UConn rolls in first round victory

UCONN 116, ALBANY 55

Napheesa Collier and Kia Nurse each scored 24 points as top-seeded UConn routed Albany 116-55 on Saturday for the program’s 108th straight win and 25th straight in the NCAA Tournament.

Gabby Williams added 20 points for UConn. She and Collier each pulled down 10 rebounds for the Huskies (33-0), who are going for their fifth consecutive NCAA title. They haven’t lost in the first round since 1993.

Imani Tate had 19 points and Jessica Fequiere scored 16 to lead Albany, which ends the season at 21-12.

The Great Danes, who upset Florida in the opening round of last year’s tournament, were never really in this game

UConn opened each of the first three quarters with 9-0 runs. The Huskies hit 62 percent of their shots and outscored Albany 52-18 in the paint.

SYRACUSE 85, IOWA STATE 65

Brittney Sykes scored 28 points and Alexis Peterson added 25 to lead eighth-seeded Syracuse to a win over Iowa State.

Freshman Gabby Cooper added a seasonhigh 24 points, all from 3-point range, for the Orange (22-10), who will face top-seeded UConn on Monday in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

Seanna Johnson hit seven of her 10 shots and had 21 points for Iowa State, which finishes its season at 18-13.

Iowa State actually outscored Syracuse 57-52 over the final three quarters, but the game was decided in the first 10 minutes.

Cooper, who came in averaging just under nine points a game, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and had five of them in the first 7 minutes as the Orange ran out to a 17-3 lead.

She finished the game with eight baskets from behind the arc on 15 attempts.

BAYLOR 119, TEXAS SOUTHERN 30

Kalani Brown scored 21 points and top-seeded Baylor overwhelmed much smaller Texas Southern in the most lopsided women’s NCAA Tournament game ever.

The Lady Bears (31-3) were ahead 22-0 after Alexis Jones, on her first shot in her first game since Feb. 20, hit a 3-pointer just more than 6 minutes into the game.

The 79-point margin broke the previous record 74-point win by Tennessee over North Carolina A&T (111-37) in 1994.

Baylor’s 119 points were the most ever scored in regulation of a women’s NCAA Tournament game, surpassing the previous record 116. Ohio State scored 116 in a 1998 game, and UConn matched twice, including earlier Saturday.

Texas Southern (23-10) made the NCAA Tournament for the first time after win the SWAC Tournament.

LOUISVILLE 82, CHATTANOOGA 62

Asia Durr scored 27 points to lead fourthseeded Louisville to a victory over Chattanooga.

The rematch of a regular season contest played out a little differently. The Cardinals (28-7) didn’t have anyone score in double figures in their 63-47 victory here on Nov. 21. On Saturday, they had four who did and were led by their sophomore guard.

Myisha Hines-Allen added 16 points and 12 rebounds while Jazmine Jones came off the bench to get 14. Those three fueled an offense that saw the Cardinals shoot a season best 61 percent. Louisville also notched a season-best 28 assists, with Mariya Moore dishing out 10. Hines-Allen and Briahanna Jackson added five each.

Lakelyn Bouldin led the Mocs (21-11) with 16 points.

TENNESSEE 66, DAYTON 57

Diamond DeShields scored 24 points to lead fifth-seeded Tennessee over Dayton.

The Lady Vols (20-11) used a strong second half to pull away from the 12thseeded Flyers (22-10), shooting 52 percent after halftime to earn the victory. DeShields and Mercedes Russell wouldn’t let the Flyers couldn’t mount a comeback. They scored 23 of Tennessee’s 37 points in the second half to lead the way.

Dayton started the game miserably. After getting two free throws in the opening 14 seconds to take an early lead, the Flyers made just one of their first 16 shots. That enabled the Lady Vols to take an 18-4 lead after a Schaquilla Nunn layup with 1:33 left in the opening quarter.

But that’s when Tennessee went into a cold streak of its own. The Lady Vols made just 4-of-16 shots in the second quarter. The Flyers went on a 9-2 run midway through the period, with Jordan Wilmoth’s 3-pointer cutting Tennessee’s lead to just 25-22 with 2:21 remaining in the half. They continued chipping away from there, with Lauren Cannatelli’s free throws with 16 seconds left tying the game at 29.

Dayton again took the lead in the opening seconds of the third quarter, on an Alex Harris layup. However, the Flyers scored just three points over the last six minutes of the quarter as Tennessee led 51-42 after three.

KANSAS STATE 67, DRAKE 54

Breanna Lewis had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Kindred Wesemann added 16 points and seventh-seeded Kansas State beat No. 10 seed Drake.

The Wildcats (2310) took the lead in the game’s opening minutes and never relinquished it, even though the Bulldogs (28-5) never made things easy. That allowed Kansas State to ease into a matchup with No. 2 seed Stanford on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Like they had against Drake, the Wildcats will again have the benefit of playing at home.

The NCAA selection committee awarded them the right to host the opening rounds when Stanford had a conflict at Maples Pavilion, a testament to the crowd support Kansas State has enjoyed over the years.

Lizzy Wendell scored 17 for Drake, which carried the nation’s second-longest winning streak at 22 games into the tournament. Becca Hittner added 13 points and Sammie Bachrodt had 10.