The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Women’s NCAA Tournament roundup
ALBANY 1 REGION
• Chloe Kitts wanted to improve her confidence heading into the NCAA Tournament. She likely gave everyone who picked South Carolina to win it plenty of good feelings going forward. Kitts tied her career high with 21points on 9-of-9shooting with a game-high 13rebounds as the No. 1overall seed Gamecocks blew past Presbyterian, 91-39.
“I feel like it was important for my confidence,” Kitts said of her performance, which tied her best scoring set in a win over Bowling Green earlier this year. “My teammates were uplifting me, just finding me and passing me the ball.”
• Deja Kelly took away two big things after No. 8seed North Carolina held off a late run by No. 9seed Michigan State to start the NCAA Tournament with a victory for a third straight season. “First, I need to make my damn free throws, so start with that,” Kelly said as the Tar Heels survived in a 59-56victory. “But I think a lot of maturity showed.”
Kelly hit two of four foul shots in the last five seconds and pulled down a critical rebound. Alyssa Ustby had 16points and 17 rebounds, no board bigger than collecting Kelly’s final foul line miss with 3.2seconds left as the Tar Heels ran out the clock. Michigan State, down by 16early and still trailing 54-42with 3:22to play, used a 14-3run to get within a point after Theryn Hallock’s 3-pointer with 5.4seconds left.
North Carolina could have crumbled, Kelly said, but they held on. “The way we stayed strong and calm showed a sign of maturity,” said Kelly, who finished 3of 10from the foul line. “We didn’t let it rattle us.”
• The Nebraska-Texas A&M and Oregon State-Eastern Washington games in Corvallis were not completed in time for this edition.
PORTLAND 4 REGION
• Shaylee Gonzales scored 21points, Taylor Jones added 18and No. 1seed Texas beat No. 16Drexel, 82-42. Gonzales converted 5of 63-point attempts while matching her season-high in scoring, and she made three steals. Jones hit 7of 11shots inside for the Longhorns, who have won 13of their last 14games. Drexel (19-15) had only one starter taller than 6feet — 6-2 Hedda Staatman. Texas (31-4), rotating four post players who are between 6-1and 6-4most of the game, outscored Drexel 44-18in the paint and 22-6on second-chance points thanks to a 26-10edge in offensive rebounding.
“I don’t think I’ve every seen that type of size,” Drexel guard Grace O’Neill said. “Definitely a challenge. They did a great job on the boards.”
• Freshman Essence Cody had season highs with 20points and 14rebounds, and No. 8seed Alabama defeated No. 9Florida State, 82-74. Working inside, the 6-foot-4Cody more than doubled her average of eight points a game. She also blocked four shots. Cody made a layup on a pick-and-roll to give Alabama (24-9) a 74-69lead with 2:33left.
O’Mariah Gordon quickly countered with a 3-pointer for Florida State (23-11), but Aaliyah Nye — who finished with 18 points — made a 3 of her own for Alabama with 1:21 remaining.
• The Iowa State-Maryland and Stanford-Norfolk State games in Stanford were not completed in time for this edition.
ALBANY 2 REGION
• Gabby Gregory had 22points and Ayoka Lee scored 21to lead Kansas State to a 78-65win over Portland.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats built a big first-half lead and then kept the No. 13seed Pilots at an arm’s reach the rest of the game. They led 25-10after one quarter and 34-14at one point, but the Pilots closed the gap to 40-28at halftime.
“I think we needed a game like this,” Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said. “I thought we got off to a great start today. I thought our players were playing extremely well. I feel like the ball was moving. I thought we were getting the ball to some really really good spots of the floor. But we couldn’t run away from Portland.”
• Middle Tennessee guard Savannah Wheeler, the Conference USA player of the year, missed her first six shots, committed two fouls and a turnover during the first 18minutes of the Blue Raiders’ women’s NCAA Tournament opener against Louisville. But when she finally scored her first points on a layup with 1:16 left in the first half, a game that Louisville had dominated early was about to change. Wheeler scored 20of her 22points in the second half, and No. 11seed Middle Tennessee stormed back from 18points down to defeat sixth-seeded Louisville, 71-69. “I kept telling myself to keep staying aggressive and just keep playing within myself and eventually one is going to fall,” said Wheeler, who hit five of her seven second-half shots, including all three 3-pointers she put up. “We’re a team that we don’t give up. We keep playing hard. We keep fighting.”
• LSU star Angel Reese couldn’t seem to make a shot and the Tigers turned the ball over a season-high 24times. The defending champions just had to be thankful — if not relieved — that they’re good enough to overcome even that. Reese overcame 1-of-7shooting to finish with 10points and 19rebounds, and third-seeded LSU fended off a feisty performance by No. 14seed Rice for a 70-60victory.
“Ugly win. It’s March. Survive and advance,” said Reese, who scored eight of her points on foul shots. “I couldn’t make anything tonight. But it’s like that; it happens sometimes.
“If you’re not impacting the game offensively then there’s other things you can do,” Reese added. “Defense and rebounding is something that I also try to bring to the table as much as I can.”
• The Colorado-Drake games in Manhattan was not completed in time for this edition.
PORTLAND 3 REGION
• Bella Fontleroy scored 19points and grabbed 11rebounds to lift fifth-seeded Baylor to an 80-63victory over No. 12Vanderbilt. Fontleroy hit 6 of 12, including four 3-pointers, for the Bears (25-7), who broke open a close game at halftime with a dominating third quarter in winning for the seventh time in their past eight games.
• No Elizabeth Kitley, no problem for Virginia Tech. At least for one round. Matilda Ekh scored 21points to lead No. 13Virginia Tech to a 92-49victory over Marshall. The Hokies won without star center Kitley, who is out for the tournament with a torn ACL. Ekh connected on 6 of 9 from the floor and hit five 3-pointers for the Hokies (25-7), who set a school record by winning their 26th consecutive game at Cassell Coliseum.
Starting in place of Kitley, Clara Strack had 17points and Carleigh Wenzel added 13for Virginia Tech, which never trailed. “Mentally, we knew we weren’t going to have her (Kitley), so it was like let’s step up and play together,” Virginia Tech point guard Georgia Amoore said.
• Reigan Richardson scored 25points and had seven rebounds as Duke rallied in the second half to overtake Richmond, 72-61. No. 7seed Duke (21-11) advances to play Ohio State on March 24, following the Buckeyes’ 80-57rout of Maine in a first-round contest earlier in the day.. The Blue Devils battled back from a nine-point deficit at halftime, going ahead 42-41with 4:42left in the third quarter and never relinquishing the lead again. “This is what the tournament is about,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “You know teams are really good and you have to make adjustments and you kind of have to forget about that quarter or that half and execute.”