OREGON STATE SURVIVES SCARE FROM NO. 15 SEED
corvallis, ore.» Breanna Brown scored 12 points and second-seeded Oregon State held off feisty No. 15 seed Long Beach State in the final minute to eke out a 56-55 victory Friday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Mikayla Pivec and Marie Gulich each added 10 points for Oregon State (30-4), which was also seeded second last season when it made a run to the Final Four.
Raven Benton had 17 points for Long Beach State (23-11), which was trying to become the first 15-seed to ever win a game in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The 49ers took over the lead on Jessica Gertz’s 3-pointer with 2:48 left, but Sydney Wiese hit two free throws to put Oregon State back in front 56-55 with 1:07 left.
FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
In the Stockton Region: Sierra Michaelis scored 16 points, including the game-winning basket with 0.6 seconds remaining, and No. 6 seed Missouri rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat No. 11 South Florida 66-64. Michaelis had 13 of her points in the second half for the Tigers, who trailed 38-25 at halftime. Missouri scored the first seven points of the third quarter as part of a 12-3 run. The Tigers would eventually tie it at 50 on her 3pointer with 7:59 remaining. Kitija Laksa’s three-point play gave the Bulls the lead again before the Tigers took the lead on a 12-3 run. … Allisha Gray scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds to lead No. 1 South Carolina toa 90-50 win over No. 16 UNC Asheville. … Quinn Dornstauder scored 16 points to lead No. 8 Arizona State over No. 9 Michigan State 73-61. Without a 26point fourth quarter, it would have been the lowest point total of the season for Michigan State. In the Lexington Region: Maci Morris made seven of eight free throws in the final 37 seconds, including two with 3.2 seconds remaining, to help No. 4 Kentucky edge No. 13 Belmont 73-70 in the first-round. Wildcats seniors Makayla Epps and Evelyn Akhator did their parts to get Kentucky ahead with 52 combined points that were needed to hold off the determined Bruins. Belmont got within 69-68 on two Sally McCabe free throws with 13 seconds remaining. … Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale scored 15 points each to help No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 16 Robert Morris 79-49. … Kelsey Mitchell and Asia Doss each scored 15 points, Shayla Cooper grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds and No. 5 Ohio State withstood a charge from No. 12 Western Kentucky for a 70-63 victory. The fifth-seeded Buckeyes began to take control just before halftime.