Here’s Part 2 of our roundup of Friday’s action:
No. 10 seed Princeton Tigers at No. 7 seed NC State Wolfpack64-63
Princeton needed only two to tie the game, but with time running out Grace Stone spotted an open three from the right corner and pulled the trigger. Trey went in with four seconds remaining and proved to be the thrilling game-winner for the Tigers against pre-season no. 10 Wolfpack, who were unable to make a shot on their final possession.
The Wolfpack were without leading scorer Diamond Johnson due to injury.
Stone tied teammate Kaitlyn Chen with a game-high of 22 points. Stone got him on 5-of-12 attempts from downtown and added five rebounds and four steals. Chen was good for seven boards and four assists. Julia Cunningham (14 points, eight assists) and Allie Mitchell (four points, 11 rebounds, five swipes, four blocks) were also important.
Princeton won the game by a turnover margin of 11.
No. 9 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits at No. 8 seed USC Trojans62-57 (OT)
Destiny Littleton hit a three with seven seconds left in regulation to tie it up for USC and Maia Selland missed a shot at the buzzer to win it for South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits came back in overtime to earn a five-point victory.
Selland finished with 29 points and nine rebounds, while teammate Paige Meyer added 16 points and Kaillie Theisen had six points, 10 boards, three steals and two blocks. Raeah Marshall nearly had a triple-double in the loss with 17 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and seven rebounds. Littleton finished with 18 points and four assists.
The Jackrabbits attempted and made 13 more free throws and won the points on turnovers, 25–15.
number 11 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs over No. 6 seed Cretan Bluejays, 81-66
Creighton’s tournament magic was nowhere to be seen this year, and perhaps its humiliating loss to Providence on Jan. 4 was a sign of its vulnerability.
The Bulldogs won the first 25–16 and the third 18–8 to extend their advantage. Jerkyla Jordan (20 points, four steals), Jessica Carter (14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists) and Anastasia Hayes (12 points, seven assists) starred for the winners.
Creighton’s tournament hero from a year ago, Lauren Jensen, led the Bluejays with 22 points to go along with five assists and two steals. She was a solid 4-of-11 from distance and Emma Ronciak (21 points) was 3-of-6, but Morgan Malley was 0-of-8.
Mississippi State won by field goal percentage 49.1 to 37.3 and 3-point percentage 57.9 (11-of-19) to 26.5. The Bulldogs also attempted 12 more free throws and made 11 more, going an impressive 18-of-20 at the stripe.
number 8 seed ole miss rebels over number 9 seed gonzaga bulldogs71-48
The Rebels dominated the middle two quarters on their way to an impressive win over the Bulldogs. Ole Miss found balanced scoring with 10 players scoring at least three points, five scoring at least eight and Snudda Collins having 15. Madison Scott added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Yvonne Ageim posted 19 points, eight boards and two steals in the loss.
The Rebels held Gonzaga to 29.3 percent shooting from the field and 1-17 shooting from three. They also outscored the Bulldogs 51–36, won second chance points 21–9 and turned the ball over only eight times.
number 2 seed Utah Utes over No. 15 seed Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, 103-77
Alisa Pili had a triple-double for the Utes with 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. He did all this in just 26 minutes. Jenna Johnson added 20 points, five assists and two steals in the winning cause, while Gianna Nipkens was good for 17 points and nine boards.
Utah posted 27 points in each quarter except the second, when it had 22. Gardner-Webb matched the Utes’ 27 points in the third. Jessica Williams had 20 points and four swipes in the loss, while Ke’Ari Cain added 14 points and six assists and Alacia Smith had 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Utes shot a blistering 58.7 percent from the field, including a 7-of-16 attempt from downtown. They were 22 of 28 in the paint to win 60–26.
number 3 seed lsu tigers over No. 14 seed Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, 73-50
Angel Reese showed up big in his first NCAA tournament game in an LSU uniform with 34 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Flau’jae Johnson added 10 points, six boards and five assists, while Alexis Morris (six points, four swipes) didn’t contribute much.
LSU won the first 18–7 and the fourth 25–17. Kalin Spiller and Dejah Phillips both had 13 points for the Rainbow Wahine.
The Tigers won despite going 1-14 from beyond the arc and giving up seven tres. They won by turnover margin 11, points in the paint 44–16 and second chance points 17–8.
No. 1 Seed Virginia Tech Hokies over No. 16 seed Chattanooga Mocs, 58-33
It was led by none other than Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amur. Kitley had 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Amur dropped a game-high 22 points. The Hokies won the first 18–8, the second 13–8, and the fourth 16–6. The third was also at 11. Raven Thompson was Chattanooga’s top performer with 10 points, eight boards and two steals.
VA Tech won by field goal percentage 47.9 to 28.6 and the Mocs were just 1-of-5 at the free throw line. The Hokies won the Battle on the Glass 38–22. Both teams turned the ball over 15 times.
No. 1 Seed Stanford Cardinal over No. 16 seed Sacred Heart Pioneers, 92-49
Playing without Cameron Brink due to a non-COVID illness, Stanford used balanced scoring to defeat the Pioneers. It had 10 players get in the scoring column, with seven scoring at least nine points and Haley Jones leading the way with 17 to go along with six rebounds. Fran Blybee was also key with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The Cardinals led just five after one and won the second 22–8, the third 28–11 and the fourth 19–12.
Sacred Heart was led by Ny’Ceara Pryor’s 12 points.
Stanford won 30.5 to 49.3 field goal percentage and despite going 12 of 21 attempts at the free throw line. It dominated rebounds 57–28 and only turned the ball over seven times.
