STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut women's basketball team was in an online group chat Friday night while watching the University of Maryland, Baltimore County upset top-seeded Virginia in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The players assured each other they weren't going to let anything similar happen to them when they played their NCAA tournament opener Saturday at home.
Any upset hopes 16th-seeded Saint Francis (Pa.) might have had against the Albany Regional's No. 1 seed - the program with 11 national championships - ended early as the Huskies went on to a record-setting rout. Azura Stevens had 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead six UConn players who scored in double figures during a 140-52 blowout of the Red Flash.
"Watching a No. 1 go down kind of motivated us to kind of come out from the start to be ready to go," Stevens said.
UConn (33-0) set a record for points in a tournament game and all-time NCAA records for points in a period (55 in the first quarter) and a half (94 in the first). The previous record for points in a tournament game was 121. The previous mark for points in a half was 80; for a quarter, it was 45.
The Huskies' 88-point margin of victory was the second-biggest in tournament history. Baylor beat Texas Southern by 89 last year.
"I don't think we were really aware, said Katie Lou Samuelson, who had 18 points and 10 assists. "We were aware of how quickly we were going up and down the court at that first media timeout. But we were just getting a lot of opportunities and taking advantage of them whenever we could."
Napheesa Collier had 25 points and nine assists, Kia Nurse finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Gabby Williams had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Megan Walker added 19 points and eight rebounds. UConn (33-0) shot 65 percent from the floor, 73.6 percent in the first half and finished with a 96-10 advantage on points in the paint.
Haley Thomas had 12 points and Caitlyn Kroll 11 for Saint Francis (24-10), which had averaged nearly 81 points per game this season entering Saturday. The Red Flash were 10-for-57 from 3-point range.
-Quinnipiac 86, Miami 72
STORRS, Conn. - Jen Fay had 19 points to lead a balanced offensive attack for ninth-seeded Quinnipiac, which eliminated the eighth-seeded Hurricanes for a second consecutive season.
Paula Strautmane added 15 points and Carly Fabbri and Edel Thornton each had 14 for Quinnipiac (28-5) as the Connecticut program used its Albany Regional opener to extend its winning streak to a program-record 23 games.
Miami's Erykah Davenport scored a game-high 21.
-Duke 72, Belmont 58
ATHENS, Ga. - Leaonna Odom scored a career-high 25 points, including nine in Duke's dominant third period, as the fifth-seeded Blue Devils beat No. 12 seed Belmont in the Albany Regional.
Rebecca Greenwell added 18 points for Duke (23-8), which led 32-31 at halftime before outscoring Belmont 21-9 in the third period.
Kylie Smith scored 20 points to lead Belmont (31-4), the Nashville program looking for its first NCAA tournament victory. The Bruins had won 22 straight games.
On their roster was sophomore forward Maddie Wright, who played at Boyd-Buchanan and got into Saturday's game briefly.
-Florida State 91, Little Rock 49
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Shakayla Thomas scored 26 points - her personal best in NCAA tournament action - to help third-seeded Florida State top No. 14 seed Little Rock in the Albany Regional.
Thomas, a senior forward who was playing in her 12th tourney game, was 11-of-15 from the field in 19 minutes. She scored Florida State's first six points and had 16 in the first half as the host team was ahead 53-30 at halftime.
The Seminoles (26-6) put the game out of reach by going on a 23-0 run during an eight-minute stretch spanning the middle quarters. Chatrice White added 13 points and 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.
Tori Lasker led the Trojans (23-10) with 13 points.
-Buffalo 102, South Florida 79
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Cierra Dillard scored a career-high 36 points and was 7-for-13 from 3-point range as 11th-seeded Buffalo routed sixth-seeded South Florida in the Albany Regional, securing its first NCAA tournament victory in its second appearance.
Buffalo trailed 29-18 midway through the second quarter but went on a 20-7 run the remainder of the half to take a 43-38 lead into the locker room. Buffalo (28-5) finished 22-of-24 from the foul line.
Kitija Laksa led South Florida (26-8) with 28 points, while Maria Jespersen added 23 points and 11 rebounds.
-Ohio State 87, George Washington 45
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Stephanie Mavunga scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as No. 3 seed Ohio State routed 14th-seeded George Washington in the Spokane Regional.
The Buckeyes (28-6), who never trailed, took off in the second half to overwhelm the Colonials (19-10), who were led by Briana Cummings (14) and Neila Luma (12).
Alex Hart chipped in 12 points and Kelsey Mitchell 11 for Ohio State.
