NCAA Women's Tournament Capsules
Washington pulled off another upset by a seven seed, knocking Maryland out of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. That was the start of a good night for the Pac-12, which has four teams in the Sweet 16 for the first time in conference history.
A glance at those moving on:
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BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL
No. 1 UCONN 97, No. 9 DUQUESNE 51
STORRS, Conn. (AP) - Breanna Stewart scored 21 points while Morgan Tuck and Moriah Jefferson each added 20 in their final game together at Gampel Pavilion to lead UConn to a victory over Duquesne.
Stewart also grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked five shots. Tuck added nine rebounds and both she and Jefferson had seven assists as the Huskies (34-0) moved into the regional semifinals for the 23rd consecutive year.
Deva'Nyar Workman scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half and April Robinson added 16 points for Duquesne (28-6), which was playing in its first NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies extended their winning streak to 71 games, making it the second longest in team and Division I women's history. They own the top three streaks on that list and surpassed the 70-game streak they set between November 2001 and November 2003.
No. 2 TEXAS 73, No. 10 MISSOURI 55
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Ariel Atkins scored 22 points and No. 2 seed Texas earned its second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 with a win over Missouri with an impressive display of speed and athleticism that overmatched the bigger Tigers.
Lashann Higgs scored 11 points and was a sparkplug off the bench for the Longhorns (30-4), who head to the Bridgeport, Connecticut, Regional looking to make their deepest run in the postseason since a Final Four appearance in 2003. Texas will play UCLA in the Sweet 16.Missouri's starting lineup is 6-feet or taller and Texas simply turned any matchup problem on its head with aggressive defense on the perimeter that gave the Tigers no easy looks at the basket up close.
Sophie Cunningham scored 23 points for Missouri (22-10), which had made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.
No. 3 UCLA 72, No. 6 SOUTH FLORIDA 67
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jordin Canada scored 19 points, making six free throws in the final 25 seconds, and UCLA held on to beat South Florida.
Nirra Fields added 14 points and Kari Korver added 12 as the Bruins (26-8), who had led by 17 points in the second quarter, needed to make 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to advance to the Sweet 16, where they will meet Texas.
It's the first time that the Bruins advanced to the regional semifinals since 1999, when they lost 88-62 to Louisiana Tech in the Elite Eight.
Courtney Williams scored 23 of her 29 points in the second half and Alisia Jenkins added 23 for South Florida (24-10), which lost in the second round for the third time in four years.
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LEXINGTON REGIONAL
No. 1 NOTRE DAME 87, No. 9 INDIANA 70
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Lindsay Allen scored a season-high 22 points, Brianna Turner added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Notre Dame finally broke away from Indiana with a 15-2 run that started late in the third quarter to beat the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers (21-12) used a 12-1 run, led by three baskets by Alexis Gassion and a pair by Amanda Cahill, to cut the score to 56-54 on a basket by Lindsay Leikem with 2:47 left in the third quarter. But the Irish quickly regained control with a layup by Arike Ogunbowale and a basket by Allen when she stole the inbounds basket by Leikem. Madison Cable then hit a pair of free throws after being fouled hard by Karlee McBride, the younger sister of former Notre Dame standout Kayla McBride, to give the Irish (33-1) a 60-54 lead.
No. 3 KENTUCKY 79, No. 6 OKLAHOMA 58
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Janee Thompson scored 16 points, including nine straight over the third and fourth quarters, to help Kentucky beat Oklahoma.
The Wildcats (25-7) earned their fifth Sweet 16 berth in seven seasons and will play a few blocks away from campus at Rupp Arena, home of the men's team. Thompson deserves credit for helping her team get there after a tense stretch that featured a big hand from hobbled teammate Makayla Epps.
An injured right shoulder forced Epps to briefly leave the game in the third quarter before she returned to grab a key offensive rebound leading to Thompson's jumper and a 50-44 lead. Epps (13 points) and Thompson followed with 3-pointers before the senior opened the fourth quarter with six free throws for a 62-49 lead that Kentucky steadily expanded.
Gioya Carter's 12 points led Oklahoma (22-11).
No. 4 STANFORD 66, No. 12 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 65
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Lili Thompson made a go-ahead three-point play with 8.2 seconds left and Erica McCall delivered a big block moments later, lifting Stanford into its ninth straight Sweet 16 with a comeback win against South Dakota State.
McCall swatted Macy Miller's shot in the key with 1 second left to seal it. Thompson, who missed a 3-point try with 18 seconds to go, made a driving layup with 8.2 seconds left and converted the free throw as the Cardinal erased a five-point deficit over the final 3 minutes.
Briana Roberson hit a 3-pointer with 1:11 left that pulled Stanford within 64-63.
What a finish for Tara VanDerveer's team in the 1,000th game at Stanford for the Hall of Fame coach.
The Cardinal (26-7) will face Notre Dame on Friday in the Lexington Regional.
No. 7 WASHINGTON 74, No. 2 MARYLAND 65
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) - Kelsey Plum scored 32 points, and Washington shocked Maryland to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years.
Maryland (31-4) came in with a rich history of success in the postseason and a 10-game winning streak. The two-time Big Ten champions were also playing on their home floor.
None of that mattered to the seventh-seeded Huskies (24-10), who squeezed past Penn in the opening round for their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2006.
Washington led by eight points after the first quarter, gave the lead away by halftime but outscored Maryland 45-31 in the second half to eliminate a team looking for a fifth straight appearance in the Sweet 16 and, ultimately, its third successive trip to the Final Four.
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DALLAS REGIONAL
No. 5 FLORIDA STATE 74, No. 4 TEXAS A&M 56
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Adut Bulgak scored 18, Leticia Romero added 17 and Florida State built a big lead early and held on for a win over Texas A&M.
The victory puts the Seminoles in the round of 16 for the second straight season and fourth time overall where they'll meet Baylor on Saturday in the Dallas Regional.
Florida State (25-7) led by just three points at halftime before pulling away for a 72-55 win over Middle Tennessee State in the first round on Saturday. Things were much different on Monday when the Seminoles raced out to a 21-point lead by halftime thanks to six early 3-pointers and withstood a late run to eliminate the Aggies (22-10) on their home court.