Monday, March 22, 2010
Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va.
Tina Charles scored 22 points and Maya Moore added 21 to help No. 1 Connecticut beat Southern University 95-39 in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament Sunday.
Charles made her first nine shots for the Huskies (34-0), who extended their record winning streak to 73 games. UConn has won all of them by double digits.
Southern (23-9) actually led 2-0 after a short bank shot by Freda Allen, but the Huskies immediately asserted themselves with a 15-2 burst. After consecutive 3-pointers pulled the Jaguars within 20-12, Connecticut got points from seven players in an 18-4 run and coasted the rest of the way.
Hannah Kador led the Jaguars with 10 points, but shot just 3 for 22.
No. 12 Wisconsin-Green Bay 69, No. 5 Virginia 67
AMES, Iowa
Celeste Hoewisch scored 23 points and Wisconsin-Green Bay let most of a 16-point lead slip away before holding on to beat Virginia.
After it appeared the Phoenix (28-4) would win in a rout, fifth-seeded Virginia forced a slew of turnovers by turning up its defensive pressure and cut the lead to 64-63 on Ariana Moorer’s two free throws with 32.7 seconds left.
But Wisconsin-Green Bay steadied just enough to make five free throws in the closing seconds to move into the second round.
It was a disappointing ending for Virginia’s Monica Wright, the ACC player of the year and the school’s career scoring leader. Wright did her part with 34 points and nine rebounds, but didn’t get the help she needed from her teammates.
No. 7 Mississippi State 68, No. 10 Middle Tennessee State 64
PITTSBURGH
Alexis Rack and Chanel Mokango led a frantic rally as Mississippi State, down nine points to Middle Tennessee State and national scoring leader Alysha Clark with 41‚Ñ2 minutes remaining, surged back for a victory.
The Bulldogs (20-12) will meet Ohio State (31-4) on Tuesday in a rematch of the Buckeyes’ 64-58 victory in Columbus in the second round last season. Ohio State beat St. Francis, Pa., 93-59 earlier Sunday.
No. 8 Temple 65, No. 9 James Madison 53
NORFOLK, Va.
Qwedia Wallace scored 21 points and Temple beat James Madison, setting up a matchup with coach Tonya Cardoza’s mentor.
Kristen McCarthy and LaKeisha Eaddy added 15 points each for Temple (25-8), which gained its first victory in the tournament since it beat Nebraska in opening round in 2007.
SACRAMENTO REGIONAL
No. 3 Xavier 94, No. 14 East Tennessee State 82
CINCINNATI
Xavier avoided an unprecedented upset on its home court Sunday, following the inside domination by Amber Harris and Ta’Shia Phillips en route to a victory over East Tennessee State.
Xavier (28-3) overcame a flurry of ETSU 3s and a late surge to get its first NCAA tournament win since 2001.
No. 6 Vanderbilt 83, No. 11 DePaul 76, OT
CINCINNATI
Merideth Marsh scored nine of her 26 points in overtime, rallying Vanderbilt to a victory over DePaul.
Marsh became Vanderbilt’s career 3-point leader in the first half, when the Commodores (23-10) pulled ahead by 11.
KANSAS CITY REGIONAL
No. 1 Nebraska 83, No. 16 Northern Iowa 44
MINNEAPOLIS
Kelsey Griffin had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Nebraska.
No. 11 Arkansas-Little Rock 63, No. 6 Georgia Tech 53
NORMAN, Okla.
Kim Sitzmann scored a season-high 21 points and Arkansas-Little Rock won its NCAA tournament debut, stunning Georgia Tech.
No. 10 Vermont 64, No. 7 Wisconsin 55
SOUTH BEND, Ind.
Courtnay Pilypaitis scored 25 points, May Kotsopoulos added 14 and Vermont survived squandering a 14-point lead in the first half.
MEMPHIS REGIONAL
No. 11 San Diego State 74, No. 6 Texas 63
AUSTIN, Texas
Jene Morris scored 32 points and San Diego State stunned Texas on the Longhorns’ home court.