There were no surprises for the high seeds on Friday, as Notre Dame, South Carolina, Baylor and Kentucky all took care of business, winning their games by over 30 points. The difference between them and their opponents was painfully obvious. Logic prevailed in the first round, as only a handful of other high-seeded teams -- namely Duke and Texas -- were in any peril of losing in the first round and the teams everyone thought were elite renewed their credentials.
NCAA Women’s Tournament bracket results 2015: No surprises at the top
Notre Dame, South Carolina, Baylor and Kentucky all advanced after destroying their low-seeded opponents.
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That doesn’t mean there weren’t any upsets, as No. 6 seeds Washington and George Washington were eliminated by Miami and Gonzaga, respectively. The Hurricanes’ Adrienne Motley scored 30 points to fend off The Huskies’ comeback attempts and lead her team to the second round. A dreadful shooting night doomed the Colonials against the Bulldogs, as they shot 29.3 percent from the field and hit only 20 of their 32 free throws. Credit should go to Gonzaga, who played great defense, but George Washington didn’t do itself any favors with how they executed on offense.
In the battles between No. 8 and No. 9 seeds DePaul beat Minnesota, and Syracuse sent Nebraska home. The Blue Demons had to come back from a double-digit lead to claim the victory, after falling behind in the first half. The shots that weren’t falling early did after the break, the pressure wore down the Gophers’ ball-handlers, and resulted in turnovers. As a result, the majority of Megan Podkowa’ 23 points came in the second half and DePaul completed the comeback.
As for the Orange, they prevailed after a game that was close throughout largely thanks to the play of Brianna Butler, who scored 17 points, including the last field goal of the game, a go-ahead bucket with a little over a minute to go. Syracuse made its free throws from then on to hold on to win the game. They will now face the top-seeded South Carolina, a team they played close during the regular season.
Scores
No. 4 Duke 54, No. 13 Albany 52
No. 10 Arkansas 57, No. 7 Northwestern 55
No. 7 Dayton 78, No. Iowa State 66
No. 11 Miami (Fla.), No. 6 Washington 80
No. 2 Kentucky 97, No. 15 Tennessee St. 52
No. 2 Baylor 77, No. 15 Northwestern St. 36
No. 5 Miss St. 57, No 12 Tulane 47
No. 3 Iowa 75, No. 14 American U 67
No. 1 South Carolina 81, No. 16 Savannah State 48
No. 3 Oregon State 74, No. 14 South Dakota St. 62
No. 5 Texas 66, No. 12 Western Kentucky 64
No. 9 DePaul 79, No. 8 Minnesota 72
No. 8 Syracuse 72, No. 9 Nebraska 69
No. 1 Notre Dame 77, No. 16 Montana 43
No. 11 Gonzaga 82, No. 6 George Washington 69
No. 4 California 78, No. 13 Wichita State 66
Schedule
Here’s Saturday’s schedule.
Bracket
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