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 go-ahead 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 secondround 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 3pointer 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.
Iowa State 67, Georgia 44: Lexi Donarski scored 20 points and host Iowa State raced to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2010 with a win over sixthseeded Georgia.
Emily Ryan had 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Cyclones (28-6), and Ashley Joens added 12 points.
Jenna Staiti led Georgia (21-10) with 16 points. The Bulldogs shot 31% from the floor and never had a lead.
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 twotime 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 fourth-seeded 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.
Kendall Spray scored 17 points in the first half but none in the second for FGCU, and the Eagles (30-3) couldn’t follow their first-round win over Virginia Tech with another victory.
Stanford 91, Kansas 65: Lexie Hull scored a career-high 36 points with six 3-pointers and made six steals, leading host Stanford past eighth-seeded Kansas.
With the win, the defending national champions extended their winning streak to 22 games and secured a trip to the Sweet 16.
Louisville 68, Gonzaga 59: Hailey Van Lith scored 21 points and host Louisville advanced to the Sweet 16.
Playing in front of a loud home crowd for the last time this season, the topseeded Cardinals (27-4) jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than 4:30 into the game, thanks to a pressure defense that sped up the Bulldogs. The Zags (27-7) not only weathered the storm but also answered with a 12-0 run of their own.
Van Lith, a Washington state native, would not be denied. The sophomore guard scored eight straight points in 1:45 stretch of the third quarter that started a 15-3 run. She would cap that spurt with two more free throws to make it 51-33 with 3:00 left in the period.
Gonzaga (27-7) never got back within eight points the rest of the way.
Kayleigh Truong led Gonzaga with 14 points, but the junior was just 1 of 5 in the second half. Melody Kempton added 13.
South Carolina 49, Miami 33: Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and 16 rebounds as top-seeded 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.
Texas 78, Utah 56: Aaliyah Moore scored 21 points, Texas shut down Utah’s prolific 3-point shooting and the host Longhorns earned another trip to the Sweet 16.
The Longhorns shot 71% in a blistering first half to open up a 14-point lead, then stretched it as high as 26 in the third quarter.
Kennady McQueen led No. 7 Utah ( 21-12) with 18 points.