RALEIGH, N.C. — Zoe Brooks scored 19 points, and host North Carolina State finally took control in the second half to beat Vermont 75-55 in the first round of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament Saturday.
Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers added 15 points apiece for the second-seeded Wolfpack, who reached the Final Four last year. Fifth-year senior Madison Hayes, a former Chattanooga-area prep standout at East Hamilton, added nine points — all on 3-pointers — and matched Rivers for the game high in rebounds with 12. Hayes also had one block, one steal and one assist.
N.C. State (27-6), the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season co-champion this year, has won 19 consecutive home games in NCAA tournament play. The Wolfpack will face seventh-seeded Michigan State of the Big Ten in Monday’s second round at Reynolds Coliseum, with the winner advancing to a Sweet 16 matchup at Regional 1 in Spokane, Washington.
Keira Hanson scored 21 points off the bench, Catherine Gilwee had 13 and Nikola Priede added 11 for No. 15 seed Vermont (21-13), an America East Conference program.
The Catamounts pulled ahead 27-24 midway through the second quarter on Hanson’s 3-pointer. The Wolfpack scored the last six points of the half for a 35-33 advantage.
Brooks converted a pair of three-point plays and Hayes drained a 3-pointer in the first five minutes of the third quarter as the Wolfpack gained separation at 48-40. The Wolfpack saved their best stretch for late in the game, outscoring Vermont 23-9 in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we really picked it up defensively in the second half,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said.
For the Wolfpack, it was a quick reminder of the high intensity and determination they’ll encounter from opponents from here on out.
“Everybody wants to win,” Brooks said. “Everybody is going to play well.”
After tying the game on the first possession of the second half, the Catamounts were held to 20 points the rest of the way.
“We felt we played really good for three quarters,” Vermont coach Alisa Kresge said.
The Catamounts were one of the country’s best defensive teams, but they allowed more than 70 points for the first time since November.
This was the Wolfpack’s first game in nearly two weeks after losing the ACC tournament final to Duke. The outcome means N.C. State won’t suffer back-to-back losses this season.
N.C. State shot 39.1% from the field but gave itself extra chances thanks to 18 offensive rebounds.
That’s an area that Moore said he addressed during the team’s layoff before the tournament. The message got through — eventually anyway.
“I got subbed out (in the) first half because I wasn’t crashing the boards,” Rivers said. “It just shows that he has high standards for us.”
The Catamounts were within 52-46 through three quarters, but N.C. State shot 8-for-15 in the fourth.
Vermont entered having won nine of 10, but the Wolfpack had too much power for the Catamounts to contain for 40 minutes.
“Some things we didn’t have an answer for,” said Kresge, who took her team to March Madness for the second time in three years.
AP photo by Karl DeBlaker / North Carolina State’s Madison Hayes (21) battles for the ball with Vermont’s Sarah Ericson during an NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday in Raleigh, N.C.Michigan State 64, Harvard 50
Grace VanSlooten had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help Michigan State beat Ivy League member Harvard.
Jocelyn Tate had 13 points and Theryn Hallock added 10 as the seventh-seeded Spartans (22-9) advanced to the second round for the first time since 2019.
Harmoni Turner had 24 points for 10th-seeded Harvard (24-5), which topped two Big Ten teams in November but couldn’t pull off another victory against a power conference opponent.
The Spartans scored the game’s first 11 points. Harvard closed to 26-25 in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s from Ines Soltelo and Tate helped the Spartans bounce out to a 37-25 lead.
Florida State 94, George Mason 59
BATON ROUGE, La. — Ta’Niya Latson scored 28 points as sixth-seeded Florida State defeated No. 11 seed George Mason.
Mikayla Timpson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the ACC’s Seminoles (24-8), who will play Southeastern Conference power LSU, the site host, on Monday night.
Paula Suarez scored 25 points and Kennedy Harris added 12 points for the Patriots (27-6), who were making their first March Madness appearance after winning the Atlantic 10 tournament.
LSU 103, San Diego State 48
Flau’Jae Johnson scored 22 points, Aneesah Morrow had 12 and as many rebounds, and third-seeded LSU overwhelmed 14th-seeded San Diego State.
Morrow increased her nation-leading double-double tally to 28 in her first game since hurting her left foot during a March 8 loss to Texas in the SEC semifinals.
Johnson, who missed the league tournament with a right shin injury, wore a compression sleeve over her lower leg but exhibited the explosiveness, shooting touch and all-around panache that has made her one of the most popular players in women’s college basketball.
Mikaylah Williams added 13 points for LSU (29-5).
