No. 3 seed Uconn opens with 86-64 win over Jackson State
STORRS, CONN. >> Paige Bueckers scored 28 points and freshman Ashlynn Shade added 26 as No. 3 seed Uconn celebrated coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday with an 8664 win over Jackson State in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Aaliyah Edwards, wearing a mask after missing two games with a broken nose, had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (30-5), who won in the opening round of the tournament for a 30th straight time.
Ti’ian Boler scored 25 points and Angel Jackson had 13 for 14th seeded Jackson State (26-7), which lost for the first time in 22 games.
The Tigers’ Miya Crump opened the game with a jumper and Jackson State led briefly at 4-2.
But Bueckers sparked a 17-0 Husky run by scoring eight of Uconn’s first 10 points. She gave Connecticut its first lead at 5-4 on an up-and-under layup and foul shot.
TENNESSEE 92, GREEN BAY 63 >> Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Tennessee rolled past Green Bay 9263 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament Saturday.
Sarah Puckett added 14 points and Jewel Spear had 13 for the sixth-seeded Lady Vols, who are the only team to participate in all 42 women’s NCAA Tournaments. It was the first game in Raleigh for Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who coached North Carolina State for four seasons from 2009-13.
Tennessee (20-12) will play either the thirdseeded Wolfpack or No. 14 seed Chattanooga on Monday with a spot in the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.
Maddy Schreiber led 11th-seeded Green Bay (277) with 13 points, but the Phoenix remained without an NCAA Tournament victory since 2012 by suffering their most-lopsided loss of the season. Veteran coach Kevin Borseth gave a salute to teary-eyed fans as he walked off the court.
Tennessee reached the 20-win mark for the 47th time, including the fourth in Harper’s five seasons. The Lady Vols have been seeded lower than sixth only twice.
INDIANA 89, FAIRFIELD 56 >> Sara Scalia scored 27 points to lead fourthseeded Indiana to an 8956 victory over No. 13 Fairfield on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Scalia sank five of the Hoosiers’ 10 3-pointers. Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-mcneil and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 13 points for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers (25-5) will face the winner of No. 5 seed Oklahoma and No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night.
Fairfield (31-2) saw its 29-game winning streak come to an end. Janelle Brown led the Stags, who earned the first Top 25 ranking in school history earlier this month, with 19 points.
IU led 38-34 at halftime but dominated in the second half. The Hoosiers used a 13-0 spurt in the third quarter to take a 59-43 lead with 4:23 left in third quarter. Scalia scored 10 of those 13 points with two 3-pointers. NOTRE DAME 81, KENT STATE 67 >> Sonia Citron scored 29 points and Hannah Hidalgo added a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists to help No. 2-seed Notre Dame beat 15th-seeded Kent State 81-67 on Saturday in the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Citron was 13 of 20 from the field while Hidalgo
added six steals for the Irish (27-6), who play Monday in the second round.
Katie Shumate led Kent State (21-11) with 20 points while Janae Tyler scored 18.
A relentless defensive effort in the first quarter set a dominating tone for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish used an 18-0 run on the way to building a 22-5 lead, harassing Kent State into a stretch of 0-for-13 shooting.
Notre Dame built the advantage to 49-30 at the half. The Fighting Irish hit six of their first nine shots from 3-point range and also had the transition game in high gear, racing to a 13-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
KANSAS 81, MICHIGAN 72 >> Zakiyah Franklin scored 22 points, including a tying 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped with 12 seconds left in regulation, and Kansas beat Michigan 81-72 in overtime in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament
on Saturday.
Wyvette Mayberry and S’mya Nichols added 15 points each and Taiyanna Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the eighth-seeded Jayhawks (20-12).
The Jayhawks rallied in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Wolverines 23-14. Then Kansas stepped up its defense and controlled the five-minute extra session, 14-5.
Lauren Hansen’s 3-pointer pulled the Wolverines within 75-72. Franklin missed, but the 6-foot-6 Jackson grabbed the rebound. Nichols scored and drew the foul, extending the Jayhawks’ lead to 78-72.
Franklin stole the ball with 22 seconds left and Nichols got fouled and made both.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 64, CHATTANOOGA 45 >> Aziaha James scored each of her 19 points in the second half, and North Carolina State pulled away from Chattanooga for a 64-45 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
Saniya Rivers scored 16 points and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds, boosting N.C. State coach Wes Moore to a victory against his former team.
Next up for No. 3 seed N.C. State (28-6) is ex-wolfpack coach Kellie Harper and sixth-seeded Tennessee (20-12) on Monday. The Lady Vols advanced with a 92-63 victory over Green Bay.
The winner goes to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.
Jada Guinn scored 13 points for Chattanooga (28-5), which had lost only once previously in 2024. Raven Thompson added 11 points.
The Mocs fell to 1-17 in NCAA Tournament play, with the lone victory coming when Moore was coaching the team. He coached 15 seasons at Chattanooga before leaving for the N.C. State job following the 2012-13 season.