COLLEGE PARK, Md. — With President Barack Obama supporting his niece and the rest of Princeton’s basketball team a few rows from courtside, the Tigers managed to stay unbeaten.

After trailing at halftime Saturday, eighth-seeded Princeton came back to improve to 31-0 this season and win a women’s NCAA Tournament game for the first time in school history, beating No. 9 seed Wisconsin-Green Bay 80-70 behind Michelle Miller’s 20 points and Annie Tarakchian’s 19 in the Spokane Region.

There was some question whether Ivy League champion Princeton deserved a better seeding, given that it was the only undefeated women’s team and was ranked 13th in the final AP poll. But the Tigers had been 0-4 in the NCAAs, all since 2010, and fell behind 35-32 late in the first half against Green Bay.

Princeton is not only unaccustomed to losing, it’s not all that familiar with dealing with the stress of a tight one, having won all but two of its games by at least 10 points.

Still, Green Bay managed to hang in there, never falling behind by more than eight points early.

And when Kaili Lukan hit a corner 3, off a pass from her older sister Megan, it brought the Phoenix within 30-27 with about 61/2 minutes left in the first half. Soon after, Green Bay went on an 8-0 run capped by a pair of jumpers by Tesha Buck to take a 35-32 lead. Miller’s jumper for Princeton just before the buzzer got the Tigers within 35-34 at halftime.

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But Princeton moved out in front with a 15-3 run that gave it a 60-48 edge with about 9 minutes left on Alex Wheatley’s fast-break layup.

Green Bay (28-5) did get as close as four, 69-65, on Megan Lukan’s basket with about 2 minutes left, but Princeton held on.

It was only the second win in NCAA Tournament history for an Ivy League team. The Tigers joined Harvard, which knocked off No. 1 seed Stanford in 1998 marking the only time a 16 seed has won a game.

Mehryn Kraker led Green Bay with 21 points, and Kaili Lukan added 17. But the Phoenix shot just 8 of 27 on 3-pointers, while Princeton went 9 of 16.

Obama’s niece, freshman forward Leslie Robinson, did not appear in the game for Princeton.

The cheerer-in-chief arrived during pregame warm-ups, a few minutes before tipoff, taking a seat among orange-wearing Princeton fans not far off the court. Police cars dotted roads leading to the arena, and there was heavy security at entrances, including metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.

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During the second half, a brief chant of “Four more years!” rose from some fans, drawing a chuckle from Obama.

Just like when any player’s uncle shows up for a tournament game, right?

There are quite a bit of connections between the first family and Princeton. Michelle Obama went to school there, as did her brother, Craig Robinson, who sat next to the President on Saturday. Robinson’s daughter, Leslie, is a freshman forward for Princeton. Also accompanying President Obama on Saturday: his daughter Malia and his mother-in-law.

Showing quite a bit of family favoritism, President Obama picked Princeton to make it to the Final Four in his women’s NCAA bracket. And, well, that’s still in play.

MARYLAND 75, NEW MEXICO STATE 57: Brionna Jones dominated the inside on both ends of the court, getting 22 points and 12 rebounds to carry the top-seeded Maryland Terrapins (31-2) past the Aggies (22-8) at College Park, Maryland.

The Terrapins (31-2) will bring a school-record 25-game winning streak into Monday night’s matchup against eighth-seeded Princeton (31-0).

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Jones went 7 for 10 from the floor and 8 for 9 at the line, finishing just two points short of matching her career high in points. She was pulled with 5:50 left.

Brianna Freeman scored 15 and Sasha Weber added 14 for the Aggies, who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1988. The Western Athletic Conference champions were outrebounded 45-20 and went 5 for 21 from 3-point range.

Senior guard Larin Mincy scored 19 for the Terrapins, who haven’t lost since Dec. 3. Maryland went ahead for good at 7-6 and led by 20 with 12 minutes left.

PITTSBURGH 51, CHATTANOOGA 40: Stasha Carey scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Panthers (20-11) ended a 25-game winning streak by the Mocs (29-4), at Knoxville, Tennessee.

Pittsburgh (20-11), the No. 10 seed, will play Monday against Tennessee.

Chattanooga, which never led, has eight straight NCAA Tournament losses since beating Rutgers in a 2004 first-round game. The seventh-seeded Mocs shot a season-low 26.2 percent (17 of 65) to fall for the first time since a 57-52 loss at Arkansas State on Dec. 1.

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The victory continued a surprising season for Pittsburgh, which was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Jasmine Joyner had 10 points and nine rebounds for Chattanooga before fouling out. Brianna Kiesel had 13 points for Pittsburgh.

TENNESSEE 72, BOISE STATE 61: Bashaara Graves scored a career-high 24 points and the Lady Vols (28-5) outlasted the pesky Broncos (22-11) at Knoxville, Tennessee.

The No. 2 Lady Vols had a much tougher time than expected against the 15th-seeded Broncos.

Tennessee was clinging to a 63-58 lead after Boise State’s Camille Redmon made the front end of a one-and-one with 2:51 remaining. But Redmon missed her second free throw, and Tennessee’s Ariel Massengale sank a 3-pointer 13 seconds later to spark a clinching 8-0 run.

