Monday, March 20, 2017
Women’s NCAA Basketball
Sunday’s second-round tournament games
LEXINGTON REGION
Ohio State 82, Kentucky 68
LEXINGTON, KY.
Tori McCoy scored six straight points midway through the fourth quarter to help Ohio State withstand Kentucky’s furious rally from a 19-point second-half deficit and escape. The fourth-seeded Wildcats trailed 50-31 early in third but closed to 65-64 with 6:04 remaining. The fifth-seeded Buckeyes answered with eight straight points behind McCoy. Ohio State (28-6) held on from there to earn its second straight Sweet 16 appearance in the Lexington Regional next week at Rupp Arena. McCoy finished with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds and Shayla Cooper scored 15 for the Buckeyes, who committed a season-low six turnovers. Makayla Epps had 21 points and Evelyn Akhator had 14 points with a career-high 23 rebounds in their final games for Kentucky (22-11), which had sought its second consecutive Sweet 16 berth at home.
Notre Dame 88, Purdue 82
SOUTH BEND, IND.
Marina Mabrey scored 21 points, Arike Ogunbowale added 18 and No. 1 seed Notre Dame survived playing the second half without leading scorer Brianna Turner to beat ninth-seeded Purdue 88-82 in overtime Sunday night, advancing to the Sweet 16.
Texas 84, N.C. State 80
Brooke McCarty scored 23 points and No. 3-seed Texas got a put-back basket from Joyner Holmes with 4 seconds left to the send the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row with a win over No. 6 North Carolina State. Lashann Higgs had given Texas a two-point lead when she made one free throw with 8 seconds left but missed the second. Holmes grabbed the rebound, missed her first shot, grabbed the rebound then made the second to seal the win.
BRIDGEPORT REGION
Maryland 83, West Virginia 56
COLLEGE PARK, MD.
Destiny Slocum nailed a 70-foot shot to cap a pivotal second quarter for Maryland, and the Terrapins went on to defeat West Virginia. Brionna Jones had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Slocum scored 21 and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 19 for third-seeded Maryland (32-3), which will next face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 2 seed Duke and Oregon.
OKLAHOMA CITY REGION
Mississippi State 92, DePaul 71
STARKVILLE, MISS.
Blair Schaefer scored 18 points, Jazzmun Holmes added 14 and Mississippi State beat DePaul 92-71 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Second-seeded Mississippi State used a 14-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to turn a tight game into a 61-43 advantage. DePaul, the seven seed, scored the next seven points to cut the lead to 61-50 by the end of the third quarter, but Mississippi State responded with the first eight points of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
STOCKTON REGION
South Carolina 71, Arizona State 68
COLUMBIA, S.C.
A’ja Wilson scored 21 points, including the put back that gave South Carolina the lead for good and the free throws that sealed it, to help the No. 1 seed Gamecocks beat eight-seed Arizona State. Sophie Bruner missed a heavily contested 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
Florida State 77, Missouri 65
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
Shakayla Thomas scored 20 points and third-seeded Florida State advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season with a victory over No. 6 seed Missouri. Thomas, who also had 11 rebounds, was one of four Seminoles in double figures. Brittany Brown added 16 points while Imani Wright and Leticia Romero each scored 14. Florida State (27-6) will face either second-seeded Oregon State or No. 7 seed Creighton in a regional semifinal game in Stockton, California on Saturday. Missouri (22-11) led 17-12 22 seconds into the second quarter on a Jordan Chavis 3-pointer before Florida State took the lead for good with a 17-2 run as Romero scored six points. The Seminoles led 32-27 at halftime but put the game out of reach by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter.
Oregon State 64, Creighton 52
CORVALLIS, ORE.
Sydney Wiese scored 13 points in her final career game at Gill Coliseum and second-seeded Oregon State moved on in the NCAA Tournament with a second-round victory over No. 7 seed Creighton.
Associated Press