LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville didn't take long to allay concerns about rustiness or looking past 16th-seeded Boise State in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Reserve forward Kylee Shook looked sharp shooting the ball as soon as she entered Friday's first-round matchup in the Lexington Regional, sparking the Cardinals to a thorough victory that included plenty of contributors. She had 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as Louisville blew out Boise State 74-42.
Beginning tourney play as a top seed for the first time in school history, the Cardinals (33-2) used quick spurts early in both halves, along with defense, to cruise to victory. Louisville started slow from the field and led Boise State (23-10) just 9-8 after nearly six minutes, but that edge grew quickly after Shook took the court midway through the first quarter.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore alternated 3-pointers with Jazmine Jones' layups for a 19-8 lead before adding her own layup to make it 21-11.
"I just try to go to the open area, make basketball plays," said Shook, who finished 5-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-2 from behind the arc as she sank the only 3-pointers made on Louisville's 10 attempts in the game. "It was just open today, so that's where I popped."
Louisville combined size and quickness to sprint out of the break, outscoring the Broncos 16-4 for a 50-26 cushion. The Cardinals dominated most every statistical category, but most importantly they held Boise State to a season-low 24 percent (14-for-59) from the field.
Sam Fuehring had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Jones and Bionca Dunham each scored 10 and Myisha Hines-Allen had 14 rebounds for the Cardinals, who shot 48 percent (30-for-62). Shalen Shaw led the Broncos with 12 points.
-Marquette 84, Dayton 65
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Natisha Hiedeman scored a career-high 32 points, including 18 in the first quarter, as No. 8 seed Marquette rallied past No. 9 seed Dayton in the Lexington Regional.
Hiedeman's five 3-pointers in the first quarter were critical as the Golden Eagles (24-9) rallied from an 11-3 deficit to a 22-15 lead, and they never trailed again on the way to their first NCAA win since 2011. The junior guard finished 8-for-12 from behind the arc and 10-of 18-overall to surpass her career best by two points.
Erika Davenport added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Marquette. Jenna Burdette's 18 points led the Flyers (23-7).
-Oregon State 82, Western Kentucky 58
KNOXVILLE - Marie Gulich scored 21 of her 29 points in the second half and grabbed 15 rebounds as No. 6 seed Oregon State beat No. 11 Western Kentucky in the Lexington Regional.
Oregon State (24-7), which is attempting to reach the Sweet 16 for the third straight year, began gaining separation midway through the first quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 21-9 lead.
The 6-foot-5 Gulich finished 11-of-15 from the field, with a steady stream of layups and short jumpers highlighting her second-half surge.
Tashia Brown had 17 points to lead Western Kentucky (24-9).
-Michigan 75, Northern Colorado 61
WACO, Texas - Hallie Thome scored 24 points and Katelynn Flaherty added 20 as seventh-seeded Michigan topped No. 10 seed Northern Colorado in the Lexington Regional.
The Wolverines (23-9) shot 57 percent from the floor and took advantage of their size at nearly every position to dominate the rebounding battle, 33-18.
Savannah Scott led Northern Colorado (26-7) with 23 points and four steals.
-Baylor 96, Grambling 46
WACO, Texas - Lauren Cox had a career-high 30 points and 17 rebounds to lead four players in double figures as second-seeded Baylor beat No. 15 seed Grambling State in the Lexington Regional.
The Lady Bears (32-1) scored 17 of the game's first 18 points and were never challenged while picking up their 29th straight win. Cox tied the Lady Tigers' offensive output of 19 points in the first half by herself and shared the team lead with five assists.
Jazmin Boyd scored 20 points to lead Grambling (19-14).
-Notre Dame 99, Cal State Northridge 81
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points as Spokane Regional No. 1 seed Notre Dame topped 16th-seeded Cal State Northridge.
Jessica Shepard added 24 points, Marina Mabrey 23 and Jackie Young 13 for the Fighting Irish (30-3).
Notre Dame senior captain Kathryn Westbeld went down early in the game with a rolled left ankle and did not return. There was no immediate word whether she would be ready for Sunday's second-round game. The Irish played most of the season without four players who suffered season-ending ACL injuries.
The Matadors (19-16) got 25 points from Channon Fluker, 24 from Destiny Brooks and 23 from Tessa Boagni.
-Villanova 81, South Dakota State 74
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Adrianna Hahn scored 24 points, including a key 3-pointer in overtime, to help ninth-seeded Villanova upset No. 8 seed South Dakota State in the Spokane Regional.
The Wildcats (23-8) had to work for their first NCAA tournament victory since 2004. South Dakota State (26-7) trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game on Madison Guebert's 3-pointer from the wing just before the buzzer at the end of regulation.
With the game tied at 70 in overtime, the Wildcats hit three straight 3-pointers - the first two by Jannah Tucker. Hahn's 3-pointer made it 79-70 with 55 seconds left.
Tucker finished with 20, Mary Gedaka had 15 and Alex Louin added 10.
