ROUNDUP / TOP 25 WOMEN
No. 22 Belmont 63, UT-Martin 56
Julie McCabe had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Belmont became the first team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, beating Tennessee-Martin 63-56 in overtime Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game. Belmont (31-3) stayed alive in regulation with 3-pointers from Maura Muensterman with 14.6 seconds to go and Darby Maggard with 4.5 seconds left. The Bruins even got the final possession after forcing a five-second count on the inbound but didn’t get off a last shot. Kylee Smith and Maggard each added 15 points to helo the Bruins run their winning streak to a school- record 22 games. They’ve beaten OVC opponents 46 straight. Janekia Mason had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the second-seeded Skyhawks (19-14). They missed their last three shots in regulation and first five in overtime.
No. 2 Mississippi State 70, No. 15 Texas A&M 55
Victoria Vivians scored 22 points and Mississippi State remained in position to add a Southeastern Conference Tournament title to its regular-season championship. The Bulldogs (32-0) reached the title game for a third straight year and extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 32 games. They will play No. 8 South Carolina, the three-time defending tournament champion, on Sunday.
Chennedy Carter led Texas A&M (24-9) with 27 points.
No. 3 Baylor 83, Kansas State 54
Kalani Brown scored 26 points and Baylor beat Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Brown, a 6-foot-7 center who was named Big 12 Player of the Year this week, made 9 of 12 shots and had 13 rebounds. Dekeiya Cohen had 19 points, and Juicy Landrum added 14 for the Lady Bears (29-1). They shot 50.8 percent from the floor en route to their 26th straight victory.
Baylor will face TCU in the semifinals. Kayla Goth scored 24 points for Kansas State (16-15).
No. 4 Louisville 64, No. 23 N.C. State 59
Sam Fuehring scored 15 points and Louisville held off North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.
The top-seeded Cardinals (31-2) will face No. 5 Notre Dame in the final,
Chelsea Nelson scored 20 points for the Wolfpack (24-8).
No. 5 Notre Dame 90, No. 11 Florida State 80
Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 27 points in Notre Dame’s comeback victory over Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals. The second-seeded Fighting Irish (29-2) rallied from eight down in the third quarter in their pursuit of a record-tying fifth straight tournament title. They will face No. 4 Louisville in the title game.
Shakayla Thomas had 24 points for the Seminoles (25-6).
No. 7 Texas 81, Iowa State 69
Ariel Atkins scored 25 points and Texas beat Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.
Atkins made 10 of 15 field goals and 5 of 6 3-pointers. Jatarie White had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Brooke McCarty added 12 points and seven assists to help the Longhorns (25-5) advanced to play the Oklahoma State-West Virginia winner.