Princeton women rally past NC State in March Madness opener

Grace Stone is making a habit of game-winning jumpers for the streaking Princeton Tigers.

Stone scored 22 points, including her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 4.7 seconds remaining, to lift 10th-seeded Princeton to a thrilling 64-63 win over North Carolina State in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Kaitlyn Chen, who also scored 22 points, made a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining to cut the Tigers' deficit to 63-61 and then Madison St. Rose and Stone both came up with steals in the final minute to give the Tigers a chance.

The Tigers (24-5), who held the Wolfpack scoreless for the final 5:43 of the game, ran to the center of the court screaming for jubilation at their unlikely victory.

It's the second straight season that Princeton has won a first-round game. The Tigers beat Kentucky last season before falling to Indiana in the second round by a point.

The Tigers' men's and women's teams are the first Ivy League duo to both advance in the NCAA Tournament after the men's team upset second-seeded Arizona on Thursday.

South Florida rallies for OT victory over Marquette

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 22 points and Elena Tsineke's jumper with 31.2 seconds left in overtime put South Florida ahead for good in a 67-65 victory over No. 9 seed Marquette to start the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Golden Eagles (22-11) had a final look to win, but Mackenzie Hare's 3-pointer went inside the rim and rolled out with a second to play.

The Bulls (27-6), who didn't lead for the game's first 38 minutes, rallied several times including from 47-36 down in regulation to tie their mark for wins in a season.

Breaking the record this year won't be so easy as South Florida will face the No. 1 overall seed and defending champion South Carolina, undefeated on the year.

The Bulls appeared to have the game won at the end of the fourth quarter, ahead 59-55 after Tsineke's 3-pointer with 31.7 to play. But Hare's two foul shots after a South Florida turnover tied things and forced the extra session.

The lead changed hands six times in overtime, the last on Tsineke's basket.

It was a disappointing finish for the Golden Eagles (22-11), who built a double-digit lead as Chloe Marotta scored a team-high 25 points. But the 6-foot-1 senior, an all-Big East first-team selection, fouled out with 2:56 to play in OT.

South Florida entered with a mindset on a different ending than in this building a year ago when the Bulls lost the eight-nine match up to No. 8 seed Miami in the NCAA opener of last season's Columbia pod.

South Carolina cooks Norfolk State

Zia Cooke scored 11 points as No. 1 South Carolina moved five wins away from a perfect season after opening the women's NCAA Tournament with a 72-40 victory over No. 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday.

Aliyah Boston had seven points, nine rebounds and two blocks for the Gamecocks (33-0), who won their 39th straight game dating back to last year's NCAA title run and moved to 11-0 in first-round games under coach Dawn Staley. They'll face No. 8 seed South Florida on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Canada's Laeticia Amihere added 11 points off the bench for the Gamecocks.

This was a colossal mismatch from the tip like so many other games South Carolina's been a part of this season.

Norfolk State's tallest player is freshman forward Skye Robinson at 6-foot-2. South Carolina has seven players that tall or taller. The Spartans' tallest player on the bench? Larry Vickers, the team's 6-9 head coach, who walked onto the Spartans' men's team and eventually became a team captain.

South Carolina did its best to end any drama early as Boston and Cooke scored five points apiece in the opening quarter for a 20-7 lead.

Westbeld helps Notre Dame rout Southern Utah

Forward Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and led Notre Dame to an 82-56 win over Southern Utah.

Guard Sonia Citron chipped in 14 points and a season-high six assists. The team's leading scorer, she transitioned into the team's primary facilitator with second-team Associated Press All-American guard Olivia Miles out the remainder of the season with an undisclosed knee injury.

Lauren Ebo had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Megan Jensen led Southern Utah (23-10) with 11 points.

JJ Quinerly led West Virginia with 19 points.

No. 3 Notre Dame (26-5) will face Mississippi State (23-10) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Fighting Irish are hosting first and second-round NCAA games this weekend.

Michigan halts UNLV's 22-game winning streak

Emily Kiser had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Maddie Nolan added 18 points, and Michigan beat UNLV by a score of 71-59, snapping the Rebels' 22-game winning streak.

Leigha Brown scored 17 points for Michigan (23-9), which had lost three of its previous four games. The Wolverines used their advantages in size and physicality to build and keep a double-digit lead for much of their opening game in the Greenville 2 region.

Guard Laila Phelia, wearing a brace on her left knee and playing in her just her third game since missing seven with a leg injury, exerted her influence on the game defensively, grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds to go with her eight points — less than half of her scoring average of 16.9.

UNLV (31-3) came up one short of the longest winning streak in program history. Its Mountain West Tournament title victory had tied a mark reached previously in the 1978-79 and 1989-90 seasons.

Mississippi State upsets No. 6 Creighton

Jerkaila Jordan scored 20 and led No. 11 seed Mississippi State to an 81-66 win against No. 6 Creighton in the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Jessika Carter, the 6-5 Bulldog center, took advantage of the Bluejays' undersized frontcourt, with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Anastasia Hayes chipped in 12 points and seven assists. Ahlana Smith and Asianae Johnson each added 10 points.

"What a special group of young women," coach Same Purcell said. "I've got the best seat in the house. They've got that look. We talked about coming up here and getting that championship DNA."

Lauren Jensen scored 22 points to lead Creighton (22-9), which made a run to the regional final last season. Emma Ronsiek scored 21 points, hitting 3 of 6 shots from beyond the arc, but the rest of the Bluejays shot just 28.0 per cent from the field.

Arizona ousts West Virginia

Cate Reese scored 25 points and Esmery Martinez had a double-double against her former team, helping seventh-seeded Arizona to a 75-62 victory over 10th-seeded West Virginia.

The Wildcats seemed refreshed early on, shooting 72 per cent from the field in the first quarter. West Virginia was holding opponents to 61 points per game this season, but Arizona looked ready to breeze past that after just one quarter and a 28-17 lead.

The Mountaineers (19-12) eventually settled in. It was a seven-point game at halftime, and Arizona's lead was down to three early in the third. Wildcats Canadian guard Shaina Pellington picked up her third and fourth fouls a few seconds apart in the third, but after two free throws by West Virginia made it 42-39, Arizona eventually pulled away again.

Georgia eliminates Florida State

Diamond Battles scored 21 points and Audrey Warren added 11 points as Georgia defeated Florida State 66-54.

The 10th-seeded Lady Bulldogs (22-11) advanced to Sunday's second round to face either No. 2 seed Iowa or 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana.

Jordan Isaacs had 10 points and Javyn Nicholson had 13 rebounds for Georgia.

Georgia led 43-40 with 2:03 left in the third quarter before going on a 14-0 run that extended three minutes into the fourth quarter. Florida State would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game.

Florida State (23-10), a No. 7 seed, had just eight available players for the tournament. The university announced on Thursday morning that freshman guard Ta'Niya Latson and sophomore guard O'Mariah Gordon were out for the rest of the season because of injuries.

Maryland cruises past Holy Cross

Abby Meyers scored 16 points and Diamond Miller added 13 points and eight rebounds as second-seeded Maryland rolled to a 93-61 victory over 15th-seeded Holy Cross.

The Terrapins (26-6) scored the game's first 14 points and advanced to face seventh-seeded Arizona on Sunday. Maryland was able to give its top players plenty of rest, with Miller, Meyers and Shyanne Sellers each playing a little over half the game.

Sellers had 13 points and eight assists, and Brinae Alexander led Maryland in scoring with 18 points.

Holy Cross (24-9) was led by Simone Foreman's 13 points.