San Diego State (25-10), winner of the Mountain West Conference, did not have a single player score as many as 10 points. Adryana Quezado led the Aztecs with eight.
SPOKANE 4 REGIONAL
USC 71, UNCG 25
LOS ANGELES — Sophomore star JuJu Watkins scored 22 points, and the host University of Southern California led all the way in routing 16th-seeded UNC Greensboro (25-7), the Southern Conference regular-season and tournament champion.
The Big Ten’s Trojans (29-3), a No. 1 seed, are home again Monday at the Galen Center to take on SEC program Mississippi State.
Watkins appeared to hurt her left hand early in the second quarter, occasionally shaking out her fingers. Then in the third quarter, the two-time All-American came up limping on her left leg and winced. She hit a 3-pointer and sat for the final 3:39 before returning briefly in the fourth.
The Spartans came out confidently, holding the Trojans to 12 points in the first quarter after missing their first five shots and trailing 8-0.
UNCG closed within two early in the second quarter before USC blew the game open. The Trojans outscored the Spartans 16-3 while limiting them to three free throws. The hosts’ pressure defense forced eight turnovers, and the Spartans were 0-of-11 from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range. USC led 28-11 at halftime.
Mississippi State 59, California 46
Madina Okot had 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out late as ninth-seeded Mississippi State beat eighth-seeded California.
Eniya Russell added 14 points for the Bulldogs (22-11), who are back in March Madness for the first time in two years. They lost in the national title game in 2017 and 2018.
Michelle Onyiah led the eighth-seeded Golden Bears (25-9) with 17 points and 15 rebounds despite four fouls. Lulu Twidale added 13 points before fouling out in the final seconds.
Cal’s only lead was by one point in the first quarter, when the Bears managed just five points. They recovered to play the Bulldogs evenly in the second but trailed 26-19 at halftime.
The Bears capped their first season in the ACC by making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019, when current USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was in charge in Berkeley.
Iowa 92, Murray State 57
NORMAN, Okla. — Iowa freshman Ava Heiden scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes rolled past No. 11 seed Murray State.
Lucy Olsen had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Big Ten’s Hawkeyes (23-10), who scored a season high in points in the first NCAA tourney win for first-year Iowa head coach Jan Jensen, a longtime assistant who was promoted after Lisa Bluder retired.
Iowa will face SEC member Oklahoma on Monday.
Murray State’s Katelyn Young, who averaged 22.2 points heading into the tourney, left the game early in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. She finished with six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.
Halli Poock scored 15 points and Ava Learn added eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for Murray State (25-8). The Missouri Valley Conference’s Racers, who entered the game averaging a nation-leading 87.8 points per game, shot just 30.6% from the field and posted their lowest point total of the season.
Oklahoma 81, FGCU 58
Raegan Beers had 25 points and 18 rebounds, and No. 3 seed Oklahoma dominated the fourth quarter to beat 14th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast University.
The Sooners led 55-48 after three quarters, then outscored the Eagles 26-10 in the final period.
Beers, a 6-foot-4 center, towered over a team with no starter taller than 5-9, and she helped the Sooners outrebound the Eagles 72-35.
Skylar Vann scored 24 points and Payton Verhulst added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Sooners (26-7).
Emani Jefferson, the Atlantic Sun player of the year who had 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Sooners last year, had 12 points and eight rebounds in the rematch while spending much of the day in foul trouble and shooting 3-for-11 from the field.
Dolly Cairns scored 15 points for the Eagles (30-4), who had won 23 straight games. FGCU shot 23.6% from the field and was 8-of-41 (19.5%) on 3-pointers.
UConn 103, Arkansas State 34
STORRS, Conn. — Azzi Fudd had 21 of her 27 points in the first half as the second-seeded University of Connecticut rolled against 15th-seeded Arkansas State.
Huskies freshman Sarah Strong added 20 points and 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocks in her NCAA tournament debut. Most of those came in the first half as UConn jumped out to a 66-16 advantage entering the break, having played nearly flawless basketball.
The Huskies had runs of 22-0, 12-0 and 13-0 in the first half as UConn won its 31st consecutive first-round game. This one set up a Monday meeting with South Dakota State.
UConn (32-3) scored 34 points in the first quarter, making all 11 of its two-point shots. Many of those were layups set up by steals off its pressure defense.
Arkansas State (21-11), which likes to apply pressure itself, had no answer for the Huskies.
Crislyn Rose’s seven points led the Red Wolves, who shot 17% from the field (12-for-70), going 7-for-40 from behind the arc.
