DePaul women beat Oklahoma 104-100
DURHAM, N.C. — Megan Rogowski scored 24 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40.5 seconds left to help DePaul beat Oklahoma 104-100 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament in the Lincoln Regional.
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Chanise Jenkins added 21 points and Brittany Hrynko had 19 for the seventh-seeded Blue Demons (28-6). They blew a 19-point lead with under 16 minutes left, then rallied for a wild win.
They will play second-seeded Duke (28-6) on Monday night in the second round of the Lincoln Regional.
Aaryn Ellenberg had 36 points and seven 3s for the Sooners.
NOTRE DAME REGIONAL
NOTRE DAME 93
ROBERT MORRIS 42
TOLEDO, Ohio — Michaela Mabrey scored 11 of her 16 points in the first half, and top-seeded Notre Dame breezed to a victory in its NCAA tournament opener against 16th-seeded Robert Morris.
Jewell Loyd and Natalie Achonwa added 15 points each for the unbeaten Fighting Irish, who are trying for their fourth straight Final Four appearance. Notre Dame (33-0) is a No. 1 seed for the third straight season.
The Irish will take on ninth-seeded Arizona State in the second round Monday.
Robert Morris (21-12) shot 27 percent from the field. Greek star Artemis Spanou, one of the top players in Northeast Conference history, was held to seven points and attempted only four shots from the field.
ARIZONA STATE 69
VANDERBILT 61
TOLEDO, Ohio — Katie Hempen scored 16 points, and ninth-seeded Arizona State handed eighth-seeded Vanderbilt a rare first-round loss in the NCAA tournament, holding off the Commodores.
The Sun Devils (23-9) shot 62 percent to win this matchup between two teams who struggled coming into this tournament. Arizona State had lost three in a row and six of eight. Vanderbilt’s loss Saturday was its fifth straight and 10th in 12 games.
Marqu’es Webb scored 18 points for the Commodores (18-13), overpowering Arizona State inside, and senior star Christina Foggie added 16.
Deja Mann, Arizona State’s leading scorer, did not attempt a shot in the first half and finished with only eight points — but the Sun Devils had enough balance and depth.
KENTUCKY 106
WRIGHT STATE 60
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jennifer O’Neill scored 21 points, Samarie Walker added 12 with 14 rebounds and third-seeded Kentucky crushed No. 14 Wright State.
Hosting their first NCAA women’s postseason game, the Wildcats (25-8) used home court and other advantages to overwhelm an undersized Raiders squad making their tournament debut. Kentucky shot 55 percent from the field, grabbed a school-record 67 rebounds and recorded a season-high 12 blocks.
The Wildcats will face No. 6 Syracuse in Monday night’s second round of the Notre Dame Regional.
Ivory James had 16 points to lead Wright State (26-9).
SYRACUSE 59
CHATTANOOGA 53
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Syracuse guard Brittney Sykes had 13 points and 12 rebounds before injuring her right knee midway through the second half as the sixth-seeded Orange beat Chattanooga for its first-ever NCAA tournament win.
Leading 40-36 with 12:46 remaining, Sykes drove to the basket before grabbing her leg and screaming. The Orange stayed strong without their top scorer, using a 52-36 rebounding edge to stretch the lead to 10 with 2:33 left before withstanding a late Chattanooga rally featuring three 3-pointers from Taylor Hall.
Syracuse (23-9) hit 24 of 31 free throws to seal the victory that also snapped Chattanooga’s 25-game winning streak. Shakeya Leary made 7 of 8 from the line to finish with 15 points.
Brianna Butler was just 2 of 11 from the floor but hit 9 of 10 free throws for 13 points.
Chattanooga (29-4) hit just 4 of 14 from the foul line. Hall led the Lady Mocs with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
PURDUE 84, AKRON 55
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Whitney Bays scored 20 points and Courtney Moses added 12 as Purdue routed Akron.
It proved to be a milestone day for the Boilermakers (22-8). Moses tied the school’s career record for 3s. She made two, giving her 238 — the same total Katie Gearlds had during her All-American career. The win also gave coach Sharon Versyp her 300th career win, and it set up a Monday night showdown between the fourth-seeded Boilermakers, who have won 11 of 13, and fifth-seeded Oklahoma State.
The Cowgirls advanced with a 61-60 overtime win over 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast.
Akron (23-10), the Mid-American Conference champion, was led by Rachel Tecca with 18 points and Hanna Luburgh with nine in its first ever NCAA tourney game.
OKLAHOMA STATE 61
FL. GULF COAST 60, OT
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tiffany Bias’ driving layup with 41 seconds remaining in overtime lifted No. 5 seed Oklahoma State to a victory over No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast.
The Cowgirls (24-8) will play either No. 4 seed Purdue or 13th-seeded Akron in the second round on Monday night.
The teams traded the lead in OT before Bias’ layup. Florida Gulf Coast (26-8) missed a shot with that would have given the Eagles the lead. Oklahoma State was fouled with 3 seconds left, but Liz Donohoe missed the free throw. Florida Gulf Coast had a chance, but Brittney Martin stole the inbounds pass with a second left.
She too was fouled and missed her free throw giving the Eagles one final chance, but they couldn’t get a shot off.
LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
TENNESSSEE 70, NORTHWESTERN STATE 46
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Isabelle Harrison scored 12 points and sparked a game-changing 12-0 run as No. 1 seed Tennessee withstood an ailing head coach and a lethargic first-half performance to beat Northwestern State.
Tennessee coach Holly Warlick missed the Lady Vols’ morning shootaround with what school officials described as a case of food poisoning. Warlick rejoined her team for the game, but she had an IV port in her left hand during the first half and sat on an orange stool while assistant coach Kyra Elzy stood and shouted instructions.
Warlick stood and was much more animated in the second half as Tennessee pulled away.
Northwestern State (21-13), seeking to become only the second No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed, forced a 22-22 tie early in the second half before the Lady Vols (28-5) scored 12 straight points to seize control.
CALIFORNIA 64, FORDHAM 63
WACO, Texas (AP) — Brittany Boyd scored 22 points, including the game-winning jumper with 14 seconds left, and California survived for a victory over feisty Fordham.
California (22-9), a Final Four team last season, held on when Erin Rooney’s final shot for the Rams came up short.
There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the second half, including lead changing three times in the final 32 seconds.
Rooney had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Fordham (25-8), the Atlantic 10 tournament champ playing in its first NCAA tourney in 20 years.
After Rooney drove for a layup against Boyd with 19 seconds left, Boyd responded with a jumper at the other end before the Rams called timeout to set up a final play for Rooney.
Boyd also had 10 assists and six rebounds.
STANFORD REGIONAL
FLORIDA STATE 55, IOWA STATE 44
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Natasha Howard had her school-record 15th double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and 10th-seeded Florida State defeated cold-shooting Iowa State.
The Seminoles (21-11) won their 11th straight tournament opener since 1991, prevailing in a game in which turnovers outnumbered field goals 44-36. They’ll play No. 2 seeded Stanford or No. 15 South Dakota on Monday night.
Cheetah Delgado had 10 points and six assists and Ivey Slaughter grabbed 13 rebounds for the Seminoles.
Hallie Christofferson scored 13 points, Brynn Williamson added 12 on four 3-pointers, and Jadda Buckey had 10 for the Cyclones (20-11).
Howard came in averaging 29.2 points in her previous nine games but didn’t crack double figures until less than 4 minutes were left.