Michigan’s first
Leigha Brown (above) scored 23 points as Michigan defeated Tennessee 70-55 in the NCAA Women’s Tournament on Tuesday night as the Wolverines advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time.
RIVER WALK REGIONAL MICHIGAN 70, TENNESSEE 55
SAN ANTONIO — It’s been a season of firsts for Michigan, and now the Wolverines can add a trip to the Sweet 16 to that list.
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first regional semifinals appearance with a 70-55 victory over third-seeded Tennessee on Tuesday in the NCAA Women’s Tournament at the Alamodome.
“It’s amazing, we’ve been having a lot of firsts on our team,” Hillmon said. “For our program, this is another one. We drenched coach in the locker room.”
The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Volunteers. 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.”
“It’s great for our university, great for the state of Michigan. It’s great to see Michigan is not only a football and men’s basketball school, but also a women’s basketball school,” Michigan Coach Kim Barnes Arico said.
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 quarter 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.
Tennessee (17-8) trailed by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter and was able to cut its deficit to 54-44 with under 5 minutes left before a three-pointer by Danielle Rauch and a steal and layup by Brown restored the 15-point cushion. Tennessee couldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
Hillmon, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also had 15 rebounds as the Wolverines more than held their own on the glass against the Lady Vols, outrebounding them 42-40.
“Their average height is like 6-foot-2,” Hillmon said. “It’s something we emphasized. They are one of the best in the nation. We put it on ourselves tonight to make sure we rebounded. … Took efforts to rebound. all of us crashing the boards. It was a huge emphasis for us coming into the game.”
A trip to the regional semifinals was just another first for the Wolverines this year. The team started 10-0 for the first time in school history. They were also in the rankings all season for the firsttime, as well as having Hillmon be the first female player to earn All-America honors as a second-teamer.
Tennessee, which has a long storied NCAA tradition with eight national championships, fell to 28-3 in the second round.
Rennia Davis scored 12 points to lead the Lady Vols, who were playing Michigan for the first time.
“I’m proud of the growth that our team had as women, as basketball players, as teammates. I thought we made some unbelievable strides forward. I’m proud of that,” Tennessee Coach Kellie Harper said. “We just came up short today with our execution.”
IOWA 86, KENTUCKY 72
SAN ANTONIO — Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 6 three-pointers after outscoring Kentucky on her own in the first half, and the Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 with a win at Bill Greehey Arena.
The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-9) scored the game’s first 11 points — with all five starters getting a basket, Clark’s being a three-pointer. Iowa led 49-22 at halftime as Clark scored 24 of her 35 points in the first two quarters.
They 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.
Two-time AP All-American guard Rhyne Howard finished with 28 points to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats (18-9). She was 1 of 7 shooting in the first half, but finished 8 of 21 with 5 three-pointers, along with eight assists. Dre’Una Edwards added 16 points and Jazmine Massengill 10.
Monika Czinano added 14 points and McKenna Warnock 10 for the Hawkeyes.
BAYLOR 90, VIRGINIA TECH 48
SAN ANTONIO — Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington both had 21 points as reigning women’s national champion Baylor advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 with a victory over Virginia Tech at Bill Greehey Arena.
Queen Egbo had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocked shots for the Lady Bears (27-2). DiDi Richards had nine assists.
All-America forward NaLyssa Smith finished with 15 points, all but two of those coming after halftime for Baylor. Smith got her second foul only seven minutes into the game, and didn’t return until getting two quick layups after the break.
Georgia Amoore had 18 points with 4 three-pointers to lead Virginia Tech (1510), which had opened its first NCAA Tournament since 2006 with a victory over Marquette.
But the Hokies and their high-scoring duo of Aisha Sheppard and center Elizabeth Kitley — ranked second and third in the ACC, both averaging just over 18 points a game — struggled against the Lady Bears, the national leader in field goal percentage defense for the fourth season in a row.
The Hokies were already down 27-14 when Sheppard finally scored her first points on a three-pointer with 6:19 left in the first half, and she added only a free throw before halftime. It was another 21/2 minutes before Kitley scored a basket. Sheppard finished with 15 points and Kitley had six points, along with six rebounds.
Baylor never trailed after scoring the game’s first seven points in first two minutes. The Lady Bears shot 50% from the field (35 of 70).
UCONN 83, SYRACUSE 47
SAN ANTONIO — Paige Bueckers scored 20 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 19 points to help No. 1 seed Connecticut beat eighth-seeded Syracuse at the Alamodome and advance to the Sweet 16.
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 Tuesday and could potentially rejoin the team this weekend for its next game.
The Huskies (26-1) got off to a slow start, a bit flummoxed by Syracuse’s zone defense.
With the game tied 8-8, Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) banked in a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired, and then Bueckers scored off a steal to give the Huskies a five-point lead. They led 19-14 after one quarter and slowly pulled away from the Orange (15-9) to a 15-point halftime lead.
Bueckers, the freshman All-America guard, had 16 points in the half.
The Huskies led 64-35 after three quarters and cruised into the Sweet 16 for the 27th consecutive year.
Williams scored 11 points for the Huskies.