Brooke Pahukoa scored 22 points for Boise State. She had 18 in the first half, when she shot 7 of 7. Deanna Weaver added 13 points and Shalen Shaw had 10.

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Massengale scored 18 points for Tennessee, which outrebounded Boise State 46-28.

GREENSBORO REGION

NORTH CAROLINA 71, LIBERTY 65: Allisha Gray scored 17 points and the Tar Heels (25-8) beat the Flames (26-7) in the first round at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Latifah Coleman added 15 points for the fourth-seeded Tar Heels. They shot 49 percent, led by 14 and withstood the Flames’ late push to give Hall of Fame Coach Sylvia Hatchell a victory in her return to the NCAA Tournament.

Ashley Rininger had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Flames, who were trying to become the second No. 13 seed to win a tournament game.

They chipped away at North Carolina’s lead down the stretch, pulling to 65-59 on Jaymee Fisher-Davis’ 3-pointer with 1:02 left.

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Coleman followed with a driving layup with 40.5 seconds to play before Emily Frazier hit a free throw with 26.9 seconds remaining to make it a seven-point game.

Brittany Rountree made it 69-60 with two free throws with 25.2 seconds left.

Fisher-Davis hit another 3 with 13.3 seconds left before Gray stuck back Coleman’s missed free throw with 10.9 seconds to play.

Stephanie Mavunga added 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting for North Carolina, which will play the James Madison-Ohio State winner on Monday night with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

The Tar Heels have reached the regional semifinals in 14 of their last 19 NCAA Tournament appearances – including last year under the guidance of associate head coach Andrew Calder, who filled in for Hatchell while she stepped away to fight leukemia.

Karly Buer had 14 points for Liberty, which had its 14-game winning streak snapped. The Flames were denied both their first NCAA Tournament victory and their first win over a Top 25 opponent since 2005.

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OHIO STATE 90, JAMES MADISON 80: Ameryst Alston scored 28 points and Ohio State held off pesky James Madison.

Big Ten co-player of the year Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points for the fifth-seeded Buckeyes (24-10). They shot 58 percent in the second half and scored on seven consecutive possessions down the stretch to earn a second-round matchup against host North Carolina, the No. 4 seed, on Monday night.

Precious Hall had 28 points on 10-of-30 shooting while Ashley Perez added 20 points with six 3-pointers for the 12th-seeded Dukes (29-4).

They hit 10 3s but had their six-game winning streak snapped.

Alexa Hart added 20 points and 13 rebounds to help the Buckeyes win their 13th in 16 games and earn their first NCAA Tournament win since 2011 while avoiding their fourth one-and-done since 2007.

FLORIDA GULF COAST 75, OKLAHOMA STATE 67: Kaneisha Atwater scored 26 points and Whitney Knight added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help the Eagles (31-2) win their 26th straight game by beating the 10th-seeded Cowgirls (20-12) at Tallahassee, Florida.

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It was a sweet win for the seventh-seeded Eagles, who were eliminated in last year’s first round of the NCAA tournament 61-60 in overtime by Oklahoma State.

Gulf Coast was up by five at the half and extended its lead to 71-54 with 4:37 left.

Oklahoma State was led in scoring by Roddricka Patton’s career-high 23 points. She had scored only 34 points all season entering the game. Liz Donohoe added 14 points for the Cowgirls, all in the second half. Brittney Martin’s game-high 12 rebounds helped Oklahoma State to a 44-32 advantage on the boards.

FGCU led 36-31 at the half and never trailed in the second half.

The Eagles will face Florida State on Monday night.

FLORIDA STATE 91, ALABAMA STATE 49: Freshman Shakayla Thomas scored 17 points and three teammates joined her in double figures as second-seeded Florida State won its 30th game of the season in a rout of No. 15 Alabama State.

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Maegan Conwright added 16 points and Leticia Romero had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, narrowly missing her second triple double of the season. Ivey Slaughter also finished in double figures with 13 points.

Britney Wright scored 14 points and Ashanti Spencer added 12 for Alabama State (17-15) which turned the ball over 32 times that led to a 38-8 Florida State (30-4) advantage off mistakes.

Florida State led 37-19 at halftime and built a 47-point lead late in the game over the Southwestern Athletic Conference champions.

ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK 69, TEXAS A&M 60: Taylor Gault scored a season-high 25 points, Kiera Clark added a career-best 22 and 11th-seed Arkansas-Little Rock beat sixth-seeded Texas A&M.

UALR (29-4) led almost the entire game in career victory No. 700 for coach Joe Foley.

It was the second NCAA tournament victory for the Trojans. In 2010, also as a No. 11 seed, they beat Georgia Tech.

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Courtney Williams scored 23 for the Aggies (23-11), who were without point guard Jordan Jones, SEC defensive player of the year the last two seasons, who tore an ACL against Missouri on Feb. 26. The Aggies lost that game and three of the four after that.

UALR was the third 11th seed to win in this year’s tournament.

