Top-seeded N.C. State reaches Sweet 16
N.C. State 89, Kansas State 57: Kayla Jones scored 18 points to help top-seeded host North Carolina State beat Kansas State in Monday’s second round of the NCAA Tournament, earning a fourth straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Raina Perez and Diamond Johnson each added 15 points for the Wolfpack (31-3), who won their 12th straight game behind a dominating second-quarter performance. N.C. State shot 55% and made 9 of 19 3-pointers, romping to a lopsided win in front of a loud Reynolds Coliseum crowd for the final time this season.
By the end, all 13 players who entered the game for N.C. State had scored. And that sent N.C. State to next week’s regional semifinal against Notre Dame.
The matchup of Associated Press second-team All-Americans Elissa Cunane of the Wolfpack and Ayoka Lee of the Wildcats never truly materialized due to foul issues. But the Bridgeport Region’s headliner instead showed off its deep roster by getting production off the bench and continuing to roll anyway.
Freshman Serena Sundell scored 17 points to lead Kansas State, which was trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. But the Wildcats shot just 39% and made 7 of 25 3-pointers.
Michigan 64, Villanova 49: Naz Hillmon had 27 points, 11 rebounds and five steals to help third-seeded host Michigan pull away and beat No. 11 Villanova in the second round.
The Wolverines (24-6) earned a second straight trip to the Sweet 16 and will face 10th-seeded South Dakota on Saturday in the Wichita Region.
Michigan took control with a 10-0 run over the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, turning what was a closely contested game into a lopsided victory. Leigha Brown, who has recovered from a leg injury, had 20 points for the Wolverines.
The Wildcats (24-9) led by three points after the opening quarter, but they simply could not stop Hillmon.
Notre Dame 108, Oklahoma 64: Dara Mabrey scored a season-high 29 points, and No. 5 seed visiting Notre Dame rolled past No. 4 Oklahoma to earn a spot in the women’s Sweet 16.
Mabrey made 11 of 19 field goals, including seven 3-pointers. Sonia Citron scored 25 points and Maya Dodson added 20 for Notre Dame (24-8). According to Stats by STATS, Notre Dame became the first team, men’s or women’s, to beat a higher-seeded team by at least 40 points.
It’s the first Sweet 16 berth for second-year Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, The Fighting Irish will play No. 1 seed North Carolina State on Saturday in a Bridgeport Regional semifinal.
Taylor Robertson scored 19 points for Oklahoma (25-9). Skylar Vann had 11 points and nine rebounds and Liz Scott had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners. Oklahoma committed 28 turnovers and shot just 32.3% from the floor.
Tennessee 70, Belmont 67: Sara Puckett hit a 3-pointer with 17.5 seconds left to put Tennessee ahead to stay as the fourth-seeded host Lady Vols held off neighbor Belmont to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 2016.
The Lady Vols (25-8) improved to 23-1 on their home floor in the second round of a women’s NCAA Tournament they’ve played in all 40. They earned the program’s 29th Sweet 16 berth and will meet top-seeded Louisville on Saturday in the regional semifinal in Wichita, Kansas.
Tennessee had to scrap for this win after blowing a 14-point lead in the third quarter to lead only 48-46 going into the final quarter. The Lady Vols scored the first four of the final quarter for a 52-46 lead.
Alexus Dye led Tennessee with 20 points and 11 rebounds, her fourth straight double-double. Key finished with 18 points, and Puckett had 12 with the clinching 3 her only 3-point attempt of the game.
Wells led Belmont (23-8) scoring 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter. Jones had 17, and Bartley 16.
The Lady Vols led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter and outscored Belmont 16-10 in the second for a 35-23 lead at halftime.
Indiana 56, Princeton 55: Grace Berger scored the last of her 15 points on a spinning, tiebreaking layup with 28.2 seconds left and Nicole Cardano-Hillary added 12 points to help third-seeded host Indiana beat 11th-seed Princeton and reach its second straight Sweet 16.
Ali Patberg sealed the win in her home finale with a steal with 3.8 seconds left and Aleksa Gulbe closed it out with two free throws.
The Hoosiers (24-8) have won five of their last six and swept the first two NCAA Tournament games they’ve ever hosted – in front of a loud, large crowd. Indiana also has tied its single-season school record for wins.
The Hoosiers advanced on a night Princeton (25-5) was trying to post a tourney record ninth victory by a double-digit seed.
Ohio State 79, LSU 64: Jacy Sheldon had 23 points, eight assists and three steals, and sixth seed visiting Ohio State beat No. 3 seed LSU.
Taylor Mikesell scored 18 and Rebeka Mikulasikova had 12 points for the Buckeyes (25-6), who responded to a large, loud and hostile crowd in the Tigers’ home arena by seizing momentum in the opening quarter and putting LSU in the deepest deficit it had face all season at 24 points late in the third quarter.
LSU (26-6), which overcame a 10point deficit inside the final five minutes of their first round game against Jackson State two days earlier, lacked the firepower to climb out of a bigger hole against Sheldon and Co.
Khayla Pointer, the Tigers’ secondteam All-America guard, scored 32 points, but also missed 18 of her 30 shots, her dry spells coming as the Buckeyes pulled away. Jailin Cherry scored 12 points for LSU, which hit just twice from 3-point range on eight attempts.
Autumn Newby grabbed 10 rebounds for the Tigers.