Macy Miller paced the Jackrabbits with 25 points, Guebert had 21 and Ellie Thompson 16.
-DePaul 90, Oklahoma 79
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Kelly Campbell and Amarah Coleman each scored 17 points as fifth-seeded DePaul held off a second-half comeback by No. 12 seed Oklahoma in the Spokane Regional.
Ashton Millender and Mart'e Grays both added 16 for the Blue Demons (27-7), who used 3-pointers to jump to an early lead and didn't trail again.
Vionise Pierre-Louis led Oklahoma (16-15) with 21 points, while Gabbi Ortiz added 18 and sparked the Sooners' comeback as she went 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
-Texas A&M 89, Drake 76
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Freshman Chennedy Carter scored 26 points to power No. 4 Texas A&M past 13th-seeded Drake on Friday in the Spokane Regional.
Khaalia Hillsman added 22 points for the Aggies (25-9), who answered every rally attempt by Drake, and Carter added 11 assists and six steals.
Sara Rhine scored 21 and Becca Hittner had 19 for Drake (26-8).
-Oregon 88, Seattle 45
EUGENE, Ore. - Sabrina Ionescu had 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for her 10th career triple-double, and second-seeded Oregon defeated No. 15 seed Seattle in the Spokane Regional.
Ionescu, who holds the NCAA record for triple-doubles, became the 15th woman to get one in the NCAA tournament. After securing the triple-double, she went to the bench with 8:02 left in the game to a standing ovation from the crowd at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Ducks (31-4) have won 10 straight in a breakthrough season.
Alexis Montgomery had 14 points for Seattle (18-15), which was in the tourney for the first time.
-Minnesota 89, Green Bay 77
EUGENE, Ore. - Kenisha Bell scored 24 of her 26 points in the second half to lead No. 10 seed Minnesota over No. 7 seed Green Bay in the Spokane Regional.
Destiny Pitts, the Big Ten freshman of the year, added 20 points for the Golden Gophers (24-8).
Minnesota outscored the Phoenix (29-4) 30-13 in the fourth quarter, with half the points coming at the foul line. Allie LeClaire and Jessica Lindstrom, Green Bay's only seniors, had 17 and 11 points, respectively, as their team lost in the first round for the fourth year in a row.
-Virginia 68, California 62
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Dominique Toussaint hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:08 to go, and No. 10 seed Virginia held off seventh-seeded Cal in the Albany Regional for its first NCAA tourney win in nine years.
Felicia Aiyeotan led the Cavaliers (19-13) with 16 points, Jocelyn Willoughby added 13 and Aliyah Huland El had 12.
Cal had a streak of seven straight NCAA first-round wins entering the game, but the Golden Bears (21-10) played without Kristine Anigwe, who was medically ruled out after missing a morning shootaround. The team would not detail what was wrong with the 6-foot-4 junior, Cal's leading scorer and rebounder this season. Anigwe's absence undoubtedly gave Virginia - and especially the 6-foot-9 Aiyeotan - room to move down low.
Smith led Cal with 20 points, and Thomas added 17.
-South Carolina 63, North Carolina A&T 52
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A'ja Wilson had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead Albany Regional No. 2 seed South Carolina to a victory over 15th-seeded North Carolina A&T after the Aggies threw a bit of a scare into the 2017 national champions.
South Carolina (27-6) was up 39-21 at halftime and seemed ready to cruise to its seventh straight NCAA tourney win. Instead, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champions outhustled and outplayed the Southeastern Conference tourney winners much of the final 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks were still ahead 53-37 after Doniyah Cliney's layup with 8:44 to go. The Aggies (23-9) took off on a 14-5 run that cut the margin to 58-51 on Kala Green's third 3-pointer of the period with 3:22 remaining, though that was as close as they got.
Green finished with 21 points.
-Maryland 77, Princeton 57
RALEIGH, N.C. - Kaila Charles scored 20 points as fifth-seeded Maryland beat 12th-seeded Princeton in the Kansas City Regional.
Eleanna Christinaki added 16 points, Kristen Confroy finished with 14 and Brianna Fraser had 11 rebounds for the victorious Terrapins (26-7), who shot 56 percent in the second half, built a 43-25 rebounding advantage and pulled away for another first-round victory. Maryland hasn't had a one-and-done appearance in the tournament since 2001.
Abby Meyers scored 13 points and Bella Alarie had 12 for the Tigers (24-6), who had allowed an average of just 54.3 points per game this season, 10th-best in the country. The Terps surpassed that mark in the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter.
-N.C. State 62, Elon 35
RALEIGH, N.C. - Kiara Leslie scored 13 points and Aislinn Konig added 12 as fourth-seeded North Carolina State beat No. 13 seed Elon in the Kansas City Regional.
The Wolfpack (25-8) never trailed, led by 10 at halftime and broke the game open with a 10-0 run early in the third quarter.
Shay Burnett had 12 points for the Phoenix (25-8), who had their winning streak snapped after 13 games. N.C. State held Elon to a season-worst 24 percent shooting.