SOUTH BEND, Ind. - With top-seeded Notre Dame struggling to a halftime tie against Villanova in an NCAA women's basketball tournament second-round game Sunday afternoon, a visibly angry Muffet McGraw had seen enough.
When the Fighting Irish returned from the locker room, so did Kathryn Westbeld, who had sat out the first half with a left ankle sprain, and they found their way to the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight season with a 98-72 victory over pesky Villanova.
Westbeld turned her ankle early in Notre Dame's 99-81 victory against Cal State Fullerton in a Spokane Region opener Friday and was listed as a game-time decision. She was dressed for pregame warmups Sunday afternoon but clearly struggling, so Coach McGraw started Kristina Nelson and tried freshman Danielle Patterson before using sophomore walk-on Kaitlin Cole, whose offensive rebound and layup had tied the game at halftime, 45-45.
Using the juice provided by Westbeld's return, the Irish (31-3) started the third quarter with a 12-3 run and outscored the ninth-seeded Wildcats (23-9) by a 28-8 margin for a commanding 73-53 advantage after three quarters to move into Saturday's regional semifinals.
"She changed the course of the game," McGraw said. "I thought we defended a lot better in the second half, and with Kathryn we're a very different team."
Jessica Shepard had her fourth straight double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Notre Dame. Arike Ogunbowale and Jackie Young had 24 points each and Marina Mabrey added 15 for the Irish, who held the Wildcats to just 27 second-half points while earning their 25th straight win at Purcell Pavilion.
The Irish clearly were inspired after intermission by Westbeld, who left the floor with 4:02 remaining to a standing ovation. The Irish were ahead 94-64, and the senior - who had two points and six rebounds in 16 minutes - received a heartfelt embrace from McGraw.
"She was in a boot before the game," McGraw said. "I thought it was a motivating and inspiring moment for the team."
Jannah Tucker led Villanova with 19 points, Kelly Jekot added 16 and Adrianna Hahn had 11. The Wildcats missed all five 3-pointers they shot in the second half after hitting 10 of 15 in the first 20 minutes.
"We lost our focus at the start of the second half," Villanova coach Harry Perretta said. "Notre Dame had a lot to do with it. (Westbeld) did a great job of coming in and affecting the game."
» Texas A&M 80, DePaul 79
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M freshman Chennedy Carter made a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds left, capping a 37-point performance, to help the fourth-seeded Aggies rally from a 17-point second-half deficit and beat the fifth-seeded Blue Demons in the Spokane Region.
Carter scored 32 of her points after halftime to help Texas A&M (26-9) pull off a stunning second-half comeback for the second consecutive year. It was the largest comeback ever in the second round of the tournament and the fourth-largest ever.
Anriel Howard added 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Aggies, who trailed by two when Carter's long 3 from the top of the key gave them the lead. DePaul (27-8) had a chance to win it after that, but Jasmine Lumpkin stole the in-bounds pass from Kelly Campbell to secure the victory and send Texas A&M to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
Four of five DePaul starters scored in double figures, but the Blue Demons were led by Tanita Allen, who had 19 points off the bench.
» Louisville 90, Marquette 72
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Myisha Hines-Allen had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring scored 19 points apiece, and top-seeded Louisville quickly pounced on No. 8 seed Marquette on the way to a victory.
The Cardinals (34-2) advanced to their second consecutive Sweet 16 and will play 80 miles east in next weekend's Lexington Regional semifinals.
Durr and Hines-Allen made sure of that right away by combining for 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting in the first half. Hines-Allen recorded her 16th double-double this season.
Allazia Blockton had a career-high 34 points and Erika Davenport added 11 for Marquette (24-10).
» Baylor 80, Michigan 58
WACO, Texas - Lauren Cox had 18 points with 16 rebounds, her fourth straight double-double, to help the Lady Bears secure their 10th straight appearance in the Sweet 16.
Baylor (33-1), the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Region and a winner of 30 straight games overall, finally put Michigan away by scoring 13 consecutive points in the third quarter. The Lady Bears led 57-41 on a driving layup by Kalani Brown that capped the 4 1/2-minute spurt.
Hallie Thome had 22 points for Michigan (23-10), her fourth straight game with at least 20. Katelynn Flaherty, Michigan's career scoring leader, added 18 points on six 3-pointers.
All five of Baylor starters scored in double figures, but coach Kim Mulkey had played only six Lady Bears before clearing the bench with 11.8 seconds left in the game.
Juicy Landrum and Alexis Morris each had 17 points, Brown had 16 with eight rebounds and Dekeiya Cohen chipped in 12 points.
» South Carolina 66, Virginia 56
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A'ja Wilson had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the final home game of her collegiate career to lead Albany Region No. 2 seed South Carolina to its fifth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.
Wilson, the three-time Southeastern Conference player of the year, posted her 23rd double-double of the season and 53rd of her career for the Gamecocks (28-6).
They needed every one of Wilson's points to push past 10th-seeded Virginia (19-14).
Up 30-25 at halftime, South Carolina opened up a 12-point advantage in the third period before the Cavaliers cut it to 46-40 with 10 minutes left. Virginia still trailed just 52-47 after Dominique Toussaint's driving bucket with 6:39 to play.
That's when Doniyah Cliney hit a high-arching 3-pointer from the right corner and Wilson added two short jumpers to put the Gamecocks in front by double digits. Virginia could not respond.
Toussaint and J'Kyra Brown had 16 points each to lead the Cavaliers.
» N.C. State 74, Maryland 60
RALEIGH, N.C. - Kiara Leslie had 21 points and 11 rebounds against her former team as No. 4 seed North Carolina State beat No. 5 seed Maryland in the Kansas City Region.
Leslie, who spent three seasons at Maryland before graduating and transferring to N.C. State, finished one point shy of her collegiate high.
N.C. State shot 45 percent and was 7-for-14 from 3-point range. Kalia Ealey and Chelsea Nelson added 12 points apiece, while Akela Maize scored 11 to help the Wolfpack (26-8) earn their first Sweet 16 appearance since the late Kay Yow coached them to an inspirational run in 2007.
Brianna Fraser had 17 points for the (26-8), who were held to 37 percent shooting.