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No. 22 Belmont women win OVC, first into NCAA field

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Julie McCabe had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Belmont became the first team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, beating Tennessee-Martin 63-56 in overtime Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game.

Belmont (31-3) stayed alive in regulation with 3-pointers from Maura Muensterman with 14.6 seconds to go and Darby Maggard with 4.5 seconds left. The Bruins even got the final possession after forcing a five-second count on the inbound but didn't get off a last shot.

Kylee Smith and Maggard each added 15 points to helo the Bruins run their winning streak to a school- record 22 games. They've beaten OVC opponents 46 straight.

Janekia Mason had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the second-seeded Skyhawks (19-14). They missed their last three shots in regulation and first five in overtime.

No. 2 MISSISSIPPI STATE 70, No. 15 TEXAS A&M 55

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Victoria Vivians scored 22 points and Mississippi State remained in position to add a Southeastern Conference Tournament title to its regular-season championship.

The Bulldogs (32-0) reached the title game for a third straight year and extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 32 games. They will play No. 8 South Carolina, the three-time defending tournament champion, on Sunday.

Chennedy Carter led Texas A&M (24-9) with 27 points.

No. 3 BAYLOR 83, KANSAS STATE 54

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Kalani Brown scored 26 points and Baylor beat Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Brown, a 6-foot-7 center who was named Big 12 Player of the Year this week, made 9 of 12 shots and had 13 rebounds. Dekeiya Cohen had 19 points, and Juicy Landrum added 14 for the Lady Bears (29-1). They shot 50.8 percent from the floor en route to their 26th straight victory.

Baylor will face TCU in the semifinals.

Kayla Goth scored 24 points for Kansas State (16-15).

No. 4 LOUISVILLE 64, No. 23 N.C. STATE 59

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Sam Fuehring scored 15 points and Louisville held off North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The top-seeded Cardinals (31-2) will face No. 5 Notre Dame in the final,

Chelsea Nelson scored 20 points for the Wolfpack (24-8).

No. 5 NOTRE DAME 90, No. 11 FLORIDA STATE 80

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 27 points in Notre Dame's comeback victory over Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The second-seeded Fighting Irish (29-2) rallied from eight down in the third quarter in their pursuit of a record-tying fifth straight tournament title. They will face No. 4 Louisville in the title game.

Shakayla Thomas had 24 points for the Seminoles (25-6).

No. 6 OREGON 65, No. 9 UCLA 62

SEATTLE (AP) - Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points and Oregon scored the final 10 points to rally past UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals.

UCLA opened a 62-55 lead on Kennedy Burke's jumper with 5:28 remaining, but the Bruins failed to score again. Oregon (29-4) advanced the title game against the winner of the late game between No. 16 Stanford and Arizona State.

Jordin Canada had 19 points for the Bruins (24-7).

No. 7 TEXAS 81, IOWA STATE 69

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Ariel Atkins scored 25 points and Texas beat Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Atkins made 10 of 15 field goals and 5 of 6 3-pointers. Jatarie White had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Brooke McCarty added 12 points and seven assists to help the Longhorns (25-5) advanced to play West Virginia.

Emily Durr and Bridget Carleton each scored 25 points for the Cyclones (3-18).

No. 8 SOUTH CAROLINA 71, No. 19 GEORGIA 49

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A'ja Wilson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and South Carolina routed Georgia to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship for the fourth straight year.

Wilson came off the bench for a second straight game after a bout of vertigo kept her out of the regular-season finale and left her questionable for the tournament.

Three-time defending tournament champ South Carolina (25-6) will play No. 2 Mississippi State for something no SEC team has ever managed - a fourth straight title.

Mackenzie Engram led the Bulldogs (25-6) with 10 points.

No. 13 OHIO STATE 90, MINNESOTA 88

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 points, and Stephanie Mavunga had 26 points, a Big Ten Tournament-record 21 rebounds and seven blocks in Ohio State's semifinal victory.

The top-seeded Buckeyes didn't secure a spot in the championship game until Carlie Wagner's 12-foot jumper from the right of the lane bounced off the rim as time expired.

Ohio State (26-6) will face No. 17 Maryland for the title.

Kenisha Bell had 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Minnesota (23-8). Wagner had 26.

No. 16 STANFORD 58, ARIZONA STATE 46

SEATTLE (AP) - Freshman Kiana Williams scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including a season-high six 3-pointers, to help No. 16 Stanford beat Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.

Alanna Smith added 13 points for second-seeded Stanford.

The Cardinal will play top-seeded and No. 6 Oregon in the championship game Sunday. Stanford (22-9) beat the Ducks 78-65 on Feb. 4 in the only other meeting between the teams this season.

Kianna Ibis made a jumper to give No. 6 seed Arizona State (21-12) a 2-0 lead, but the Sun Devils missed their next nine - and 13 of their next 14 - field-goal attempts as Stanford (22-9) used a 27-5 run to open a 20-point lead.

No. 17 MARYLAND 66, NEBRASKA 53

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Brianna Fraser scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Eleanna Christinaki had 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in Maryland's victory in the Big Ten semifinals.

Maryland (25-6) will play No. 13 Ohio State in the championship game Sunday.

Janay Morton led Nebraska (21-10) with 15 points.

No. 21 GREEN BAY 62, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 49

DETROIT (AP) - Allie LeClaire scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and Green Bay pulled away from Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Phoenix (27-3) will play the winner of the Youngstown State-Milwaukee game Sunday in the semifinals Monday.

Molly Glick had 16 points for Northern Kentucky (9-22).

Belmont's Kylee Smith (23) passes the ball around UT Martin's Kendall Spray (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Evansville, Ind. (AP Photo/Daniel R. Patmore) The Associated Press
Belmont's Jenny Roy (24) get the rebound against UT Martin's Chelsey Perry (20) and Kendall Spray (3) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, Saturday, March 3, 2018, in Evansville, Ind. (AP Photo/Daniel R. Patmore) The Associated Press
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