The NCAA women’s basketball tournament kicked off Friday, and the story of the day was chalk. The No. 1 seed South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 2 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs both prevailed over lesser foes, with Mississippi State and the No. 3 seed Maryland Terrapins both eclipsing 100 points.
NCAA women’s basketball tournament scores: Top seeds dominate Day 2
South Carolina and Mississippi State are rolling into the second round.
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Earlier in the day, the No. 2 seed Oregon State Beavers received a scare, barely nudging out the No. 15 Long Beach State 49ers by a score of 56-55. Breanna Brown led the way for the Beavers with 12 points, and OSU survived for a possible second-straight run into the tournament’s Final Four.
Aided by Makayla Epps’s 30 points and five rebounds, the No. 4 seed Kentucky Wildcats also squeaked by a mid-major opponent, the No. 13 Belmont Bruins, 73-70. In the final minute of the game, Maci Morris nailed 7-of-8 free throws, and now Kentucky awaits the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes, who more comfortably handled the No. 12 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers, 70-63.
The No. 6 Missouri Tigers were taken down to the wire by the No. 11 South Florida Bulls, 66-64, needing a 23-point fourth quarter to survive. The Tigers got 16 points from Sierra Michaelis, who hit the game-winner with about half a second left. Mizzou will meet the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles in the second round after they handled business against the No. 14 Western Illinois Leathernecks, 87-66.
NCAA women’s tournament first round scores:
No. 8 Green Bay Phoenix 62, No. 9 Purdue Boilermakers 74
No. 6 Missouri 66, No. 11 South Florida 64
No. 5 Ohio State 70, No. 12 Western Kentucky 63
No. 4 Kentucky 73, No. 13 Belmont 70
No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers 75, No. 11 Elon 62
No. 7 DePaul Blue Demons 88, No. 10 Northern Iowa Panthers 67
No. 6 NC State Wolfpack 62, No. 11 Auburn Tigers 48
No. 3 Texas Longhorns 78, No. 14 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears 50
No. 2 Oregon State 56, No. 15 Long Beach State 55
No. 2 Mississippi State 110, No. 15 Troy Trojans 69
No. 3 Maryland 103, No. 14 Bucknell 61
No. 1 South Carolina 90, No. 16 UNC Asheville Bulldogs 40
No. 3 Florida State 87, No. 14 Western Illinois 66
No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 79, No. 16 Robert Morris Colonials 49
No. 7 Creighton Bluejays 76, No. 10 Toledo Rockets 49
No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils 73, No. 9 Michigan State Spartans 61
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