stand on her own and limped to the locker room.
Jamie Loera had 21 points for the Eagles (29-6).