Duke pulls off the upset
Richardson’s 28 points lead Blue Devils to Sweet 16
Reigan Richardson scored 28 points and added seven rebounds as No. 7 seed Duke rallied from a 16-point firsthalf deficit to beat No. 2 seed Ohio State, 75-63, on Sunday and earn a spot in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s tournament for the first time since 2018.
Richardson hit a 3-pointer from the wing to put Duke up 59-57 with 5:21 left. That sparked a 13-2 run by the Blue Devils that began to put the game out of reach.
Ashlon Jackson scored 13 points and Taina Mair added 11 for the Blue Devils (2211), who move on to Portland, Ore., to play next weekend against the winner of Syracuse and Connecticut.
“We’re super proud, just how the team played today,” said Richardson, who averaged 11.9 points a game during the season. “I think we were down by 16, and we didn’t let it faze us. We stayed with each other and we were able to climb back.”
Duke’s upset win was only the second time in the tourney that a lower seeded team had won. The better seeds were 31-1 in the opening round.
Portland Regional
Texas 65, Alabama 54: Aaliyah Moore matched her career best with 21 points, had 10 rebounds and made a timely defensive play in the fourth quarter to help No. 1 seed Texas ( 32- 4) beat eighth- seeded Alabama. Texas will face the Utah-Gonzaga winner in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Portland. Baylor 75, Virginia Tech 72:
Jada Walker scored 26 of her career-high 28 points in the second half to lead fifthseeded Baylor (26-7) to a victory against host Virginia Tech as the Bears head to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021. Playing in her home state, Walker connected on 9 of 16 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the foul line. Matilda Ekh paced fourth-seeded Virginia Tech with 19 points.
Albany Regional
South Carolina 88, North
Carolina 41: Freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley had 20 points and unbeaten South Carolina powered into its 10th straight Sweet 16 with an victory against eighth-seeded North Carolina. Kamilla Cardoso had 12 points and 10 rebounds in her return from a one-game suspension for the top-seeded Gamecocks (34 -0). Colorado 63, Kansas State
50: Tameiya Sadler scored all 10 of her points in the second half to lead a balanced scoring attack and No. 5 seed Colorado beat four-seed Kansas State to advance to the Sweet 16. The Buffaloes (249) will face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 1 seed Iowa and No. 8 seed West Virginia Saturday in Albany, N.Y. LSU 83, Middle Tennessee
56: Angel Reese had 20 points and 11 rebounds and third-seeded LSU responded to a nine-point third-quarter deficit with a dominant finish to defeat upstart No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee. Flau’Jae Johnson scored 21 for the Tigers (30-5) and played central role in helping LSU surge to a comfortable second-half lead that ended the Blue Raiders’ 20- game winning streak. Oregon State 61, Nebraska
51: Talia von Oelhoffen had 19 points and eight assists to help third- seeded Oregon State (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 with a secondround victory against No. 6 Nebraska. Raegan Beers added 10 points for the host Beavers, who will cross the country to Albany to face the winner of Monday’s secondround game between secondseeded Notre Dame and No. 7 Ole Miss.