San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HUSKIES IN STRONG MARCH MODE
Uconn coach Geno Auriemma was a bit concerned about how this group of Huskies might respond to the pressure of the NCAA Tournament.
He needn't have worried. Few teams can match the strength and athleticism of Connecticut's front court and Vermont was not one of those teams.
Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points, Dorka Juhasz added a double-double and the second-seeded Huskies routed the 15th seeded Catamounts 95-52 on Saturday, giving Connecticut a 29th straight win in the tournament's opening round.
“From the jump ball I knew personally, individually that I'd be able to dominate inside,” Edwards said. “And I think Dorka held her own too and I think we just flowed together as a team.”
Juhasz scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, the Hungarian's 13th doubledouble this season for the sixth-ranked Huskies.
Caroline Ducharme added 12 points, helping Connecticut (30-5) to its 26th 30-win season during Geno Auriemma's 38 years as coach.
Catherine Gilwee scored 14 points, while Emma Utterback and Maria Myklebust each had 13 for Vermont (25-7), which had its 17-game winning streak snapped.
Uconn will play No. 7 seed Baylor on Monday.
More Seattle 3 Regional
No. 3 Ohio State 80, No. 14 James Madison 66: Cotie Mcmahon scored 18 points to help Ohio State (26-7) pull away for a win over James Madison at Columbus, Ohio.
Kiki Jefferson led the Dukes (26-8) with 17 points.
No. 4 Tennessee 95, No. 13 Saint Louis 50: Jordan Horston scored 21 points and Rickea Jackson added 18 as Tennessee Lady remained perfect when opening the
NCAA Tournament on their home court i Knoxville.
Jordan Walker added 11 points and Tess Darby had 10 for the Lady Vols (24-11).
The first NCAA Tournament appearance ended quickly for Saint Louis (17-18).
No. 7 Baylor 78, No. 10 Alabama 74: Ja'mee Asberry scored 26 points, including three key foul shots in the final minute, and Baylor overcame an early 18-point deficit to beat Alabama.
Sarah Andrews and Caitlin Bickle each added 14 for the Bears (20-12), whose rally tied for the third biggest comeback in tournament history. Baylor closed the game on a 7-0 run, all from the foul line.
Brittany Davis tied a career high with 33 points for Alabama (20-11).
No. 12 Toledo 80, No. 5 Iowa State 73: Quinesha Lockett scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Toledo knocked off Iowa State. Toledo (29-4) will play No. 4 seed Tennessee on Monday night
The Rockets (29-4) matched the program record for most wins by winning a record 17th straight, topping the 16-game streak of 2000-01. They also posted their first NCAA win since 1996.
Iowa State (22-10) came in as the Big 12 Tournament champ for the first time since 2001 after stringing together upsets of a trio of NCAA Tournament teams in Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas. The Cyclones also had the Big 12 Player of the Year in Ashley Joens looking for a second straight Sweet 16 berth.
Joens led Iowa State with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 6 North Carolina 61, No. 11 St. John’s 59: Deja Kelly had a go-ahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and North Carolina (22-10) hung on for a win over St. John's at Columbus.
Seattle 4 Regional
No. 5 Louisville 83, No. 12 Drake 81: Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points over the final five minutes, including five in a row in the final 16 seconds, and Louisville held off Drake's frantic upset bid.
Van Lith finished with 26 for Louisville (24-11). Katie Dinnebier scored 20 points for Drake (22-10).
No. 4 Texas 79, No. 13 East Carolina 40: Shaylee Gonzales scored 20 points and Texas rolled on the Longhorns' home court. Taylor Jones had 16 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for Texas (26-9). Texas advanced to Monday's second-round matchup with Louisville.
No. 6 Colorado 82, No. 11 Middle Tennessee 60: Frida Formann scored 21 points and Colorado unleashed a torrid 3-point shooting display to roll past Middle Tennessee at Durham, N.C. Colorado (24-8) will be in the second round for the first time since 2013.
No. 3 Duke 89, Iona 49: Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun each scored 13 points and Duke marked its return to NCAA Tournament action with a romp. It was the first NCAA Tournament win for Duke since 2018, when it last had a spot in the tournament. Third-seeded Duke (26-6) will face sixth-seeded Colorado. Ketsia Athias led No. 14 seed Iona (26-7) with 20 points.
Greenville 1 Regional
No. 5 Oklahoma 85, No. 12 Portland 63: Aubrey Joens and Taylor Robertson each scored 14 points and Oklahoma took control in the third quarter to defeat Portland. Madi Williams added 13 points for the Sooners (26-6), who will face the winner of No. 4 seed UCLA and 13th-seeded Sacramento State's late game in Monday's second round.
Alex Fowler led Portland (23-9) with 18 points.
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Sacramento State: Late
Greenville 2 Regional
No. 9 Miami 62, No. 8 Oklahoma State 61: Haley Cavinder scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and made what proved to be the decisive free throw with 8.9 seconds left to pull off a 17point second half rally that gave ninth-seeded Miami a victory over eighth-seeded Oklahoma State.
The comeback was tied for the fifth-largest comeback in tourney history. But it wasn't over until Naomie Alnatas' 10footer rolled off the rim at the buzzer following a 5-second call on the Hurricanes.
Miami (20-12) will play topseeded Indiana on its home court Monday night with a ticket to the Sweet 16 at stake.
Anna Gret Asi led Oklahoma State (21-12) with 16 points and four 3-pointers.
No. 1 Indiana 77, Tennessee Tech 47: Sydney Parrish scored 19 points and had eight rebounds to lead Indiana (28-3)past Tennessee Tech. All-american center Mackenzie Holmes cheered on her Indiana teammates from the bench while resting a sore knee.
No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 74, No. 5 Washington State 63: Sha Carter scored 24 points and Tishara Moorehouse had 16 for the Golden Eagles (33-3).
Tara Wallack led the Cougars (23-11) with 16 points.
No. 4 Villanova 76, No. 13 Cleveland State 59: Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women's player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season and the first-team AP All-american had 35 points to lead Villanova.
The Wildcats (29-6) will play No. 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast (33-3) on Monday.