USF falls to Missouri in final second; Noles cruise
S i e r r a Mic ha e l i s s c o re d 1 6 points, including the game-winning lay-up with 0.6 of second remaining, and No. 6 seed Missouri (22-10) rallied from a 38-25 halftime deficit to beat No. 11 South Florida 66-64 Friday in Tallahassee in a Stockton Region opener.
Missouri led 64-61 before Kitija Laska tied it with a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left. Arianda Pujol scored 20 and Laksa 19 for South Florida (24-9). The Tigers advanced to play Florida State.
The third-seeded Seminoles beat No. 14 Western Illinois 87-66, rallying from a seven-point deficit after one quarter. Shakayla Thomas scored 23 and Chatrice White 19 for FSU (26-6). Western Illinois is 26-7.
Oregon State 56, Long Beach State 55: Breanna Brown scored 12 points as Oregon State (30-4) avoided becoming the first second seed to lose to a No. 15 in the women’s tournament. Raven Benton (17 points) missed a long jumper with five seconds left and Anna Kim’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the backboard, ending the upset bid for the 49ers (23-11).
Arizona State 73, Michigan St a t e 61 : At C ol umbia, S.C . , Quinn Dornstauder scored 16 as No. 8 seed Arizona State (2012) advanced to play South Carolina. The No. 9 Spartans (2112) totaled 35 points in the first three quarters.
S o u t h C a ro l i n a 9 0, UNC Asheville 50: Allisha Gray had 22 points as top-seeded South Carolina (28-6) cruised at home. Asheville is 19-15. Oklahoma City Region
DePaul 88, Northern Iowa 67: At Starkville, Miss., Tanita Allen scored 25 points for seventh-seeded DePaul (27-7), which advanced to play Mississippi State. Northern Iowa is 24-9.
Mississippi State 110, Troy 69: Blair Schaefer scored a career-high 21 points for the second-seeded Bulldogs (30-4) at home. Star guard Victoria Vivians came off the bench for the first time in her three-year career, getting 13 points in 16 minutes. The 15th-seeded Trojans (22-11) shot 31.3 percent.
Lexington Region
Ohio State 70, Western Kentucky 63: Kelsey Mitchell and Asia Doss each scored 15 points for the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (276), who advanced to play host Kentucky. The Hilltoppers (27- 7) had won 12 straight.
Kentucky 73, Belmont 70: Maci Morris made seven of eight free throws in the final 37 seconds to help fourth-seeded Kentucky (22-10) edge No. 13 Belmont (27-6), ending the Bruins’ school-record 21-game winning streak. Makayla Epps scored 30 for the Wildcats.
North Carolina State 62, Auburn 48: At Austin, Texas, Dominique Wilson scored 23 for No. 6 seed N.C. State (23-8), which advanced to play Texas. Auburn (17-15) shot 24.6 percent.
Texas 78, Central Arkansas 50: Brooke McCarty scored 15 for No. 3 seed Texas (23-8), which stormed to 24-4 lead by the end of the first quarter. No. 14 Central Arkansas is 26-5.
Purdue 74, Green Bay 62: At South Bend, Ind., Ashley Morrisette scored 20 points for ninth- seeded Purdue. The Boilermakers (23-12) played their first game since coach Sharon Versyp informed the team she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. They advanced to play Notre Dame. Green Bay is 27-6. Bridgeport Region
West Virginia 75, Elon 62: At College Park, Md., Tynice Martin scored 26 points, and Katrina Pardee made a pair of pivotal 3-pointers as sixth-seeded West Virginia (24-10) shook No. 11 seed Elon (27-7) in the fourth quarter and advanced to play third seed Maryland (31-2), a 103-61 winner over Bucknell.