No. 12 Belmont knocks off No. 5 Oregon 73-70 in double overtime
Destinee Wells knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:02 left in double overtime, and the Belmont Bruins knocked off No. 5 seed Oregon 73-70 Saturday for their second straight win as a 12 seed to open an NCAA Tournament.
Belmont (23-7) upset 14th-ranked Gonzaga in the Texas bubble last year in the women's NCAA Tournament. With plenty of Lady Vols' fans hanging around to cheer a fellow Tennessee school, the Bruins won their 13th straight and 19th in their last 21 games overall.
They will play fourthseeded Tennessee, an 80-67 winner over Buffalo, on Monday in the second round.
This was the first double-overtime game in the NCAA Tournament since Dayton and St. John's in the first round in 2013. This was a thriller from start to finish with 10 ties and Wells' go-ahead free throws was the seventh lead change and the only time Belmont led in the second overtime.
UCONN 83, MERCER 38. >>
Paige Bueckers started and scored 12 points as UConn began its run toward a 12th NCAA Tournament title with a first-round rout of No. 15 seed Mercer.
UCF 69, FLORIDA 52 >>
Brittney Smith came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points and No. 7 seed UCF beat in-state rival Florida for the first time after 26 consecutive losses.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 96, LONGWOOD 68 >> Raina Perez scored 16 points to lead five North Carolina State players in double digits as the No. 1 Wolfpack pulled away from No. 16 Longwood.
KANSAS STATE 50, WASHINGTON STATE 40 >> Ayoka Lee had 20 points and 15 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas State overcame a frustrating defensive scheme to outlast No. 8 Washington State.
INDIANA 85, CHARLOTTE 51 >> Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 points to lead Indiana past Charlotte on the Hoosiers' home court.
PRINCETON 69, KENTUCKY 62 >> Abby Meyers had career-high 29 points to lead No. 11-seed Princeton to its second-ever NCAA Tournament win, beating sixthseeded Kentucky.
NOTRE DAME 89, MASSACHUSETTS 78 >> Olivia Miles had a triple-double help No. 5 seed Notre Dame over No. 12 seed Massachusetts.
OKLAHOMA 78, IUPUI 72 >> VILLANOVA 61, BYU 57 >> Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points as 11th-seeded Villanova rallied to beat No. 6 seed BYU.
Kaitlyn Oriehl added 10 points and Lucy Olsen had nine for the Wildcats, who finished second in the Big East.
MICHIGAN 74, AMERICAN 39 >> Naz Hillmon had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help third-seeded Michigan beat No. 14 seed American.
TENNESSEE 80, BUFFALO 67 >> Alexus Dye scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as fourth-seeded Tennessee held off No. 13 seed Buffalo to remain perfect in the NCAA Tournament on their own floor.
OHIO STATE 63, MISSOURI STATE 56 >> Jacy Sheldon had 25 points and five steals, and No. 6 seed Ohio State overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat 11th seed Missouri State.
LSU 83, JACKSON STATE 77 >> Khayla Pointer capped a 26-point performance with a tie-breaking 3-pointer in the final minute as No. 3 seed LSU rallied from 10 points down in the final 4:42 to outlast 14th seed Jackson State.
NORTH CAROLINA 79, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 66 >> Deja Kelly scored 28 points, Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 and North Carolina pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Stephen F. Austin.