Jensen leads Creighton past Iowa
Creighton 64, Iowa 62: Lauren Jensen found a new place last spring when she transferred from Iowa to Creighton.
She came back into her former home on Sunday and knocked her ex-teammates out of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Jensen scored 19 points, including the goahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left that lifted No. 10 seed Creighton over Caitlin Clark and second-seeded Iowa 64-62 in a Greensboro Region second-round game.
Iowa (24-8), which shared the Big Ten regular-season title and won the conference tournament, had two chances to tie the game in the closing three seconds. Monika Czinano missed a layup with three seconds left, then Kate Martin missed a putback as time ran out.
Jensen scored nine of the Bluejays’ last 10 points.
“I’ve gotten the question a lot,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said. “‘How is Lauren going to feel today, what’s Lauren going to play like, da da da da?’ Those last few minutes had to be magical and special, and we’re super proud of her and we’re super proud that she’s part of our program.”
“Right away from summer workouts, this team welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home and a part of the team, and I’m just so grateful for that,” Jensen said. “To be able to do that with them here today is just so great.”
Jensen had a layup with 1:26 left to cut Iowa’s lead to 62-60, then her 3-pointer gave the Bluejays a lead.
“I just wanted to go in and play my game and didn’t know what to expect with a sold out crowd,” she said. “Play my game and play with my teammates and hopefully come out with the win, which we did.”
“She goes over there and she comes back and beats us on our home court, and I want to congratulate her because she’s a great kid,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said.
“She is a really, really good kid. I’m happy for her. I wish it wasn’t in this situation, but I am happy for her that she’s found a really good home and is really having a lot of success.”
After Clark missed a layup Emma Ronziek made the second of two free throws for the final margin.
Ronziek and Payton Brotzki had 13 points for the Bluejays (22-9), who advance to their first Sweet 16. They were the seventh doubledigit seed to win in the women’s NCAA Tournament so far, matching the record set in 1998.
South Dakota 61, Baylor 47: Hannah Sjerven scored 16 points and Chloe Lamb added 15 as 10th-seeded South Dakota beat host Baylor to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first-time ever.
The Coyotes (29-5) scored the game’s first 11 points and led throughout against 12-time Big 12 regular-season champion Bears, who had won 17 consecutive NCAA tourney games played on their home court since 2011.
Queen Egbo had 13 points while two-time AP All-America forward NaLyssa Smith matched her season low with 10 points for the Bears (28-7), who saw the end of their streak of 12 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. Smith and Jordan Lewis each had eight rebounds.
Liv Korngable had 11 points for the Coyotes. Maryland 89, Florida Gulf Coast 65: Diamond Miller scored 24 points, and fourthseeded Maryland used a 19-0 run spanning parts of both halves to pull away to a 89-65 win over 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.
Angel Reese added 21 points and Ashley Osusu scored 20 for the Terrapins, who advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time under coach Brenda Frese. Maryland (23-8) faces either Stanford or Kansas in the next round.
South Carolina 49, Miami 33: Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and 16 rebounds as topseeded South Carolina had to ride its strong defense to a 49-33 win over Miami on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Gamecocks (31-2) again held an opponent without a field goal in the second quarter and Miami (21-13) shot just 24% for the game as South Carolina coach Dawn Staley advanced to her eighth Sweet 16 in nine tournament appearances.
The Gamecocks led all the way through this ugly one, but shooting only 30%, they could never really pull away.
Aaliyah Moore scored 21 points, Texas shut down Utah’s prolific 3point shooting and the host Longhorns earned another trip to the Sweet 16.