San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
UConn’s Bueckers back in rhythm
Paige Bueckers was back in the starting lineup and No. 2 seed UConn once again dominated its opposition in an NCAA Tournament opener.
Bueckers scored 12 points as UConn began its pursuit of a 12th NCAA Tournament title with an 83-38 first-round rout of No. 15 seed Mercer on Saturday in the Bridgeport Regional at Storrs, Conn.
Last season’s national player of the year played 24 minutes, the most in six games since coming back from a left knee injury that kept her out for more than two months.
She hit five of her seven shots from the floor and also had five assists and four rebounds.
Bueckers said she’s getting more and more confident in her game.
“I think ever since the end of the Big East tournament I’ve just tried to lock in mentally and physically and trying to do whatever I have to do, cut certain stuff out and just really lock in on this next month,” Bueckers said.
North Carolina State 96, Longwood 68: Raina Perez scored 16 points to lead five players in double digits as the No. 1-seeded Wolfpack (30-3) pulled away from the Lancers (22-12) in Raleigh, N.C.
Notre Dame 89, UMass 78: Olivia Miles had a triple-double to help the No. 5 Fighting
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, last season’s national player of the year, drives to the basket against Mercer. She had 12 points.
Irish (23-8) beat the No. 12 Minutewomen (26-7) in Norrman, Okla.
Kansas State 50, Washington State 40: Ayoka Lee had 20 points and 15 rebounds as the No. 9 Wildcats (20-11) overcame a frustrating defensive scheme to outlast the No. 8 Cougars (19-11) in Raleigh.
Indiana 85, Charlotte 51: Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 points to lead the third-seeded Hoosiers (23-8) past the No. 8 49ers (22-9) on Indiana’s home court.
UCF 69, Florida 52: Brittney Smith came off the bench to score 26 points and the No. 7 Knights (26-3) beat the No. 10 Gators (21-11) for the first time after 26 consecutive losses, in
Storrs, Conn.
Princeton 69, Kentucky 62: Abby Meyers had 29 points to lead the No. 11 Tigers (25-4) to their second-ever NCAA Tournament win, beating the sixthseeded Wildcats (19-12) in Bloomington, Ind.
WICHITA REGION
Villanova 61, BYU 57: Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points as the No. 11th Wildcats (24-8) rallied to beat the No. 6 Cougars (26-4) in Ann Arbor, Mich. Tennessee 80, Buffalo 67: Alexus Dye scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the fourth-seeded Volunteers (24-8) held off the No. 13 Bulls (25-9) to remain perfect in the NCAA Tournament on their own floor.
Belmont 73, Oregon 70: Destinee Wells hit a pair of free throws with 1:02 left in the second overtime and the Bruins (23-7) knocked off the fifthseeded Ducks (20-12) for their second straight win as a 12 seed to open an NCAA Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn.
Michigan 74, American 39: Naz Hillmon had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help the thirdseeded Wolverines (23-6) beat the No. 14 Eagles (23-9) in Ann Arbor.
SPOKANE REGION
Ohio State 63, Missouri State 56: Jacy Sheldon had 25 points and five steals, and the No. 6 Buckeyes (24-6) overcame an early double-digit deficit to beat the 11th-seeded Bears (25-8) in Baton Rouge, La.
LSU 83, Jackson State 77: Khayla Pointer capped a 26point performance with a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute as the No. 3 Tigers (26-5) rallied to outlast 14thseeded Jackson State (23-7) in Baton Rouge, La.
GREENSBORO REGION
North Carolina 79, Stephen F. Austin 66: Deja Kelly scored 28 points, Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 and the No. 5 Tar Heels (24-6) pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the No. 12 Ladyjacks (28-5) in Tucson.