-Central Michigan 78, LSU 69
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Tinara Moore scored 25 points as 11th-seeded Central Michigan upset Spokane Regional No. 6 seed LSU to win in the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Moore and Central Michigan (29-4) dominated inside, outrebounding the Lady Tigers 40-27 and creating more second chances.
Chloe Jackson had 24 points, and Ayana Mitchell added 16 with nine rebounds for LSU (19-10).
-UCLA 71, American 60
LOS ANGELES - Monique Billings scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Kennedy Burke added 15 points to lead No. 3 seed UCLA past No. 14 seed American University in the Kansas City Regional.
Jordin Canada totaled 10 points and 11 assists for the Bruins (25-7). Cecily Carl led American (26-7) with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
After the Eagles took an early lead, the Bruins countered with a 22-3 run over the final 4:33 of the first quarter to take control.
-Arizona State 73, Nebraska 62
AUSTIN, Texas - Robbi Ryan scored 16 points and Kianna Ibis added 14 to lead the seventh-seeded Sun Devils over No. 10 seed Nebraska in the Kansas City Regional.
Arizona State - which opened up a tight, defensive struggle with a 14-0 run late in the third quarter - is trying to make the Sweet 16 for the second time in four years.
Taylor Kissinger scored 15 points for the Cornhuskers (21-11).
-Oklahoma State 84, Syracuse 57
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Oklahoma State freshman Jaden Hobbs scored a career-high 27 points, and Loryn Goodwin and Kaylee Jensen added 19 apiece as the ninth-seeded Cowgirls topped No. 8 seed Syracuse in the Kansas City Regional.
Hobbs was 8-for-9 on 3-point attempts, blowing the game open single-handedly by making four in quick succession late in the third quarter. Oklahoma State (21-10) ended the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 40-32 halftime lead, a rally punctuated by Maria Castro's 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Miranda Drummond made seven 3-pointers while scoring 24 points to lead Syracuse (22-9).
-Mississippi State 95, Nicholls State 50
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Victoria Vivians recorded a double-double (20 point, 13 rebounds) to lead top-seeded Mississippi State past No. 16 seed Nicholls State in the Kansas City Regional.
The Bulldogs (33-1) started the game slowly, but they scored 33 points in the second quarter to take a 54-24 lead into halftime and eventually cruise to the win. Teaira McCowan added 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Blair Schaefer also scored 18 points.
Nicholls (19-14) was led by Tykeria Williams' 16 points.
-Texas 83, Maine 54
AUSTIN, Texas - Jatarie White scored 17 points and the second-seeded Longhorns used an overwhelming first half to romp past No. 15 seed Maine in the Kansas City Regional.
The Longhorns (27-6) didn't let Maine (23-10) grab a rebound the first eight minutes and led 45-18 by halftime. Texas shot 68 percent and outrebounded Maine 25-4 in the first half, even after emptying its bench early in the second quarter.
Tanesha Sutton scored 16 points to lead the Black Bears.
-Creighton 76, Iowa 70
LOS ANGELES - Jaylyn Agnew scored 24 points and Sydney Lamberty added 20 to lead No. 11 Creighton to an upset of No. 6 seed Iowa in the Kansas City Regional.
The Bluejays (19-12) never trailed in the second half, but they had to hold off the stubborn Hawkeyes (24-8), who cut the lead to 59-55 with 6:35 to play before Lamberty scored four straight baskets to foil their comeback bid.
Megan Gustafson had 29 points and 17 rebounds for Iowa.
-Florida Gulf Coast 80, Missouri 70
STANFORD, Calif. - China Dow scored 21 points and played stingy defense in the paint against Missouri star Sophie Cunningham, and No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast pulled off an upset in the Lexington Regional.
Cunningham took over on the low block to get fifth-seeded Missouri (24-8) going and scored a season-high 35 points - she made 14 of 16 free throws - but didn't get much help.
Dow made two free throws with 1:12 left as the Eagles (31-4) kept pushing until the final buzzer to run their winning streak to 11 games with a 21st victory in the last 22 games.
-Stanford 82, Gonzaga 68
STANFORD, Calif. - Alanna Smith scored 20 points and freshman Kiana Williams made a sensational NCAA tournament debut as No. 4 seed Stanford beat cold-shooting Gonzaga in the Lexington Regional.
Williams scored 21 points and calmly pushed the pace on offense as the Cardinal (23-10) created opportunities in transition.
Jill Barta scored 21 points for the 13th-seeded Zags (27-6).