Saturday, March 19, 2005
Baylor 91, Illinois State 70
SEATTLE -- Sophia Young scored 21 points and Steffanie Blackmon added 13 to help Baylor breeze past the first round of the NCAA tournament. The second-seeded Bears scored the first 17 points and coasted from there. Illinois State (13-18) missed its first eight shots and made just 9-of-29 attempts in the first half as Baylor (28-3) built a 20-point halftime lead. Baylor will play 10th-seeded Oregon in the second round of the Tempe Regional. It was Baylor's 15th straight victory, with its last loss coming Jan. 22 at Texas, 69-55. The Redbirds, who became the lowest seed to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, were making their first NCAA appearance since 1989. Down 43-23 at halftime, Illinois State cut the deficit to 43-27 with 18:16 left, but Baylor scored 14 of the next 20 points. Jaci McCormack led the Redbirds with 20 points.
Oregon 58, TCU 55
SEATTLE -- Cathrine Kraayeveld scored 23 points and Brandi Davis hit two critical 3-point baskets to help lead the 10th-seeded Ducks to the upset in the Tempe Regional. Kraayeveld made two free throws to put Oregon (21-9) ahead 57-53 with 16.9 seconds left before Vanessa Clementino responded with a layup for TCU (23-10) with 11 seconds go to. Davis made a free throw with 10.1 seconds left, and TCU's Ashley Davis missed a 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded. Sandora Irvin led the Frogs with 14 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots, while Natasha Lacy and Clementino each had 10 points. Irvin finished six points below her average and fouled out with 1:29 left.
Arizona State 87, Eastern Kentucky 65
FRESNO, Calif. -- Emily Westerberg scored 14 of her 20 points in the first half and Arizona State advanced past the first round for the second time in four years in the Tempe Regional. Kristen Kovesdy added 18 points for the fifth-seeded Sun Devils (23-9), who beat three-time defending NCAA champion Connecticut in December and earned the school's highest NCAA tournament seed since being fourth in 1982 and '83. They play Notre Dame in the next round. Miranda Eckerle had 22 points and five rebounds for Eastern Kentucky (23-8).
Notre Dame 61, UC Santa Barbara 51
FRESNO, Calif. -- Megan Duffy scored 18 points with seven free throws in the final minute and the fourth-seeded Fighting Irish bounced back from a semifinal loss to Connecticut in their conference tournament to advance in the Tempe Regional. In a matchup of two NCAA tournament-tested programs, Notre Dame used a big second half to advance to the second round Monday night against Arizona State. Breona Gray and Courtney LaVere added 10 points apiece for Notre Dame (27-5), which began the school's 10th straight NCAA tournament by winning for the 14th time in 16 games. Mia Fisher scored 18 points for No. 13 UCSB (21-9).
Southern California 65, Louisville 49
MINNEAPOLIS -- Playing in their first NCAA tournament in eight years, the ninth-seeded Women of Troy showed off their balance, depth and quickness to beat eighth-seeded Louisville in the Kansas City Regional. Chloe Kerr scored 14 points, Camille LeNoir contributed 13, Kim Gipson added 12 and Jamie Funn had 10 for Southern Cal (20-10), which reached 20 wins for the first time since 1997 -- the last time they won a tournament game. The Trojans move to the second round and face top-seeded Michigan State. Louisville's first tournament appearance in four years ended quickly. Sophomore center Jazz Covington, who averaged nearly 18 points a game, had a frustrating afternoon and finished with 13 points. Missy Taylor scored 11 points and Connie Neal made three 3-pointers for the Cardinals (22-9).
Texas 64, Oral Roberts 47
DALLAS -- Playing with a broken pinkie, Nina Norman scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting with five assists to lead third-seeded Texas in the Chattanooga Regional. The Longhorns (22-8) won for the 13th time in 15 games since a January slump raised concerns about a team that started the season ranked No. 2 with three senior starters. No. 14 seed Oral Roberts (22-9) was in the NCAA tournament for only the third time, all without a win. Jamie Carey, one of the Texas seniors, scored 13 points with three 3-pointers. Sophomore Tiffany Jackson also had 13 points, along with nine rebounds. Elisha Turek had 21 points and seven rebounds for Oral Roberts. Texas advances to play Georgia in the second round Monday.
Georgia 75, Rice 49
DALLAS -- Cori Chambers scored 19 points, while Sherill Baker had 14 points and Janese Hardrick added 13 and Tasha Humphrey 12 to help sixth-seeded Georgia advance. Lauren Neaves had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Western Athletic Conference champion Owls (24-9), who had won 12 straight games. Rice made only its second NCAA tournament, while Georgia has missed just two of the 24 tournaments. Georgia (23-9) advances to play Texas in the Chattanooga Regional.
Virginia 79, Old Dominion 57
MINNEAPOLIS -- Virginia recruited Takisha Granberry because she could slash to the basket and pass. The 3-point shooting was a bonus. Brandi Teamer scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half, Granberry hit two key 3-pointers to help break it open and Virginia celebrated its return to the NCAA tournament after a one-year absence. The sixth-seeded Cavaliers (21-10) also got 16 points from Tiffany Sardin, who has re-emerged as an offensive force after averaging only 2.8 points during the ACC season. Virginia advanced to the second round of the Tempe Regional on Monday night against the winner of Saturday's late game between Minnesota and St. Francis, Pa. Shareese Grant scored 16 points to lead 11th-seeded Old Dominion (22-9), which faded after a fast start and ended up shooting just 34.2 percent.
Middle Tennessee 60, N.C. State 58
DALLAS -- Patrice Holmes hit the game-winning jumper with 1.6 seconds left, giving No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee another upset. Last season, the Raiders were a No. 13 seed when it knocked off fourth-seeded North Carolina 67-62. The Raiders trailed by as much as 10 in the second half before pulling off what might be the most dramatic win in the school's history. N.C. State (21-8) tied the game at 58-58 with 26.6 left on a putback by Tiffany Stansbury, who led the Wolfpack with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Middle Tennessee (24-8) then calmly pushed the ball up the floor, not dishing the ball to Holmes until less than 3 seconds were left on the clock. Holmes found a seam near the top of the key, caught the ball and immediately pulled up for the game-winner.
Associated Press
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