ARIZONA STATE 74, OHIO 55: Katie Hempen scored a career-high 23 points and hit five 3-pointers, helping third-seeded Arizona State roll over Ohio.

Arizona State (28-5) dominated at both ends in its first home NCAA Tournament game in a decade.

The Sun Devils hounded No. 14 seed Ohio (27-5) into 18 turnovers and held one of the nation’s most prolific 3-point shooting teams to 4 of 16 behind the arc.

Arizona State had its way with the Bobcats offensively, too, shooting 55 percent while hitting 8 of 16 from 3-point range.

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Sophie Brunner added 14 points for the Sun Devils, who will play 11th-seed Arkansas-Little Rock in the Round of 32 on Monday.

Quiera Lampkins led Ohio with 17 points and Kiyanna Black added 12.

ALBANY REGIONAL

UCONN 89, ST. FRANCIS, BROOKLYN 33: Morgan Tuck had 26 points and eight assists as No. 1 UConn began its drive toward a 10th national title and third in a row with an 89-33 rout of St. Francis, Brooklyn on Saturday night.

Tuck, who outscored the Terriers 20-14 by herself in the first half, made 12 of her 13 shots from the floor for the Huskies (33-1), who won their 32nd consecutive game. Breanna Stewart hit eight of her 10 shots, and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Sarah Benedetti, who grew up about 40 miles away in Canton, Connecticut, had 13 points for St. Francis (15-19).

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The Huskies shot 70 percent from the floor and held the Terriers to just 22 percent and 13 baskets. UConn is now 23-2 in the opening round, where they have not lost since 1993.

RUTGERS 79, SETON HALL 66: Kahleah Copper and Tyler Scaife each scored 21 points and eighth-seed Rutgers used a season high seven 3-pointers to beat in-state rival No. 9 seed Seton Hall.

Betnijah Laney added 17 for the Scarlet Knights (23-9), who have now won 14 of the last 15 meetings between the former Big East rivals from New Jersey.

Tabatha Richardson-Smith had 18 points and Tiffany Jones added 17 for Seton Hall (28-6), which was making just its third appearance in the tournament and its first in 20 years.

Rutgers outscored Seton Hall 23-10 over the game’s final nine minutes after the Pirates had come back from a 12-point second half deficit to tie the game at 56. Seton Hall hit just one of its last seven shots from the floor.

The Pirates didn’t score in the game’s final 3:23.

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LOUISVILLE 86, BYU 53: Myisha Hines-Allen scored 19 points, leading No. 3 seed Louisville to a victory over BYU.

Jude Schimmel added 13 points for the Cardinals (26-6), and Shawnta’ Dyer and Bria Smith had 11 apiece.

Morgan Bailey had 15 points and Lexi Eaton scored 14 for BYU (23-10). Bailey played most of the second half with four fouls.

Louisville extended a 14-point halftime lead to 48-26 on Hines-Allen’s layup with 15 1/2 minutes to play.

SOUTH FLORIDA 73, LSU 64: Courtney Williams had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Alisia Jenkins added 15 points and No. 6 seed South Florida beat 11th-seed LSU.

Next up for South Florida (27-7) in the second round Monday night is No. 3 seed Louisville (26-6), which forced 38 turnovers in defeating 14th-seed BYU 86-53 earlier Saturday.

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Danielle Ballard scored 17 points and DaShawn Harden had 16 for LSU (17-14).

Laura Ferreira hit consecutive 3-pointers in the opening minute of the second half to put South Florida up 44-32. Jenkins then made it 46-32 on a layup.

Harden made a pair of 3’s that trimmed the LSU deficit to 48-40 3 1-2 minutes into the second half. But South Florida pulled away.

OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL

OKLAHOMA 111, QUINNIPIAC 84: Freshman Gabbi Ortiz scored 16 points and Vionise Pierre-Louis added 15 to lead fifth-seeded Oklahoma to a victory over No. 12 seed Quinnipiac.

Maddie Manning also scored 15 points, McKenna Treece had 14 and Kaylon Williams had 12 for the Sooners (21-11), who advanced to play the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Stanford and 13th-seeded Cal State Northridge in the second round of the Oklahoma City regional on Monday.

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Jasmine Martin scored 24 points and Gillian Abshire added 12 for the Bobcats (31-4), who had their 21-game winning streak snapped and failed to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in school history.

STANFORD 73, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 60: Taylor Greenfield and Lili Thompson each scored seven points in a game-changing, second-half run that helped fourth-seeded Stanford overcome a long scoring drought in the first half to beat No. 13 seed Cal State Northridge.

Greenfield with 19 points and Thompson had 17 as they took the game over during a 14-0 run that broke open a tie game early in the second half for the Cardinal (25-9).

Bonnie Samuelson added 14 points and Erica McCall had 10 to help Stanford improve to 31-4 at home in NCAA Tournament play. The Cardinal advanced to play fifth-seeded Oklahoma (21-11) in the second round of the Oklahoma City regional on Monday.

Ashlee Guay scored 27 points to lead the Matadors (23-10), who once again failed to get their first NCAA Tournament victory.


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