Kierstan Bell scored eight of her team-high 22 points in the final 4:51 to lift No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast over No. 5 Virginia Tech 84-81 during the Spokane Region first-round matchup at College Park, Md.
Virginia Tech (23-10) wasted a phenomenal performance by Elizabeth Kitley, who had 42 points on 16-for-27 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Bell added a team-high eight rebounds for Florida Gulf Coast (30-2) and Tishara Morehouse finished with 13 points and nine assists, while Karli Seay and Kerstie Phills added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
SPOKANE REGION
No. 1 Stanford 78, No. 16 Montana State 37
Hannah Jump scored 15 points in a reserve role and the Cardinal began defense of their national title with a blowout victory at home. Stanford (29-3) kept Montana off the scoreboard during a 20-0 first quarter. It was 23-0 before the Bobcats finally scored. Taylor Janssen led Montana State (22-13) with 12 points.
No. 2 Texas 70, No. 15 Fairfield 52
Aaliyah Moore scored 18 points off the bench and the defense did much of the work for the Longhorns in a victory over the Stags at Austin, Texas. Forcing 22 turnovers was a key for Texas (27-6). Fairfield (25-7) scored only 18 first-half points, but outscored the Longhorns by 23-15 in the third quarter to create some suspense. Lou Lopez-Senechal topped the Stags with 17 points.
No. 4 Maryland 102, No. 13 Delaware 71
The Terrapins shot 59.4 percent, with Ashley Owusu’s 24 points and Diamond Miller’s 23 points leading the way for the victory at College Park, Md. Jasmine Dickey put up 31 points for Delaware (24-8). Maryland (22-8) outscored the Blue Hens by 20 points across the last 16-plus minutes.
No. 7 Utah 92, No. 10 Arkansas 69
Kennady McQueen produced 20 points and the Utes prevailed in Austin, Texas, for their first NCAA Tournament victory in 13 years. Utah (21-11) made 15 of 31 attempts from 3-point range while overcoming 19 turnovers. Amber Ramirez’s 24 points weren’t enough for Arkansas (18-14).
No. 8 Kansas 77, No. 9 Georgia Tech 58
Holly Kersgieter scored 19 points as the Jayhawks (21-9) rolled across the middle periods after falling into a 10-point, second-quarter hole at Stanford, Calif. It was a game of runs because Kansas scored the first 10 points. Georgia Tech (21-11) had too many offensive glitches, scoring only 36 points in the last three quarters combined. Digna Strautmane paced the Yellow Jackets with 18 points.
GREENSBORO REGION
No. 1 South Carolina 79, No. 16 Howard 21
The Gamecocks held the Bison to just four first-half points in Columbia, S.C., the fewest ever in a half of an NCAA Tournament game. South Carolina (30-2), which led 44-4 at halftime, was fueled by Aliyah Boston’s 10 points and 12 rebounds and Sania Feagin’s 10 points and seven rebounds. Iyanna Warren topped Howard (21-10) with eight points.
No. 3 Iowa State 78, No. 14 UT Arlington 71
Ashley Joens poured in 36 points as the Cyclones beat the Mavericks in Ames, Iowa, despite trailing at the half. A 12-4 run late in the third quarter helped Iowa State (27-6) pull ahead. Emily Ryan had 20 points for the Cyclones. UT Arlington (20-8) received 19 points from Starr Jacobs.
No. 6 Georgia 70, No. 11 Dayton 54
Jenna Staiti put up 19 points and five reserves combined for 29 points to lead the Bulldogs to a win at Ames, Iowa. The Bulldogs (21-9) prevailed despite shooting just 1-for-6 on 3-point attempts. The Flyers (26-6) shot 35.9 percent from the field and were outrebounded 49-31, so Makira Cook’s 21 points weren’t enough to pull off an upset.
No. 8 Miami 78, No. 9 South Florida 66
The Hurricanes (21-12) led 24-11 after the first quarter and were up by as many as 19 points in Columbia, S.C., while cruising to their ninth win in their past 11 games behind Karla Erjavec’s 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kelsey Marshall added 12 points and Lola Pendande had 11. Elena Tsineke led the Bulls (24-9) with a game-high 21 points.
No. 10 Creighton 84, No. 7 Colorado 74
The Bluejays used a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter at Iowa City to take a nine-point lead before holding on. The Buffaloes pulled to within four on two occasions, the last with 46 seconds remaining. Creighton (21-9) was led by Morgan Maly, who had team highs of 20 points and eight rebounds. Jaylyn Sherrod paced Colorado (22-9) with 27 points.
No. 2 Iowa 98, No. 15 Illinois State 58
The Hawkeyes ended the first half on a 22-11 run to take a 14-point lead at intermission at Iowa City, and they cruised to a victory behind Caitlin Clark’s 27 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Monika Czinano had 18 points on 6-for-6 shooting for Iowa (24-7). Juliunn Redmond paced Illinois State (19-14) with 25 points.
WICHITA REGION
No. 1 Louisville 83, No. 16 Albany 51
Hailey Van Lith scored all 20 of her points in the first three quarters as the host Cardinals took control early. Louisville (26-4) built a 48-20 halftime lead by shooting 54.3 percent in its first game in two weeks since a stunning loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals. By game’s end, Albany (23-10) committed 26 turnovers.
No. 2 Baylor 89, No. 15 Hawaii 49
The Bears broke open the game by outscoring the Rainbow Wahine 34-8 in the third quarter and led by as many as 42 points in the fourth quarter at Waco, Texas. Jordan Lewis had 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while NaLyssa Smith added 21 points and 14 rebounds for Baylor (28-6). Amy Atwell compiled 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead Hawaii (20-10).
No. 9 Gonzaga 68, No. 8 Nebraska 55
The Bulldogs used a 14-7 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to build a 12-point lead midway through the final quarter to knock off the Cornhuskers in Louisville. Kayleigh Truong scored 15 of her team-high 20 points in the second half for Gonzaga (27-6). Sam Haiby put up 20 points for Nebraska (24-9).
No. 10 South Dakota 75, No. 7 Ole Miss 61
The Coyotes jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first five minutes and never trailed against the Rebels in Waco, Texas. Chloe Lamb had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists while Hannah Sjerven added 20 points and seven rebounds for South Dakota (28-5). Angel Baker scored 23 points for Ole Miss (23-9).
–Field Level Media
