Watch Part 3 of our roundup of Saturday’s action here:
number 5 seed louisville cardinals over No. 12 seed Drake Bulldogs, 83-81
Drake followed up with Louisville in one of the most balanced and competitive games of the tournament, but failed to reverse the upset as they fell 83–81 in their first round matchup. Louisville could never pull away and the win was only secured when Drake’s Grace Berg missed a potential game-tying three in the closing seconds of the fourth. Hailey Van Lith was a big reason Louisville danced: She had 26 points on 10 of 20 shooting. Guard Mykasa Robinson also had a big game with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
number 5 seed oklahoma sooners over No. 12 seed Portland Pilots, 85–63
5 vs. 12 matchups are notorious for their reversals. Typically, an overrated middle-of-the-pack team from a major conference against a top team from a smaller conference. That recipe was for Oklahoma vs. Portland, but Oklahoma proved they were legit. They dominated Portland from the jump and never took their foot off the gas, blowing them out by 18 points and at one point, going over by 27.
The Pilots struggled to get going offensively, shooting 15 percent from three on 19 attempts, while Oklahoma shot 36 percent from deep and 41 percent from the field. The Oklahoma guards were too much for Portland as four of the five players in double digits from the Sooners were guards, including Skylar Van and Aubrey Jones, who did it coming off the bench. Oklahoma now faces UCLA on Monday night.
number 3 seed Duke Blue Devils over No. 14 seed Iona Gaels, 89-49
How far can the Duke Blue Devils go? If Saturday is any indicator, far from over. The Blue Devils played an almost perfect game. They won the rebounding battle 43–14, won by 40 points and never trailed. Duke was able to dominate while clearing out their bench. Ten players played for at least 18 minutes and all saw the floor for at least one minute. Among the starters, Celeste Taylor and Elizabeth Balogun both stood out, with 13 points each, with Taylor shooting the lights in three, going 3-4 on the night.
number 4 seed texas longhorns over No. 13 seed East Carolina Pirates, 79-40
Texas shut the door on East Carolina in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 22–9, and then nearly repeated that feat in the third, winning the frame 21–9. East Carolina freshman sensation Amiah Joyner did her best to guard the rim and produce (she finished the night with 10 points and eight rebounds), but Texas was very efficient from the field, shooting 54 percent as a team. Did.
Shaylee Gonzales was the sensation for Texas. He led the team in minutes, points and steals. He did everything but make sure to sell popcorn in the first round to advance Texas. Rory Harmon continued to lead the Longhorns’ offense with 12 assists, one short of his career-high. The Longhorns’ focus and dominance was impressive, and their upcoming match-up against Louisville is set up to be a competitive and entertaining game.
No. 4 seed UCLA Bruins over No. 13 seed Sacramento State Hornets, 67-45
Maybe it was home-court advantage for UCLA or the 23-10 first quarter in favor of the Bruins. Regardless, Sacramento State could not reverse this California performance as they lost 67–45 against UCLA.
Karishma Osborne is good at basketball.
Osborne seemed to get into the play whenever the Bruins needed a basket. He had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes. Fellow starter Kiki Rice is also good at basketball and she showed it on Saturday night, shooting 54 percent from the field and leading the Bruins with 15 points. For Sacramento State, being at the big dance was an accomplishment in itself. As Saturday night proved, they have some work to do to adjust to a Pac-12 team like UCLA. The Hornets can be proud of the presence and performance of junior forward Isnel Ntabou. He had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds and shot 8 of 12.