South Dakota State 74, Oklahoma State 68
Madison Mathiowetz scored all 15 of her points in the second half as 10th-seeded South Dakota State erased a double-digit deficit to top No. 7 seed Oklahoma State.
Brooklyn Meyer had 19 points and eight rebounds, Paige Meyer had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Haleigh Timmer added 11 points for Summit League champion South Dakota State (30-3).
Stailee Heard had 20 points and Anna Gret Asi had 16 points for Big 12 program Oklahoma State (25-7).
The Cowgirls took their first double-digit lead on a basket by Alexia Smith with 7:38 left in the third quarter. Paige Meyer scored nine points as the Jackrabbits scored 17 of the next 24 points.
A three-point play by Meyer gave South Dakota State the 44-43 lead with 2:57 left in the quarter. South Dakota State took a two-point advantage into the fourth quarter on a driving layup by Mathiowetz to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
BIRMINGHAM 2 REGIONAL
West Virginia 78, Columbia 59
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — JJ Quinerly scored 27 points, Jordan Harrison matched a career high with 23, and sixth-seeded West Virginia led wire to wire in a victory over 11th-seeded Columbia.
Quinerly also had seven of her team’s 17 steals.
The Big 12’s Mountaineers (25-7) advance to face ACC tournament champion North Carolina on Monday. West Virginia will be looking for its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1992.
West Virginia’s full-court press was a constant source of frustration for Columbia, which was coming off its first tournament win in program history, a victory in the First Four to reach the main bracket. The Lions committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter, more than they had in all of Thursday’s win over Washington, and 25 overall.
Ivy league champion Columbia (24-7) was led by Cecelia Collins’ 16 points. Riley Weiss scored 14, and Kitty Henderson contributed 13 with nine rebounds.
North Carolina 70, Oregon State 49
Lexi Donarski scored 17 of her 19 points in the third quarter as third-seeded North Carolina pulled away to beat 14th-seeded Oregon State.
Donarski also matched a season-high with five 3-pointers, all coming during a lopsided third quarter in which the Tar Heels outscored Oregon State 30-9. Alyssa Ustby contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, including the program-record 1,252th of her career, and Maria Gakdeng added 13 points.
Kelsey Rees led Oregon State (19-16) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while AJ Marotte scored 13.
Maryland 82, Norfolk State 69
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Sarah Te-Biasu and Kaylene Smikle led a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter, and fourth-seeded Maryland held off 13th-seeded Norfolk State.
The Terrapins (24-7) will host fifth-seeded Alabama on Monday with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line, but advancing wasn’t easy against a Norfolk State (30-5) team that entered on a 19-game winning streak. The scrappy Spartans trailed by just four early in the fourth quarter before a series of outside shots by Te-Biasu and Smikle gave Maryland some breathing room.
Te-Biasu finished with 22 points and Smikle scored 21. Kierra Wheeler led Norfolk State with 20.
BIRMINGHAM 3 REGIONAL
Texas 105, William & Mary 61
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas sophomore Madison Booker had 20 points and 14 rebounds, the 10th career rebound for the All-America first-team selection, fellow starter Taylor Jones added 19 points while shooting 7-for-10 from the field, and the top-seeded Longhorns (32-3) overwhelmed the 16th-seeded Tribe (16-19) of the Coastal Athletic Association.
The Longhorns’ depth showed up as they got 35 points from their bench, including Kyla Oldacre getting her own double-double with 15 points and as many rebounds. Texas moves on to a second-round matchup Monday against Illinois.
Bella Nascimento had 19 points for William & Mary, which entered on a five-game winning streak that included the CAA tournament final to earn a spot in the 68-team NCAA field for the first time as well as a First Four win Thursday night to set up the first-round game at Texas.
Illinois 66, Creighton 57
Genesis Bryant scored 17 points and No. 8 seed Illinois earned its first NCAA tournament victory in 25 years with a win over No. 9 seed Creighton.
The Fighting Illini’s tough defense frustrated Creighton’s outside shooters as the Big Ten program also dominated on the glass. Kendall Bostic added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Illinois (22-9).
Morgan Maly led Creighton (26-6) with 18 points and Lauren Jensen scored 17. But the Big East’s Bluejays’ top scorers all season — each scored more than 2,000 points in her career — were mostly contained on a tough shooting night. Creighton shot just 36% against a stifling Illinois defense and was just 6-of-22 on 3-pointers.
Illinois led 51-41 early in the fourth quarter before Creighton pulled within 58-54 on Jensen’s tough layup through the lane with 2:08 to play.