Indiana forward Aleksa Gulbe goes up for a shot against VCU guard Taya Robinson, left, and Samantha Robinson, behind, during Monday’s game in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament. Michael Thomas/Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — Grace Berger scored 13 of her 20 points in the first half, Ali Patberg scored 12 of her 17 after halftime, and No. 4 seed Indiana held 13th-seeded VCU to 24.1% shooting in a 63-32 victory on Monday in the opening round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Gorham native Mackenzie Holmes, a sophomore at Indiana, had 14 points, five blocks and seven rebounds in the Hoosiers’ win over VCU on Monday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Gorham native Mackenzie Holmes finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocks for Indiana (19-5), which now faces the winner of Gonzaga-Belmont in the second round on Wednesday in the Mercado Region.
Berger scored all but nine of Indiana’s first-half points as both teams struggled from the floor, shooting below 34%. Holmes, Patberg and Berger each made a basket in the second quarter, that ended with each team scoring just six points.
It was Holmes’ turn in the fourth, scoring six points in the opening four minutes, and the Hoosiers ran away with it during a 22-3 quarter as VCU did not make a field goal. Berger also grabbed eight rebounds, and Aleksa Gulbe had seven points and 10 boards.
Berger was 9 of 16 from the field, Patberg 7 of 12, and Holmes 5 of 6 with the rest of their teammates going 3 of 20.
Chloe Bloom and Sam Robinson each scored eight points for VCU (16-11), which entered its second NCAA Tournament having won seven of its last eight including the Atlantic 10 championship.
(2) TEXAS A&M 84, (15) TROY 80: Jordan Nixon scored nine points over the final six minutes, and Texas A&M (24-2) escaped an upset bid by Troy (22-6) at Austin, Texas.
Destiny Pitts made four free throws over the final 6 seconds, giving the Aggies the last cushion they needed to avoid what would have ranked among the biggest surprises in tournament history.
A No 15 seed has ever beaten a No. 2.
(3) ARIZONA 79, (14) STONY BROOK 44: Aari McDonald scored 20 points, Trinity Baptiste added 18 and Cate Reese 16 as Arizona (17-5) rolled past tourney newcomer Stony Brook (15-6) at San Antonio.
(7) IOWA STATE 79, (10) MICHIGAN STATE 75: Ashley Joens scored an Iowa State NCAA Tournament record 33 points, including the clinching free throw with 3.1 seconds left, to lift the Cyclones (17-10) over the Spartans (15-9) at San Antonio.
Iowa State made 8 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter and 6 of 8 in the final 1:41 to hold off the Spartans.
(11) BYU 69, (6) RUTGERS 66: Paisley Johnson Harding scored 28 points and 11th-seeded BYU (19-5) gave the women’s NCAA Tournament its first upset with a win over sixth-seed Rutgers (14-5) in San Marcos, Texas.
BYU’s Paisley Harding shoots against Rutgers’s Sakima Walker, front, during Monday’s game in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament in San Marcos, Texas. Chuck Burton/Associated Press
After Sunday’s 16-0 start for the higher seeds, the Cougars – believed to be the last team to make the field – came out Monday morning to knock off the 21st-ranked Scarlet Knights and advance to Wednesday’s second round against the winner of third-seed Arizona and Stony Brook, the No. 14 seed and the America East champion that beat UMaine in the title game.
Harding scored eight straight points and Lauren Gustin the next four in a 12-0 run over 5 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter to take a 57-54 lead while Rutgers was committing five turnovers. BYU held on from there, matching the one-woman offense of Ariella Guirantes, who scored 13 straight Rutgers points in the quarter.
Guirantes threw a bad pass that led to West Coast Conference player of the year Shaylee Gonzales’ last of her six straight free throws with 13.4 seconds left and a five-point lead. Liz Martino hit a baseline 3-pointer but Harding added another free throw and the Scarlet Knights wouldn’t get another shot off.
Harding was 8-of-17 shooting with four 3-pointers. Gonzales, who was only 3-of-17 shooting, made 10 of 11 from the line and finished with 17. Gustin scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. BYU made nine 3s, including five in the third quarter to help them keep pace and go into the final quarter trailing 50-43.
Guirantes scored 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting with Diamond Johnson adding 13 and Tekia Mack 11.
The America East champion Seawolves led at 4-2 but were then left behind by the Wildcats.
(12) BELMONT 64, (5) GONZAGA 59: Freshman Destinee Wells scored 25 points and had seven assists in a turnover-free game as the younger and smaller Bruins (21-5) held on for their first victory ever in the tournament, pulling off a upset over Gonzaga (23-4) at San Marcos, Texas.
The Bruins sealed the game with 19 seconds left when Wells, on a drive with the shot clock winding down, passed inside to Madison Bartley. The fellow freshman had to rip the ball away from the defender, but made the layup while being fouled and added the free throw for a five-point lead.
Jill Townsend had 17 points for Gonzaga.
ALAMO REGION
(2) LOUISVILLE 74, (15) MARIST 43: Freshman Hailey Van Lith scored 17 points and Dana Evans added 15 to help Louisville (24-3) overcome some early jitters and beat Marist (18-4) at San Antonio.
(3) GEORGIA 67, (14) DREXEL 53: Jenna Staiti scored all 19 of her points in the second half, making seven straight shots, Que Morrison had 11 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high eight assists, and Georgia (21-6) overcame a slow start to beat Drexel (14-9) in San Antonio.
Staiti and Gabby Connally were not in the starting lineup for the first time in 26 games. Staiti was late getting to San Antonio due to undisclosed medical reason and Connally rolled her ankle in a practice after the SEC championship game.
Georgia struggled early without them, missing its first five shots and turning it over seven times through the first 6 minutes, 10 seconds. The Bulldogs only had two made field goals until Morrison beat the first-quarter buzzer with a long jumper to pull within 15-10.
It was tied at 25-all at halftime. After each team only made one field goal through the first four minutes of the third quarter, Staiti took over.
Staiti sank her seventh 3-pointer of the season with 44 seconds left in the third, giving her nine points in the quarter to build a 40-35 lead. Staiti made all four of her shots in the quarter, her teammates were just 3 of 13, and she kept it going in the fourth by making three straight baskets, including another 3-pointer.
Caitlin Hose, averaging just 1.4 points, came off the bench for Georgia, and made two much-needed 3-pointers in the second quarter after the Bulldogs missed their first four.
Hannah Nihill led Drexel with 22 points, going 2 of 7 from 3-point range. Keishana Washington, the Dragons second-leading scorer, was held to seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.
(5) MISSOURI ST. 70, (12) UC DAVIS 51: Brice Calip had 18 points and Missouri State (22-2) used a huge third-quarter run to beat UC Davis (13-3at San Antonio.
(7) NORTHWESTERN 62, (10) UCF 51: Lindsey Pulliam scored 25 points to lead Northwestern (16-8) to a first-round win over UCF (16-5) at San Antonio.
Northwestern is in the tournament for the first time since 2015 and just the third time since 1993, when the Wildcats beat Georgia Tech before falling to Tennessee in the second round.
(13) WRIGHT STATE 66, (4) ARKANSAS 62: Angel Baker made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds left and Wright State (19-7) stunned Arkansas (19-9) at Austin, Texas, in the biggest upset so far of the first round.
Jada Roberson made two free throws with 8.1 seconds left to seal the victory for the Horizon League tournament champions, who were playing in just their third NCAA Tournament.
Baker scored 26 points and the Raiders are the first No. 13 seed to beat a No. 4 since 2012. Coming into the tournament, No. 13 seeds were 9-104 all time.
HEMISFAIR REGION
(2) MARYLAND 98, (15) MOUNT ST. MARY’S 45: Ashley Owusu scored 20 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, Chloe Bibby had a double-double and Maryland (25-2) raced to a win over Mount St. Mary’s (17-7) at San Antonio.
Owusu scored six points during an 18-0 run that was part of a 25-4 blitz in the second quarter that decided the outcome.
(6) TEXAS 81, (11) BRADLEY 62: Charli Collier had 23 points and 15 rebounds, and Texas (16-9) beat Bradley (17-12) at San Marcos, Texas.
(7) ALABAMA 80, (10) NORTH CAROLINA 71: Jordan Lewis had a career-high 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to help Alabama (17-9) beat North Carolina (13-11) in the first round in San Antonio.
It was a triumphant return to the NCAAs for the Crimson Tide, who were playing their first game in the tournament since 1999. The Crimson Tide made eight straight trips to the NCAAs from 1992-99 that included a run to the Final Four in 1994.Alabama built a 29-19 lead midway through the second quarter behind Lewis before the Tar Heels cut it to 31-29 with 3:09 left before the half. The Crimson Tide responded scoring 10 of the next 12 points to take a 41-31 lead at the break. Lewis had five points during the closing burst and finished the first half with 18.
North Carolina trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter before cutting it to 65-60 on a 3-pointer by Stephanie Watts with 6:46 left. Ariyah Copeland had a three-point play on the other end to start a 11-2 run and put the game away.
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