NEW YORK - After a sluggish first half, Kentucky finally shook off its rust and put away Navy.
DaNesha Stallworth scored 18 points and Jennifer O’Neill added nine of her 12 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats to a 61-41 victory over the Midshipmen on Sunday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats (28-5) trailed by one at the half before O’Neill, who grew up in New York, took over. She hit a quick three-pointer to start a 12-2 run. The sophomore guard had seven points, a steal and an assist during the burst.
Kentucky had been off for 14 days since losing in the SEC Tournament title game and looked rusty early on. Two-time SEC player of the year A’dia Mathies didn’t have a field goal for the first time in her career.
Alix Membreno and Jade Geif scored nine each to lead Navy (21-12).
The Wildcats will play Dayton on Tuesday night in the second round.
Kentucky, which was coming off a loss in the SEC title game to Texas A&M, has made the NCAA tournament four straight seasons and matched its best seeding. Each time Kentucky has struggled in the first round. The Wildcats had won by six, four (in overtime) and six in the previous three seasons in their NCAA opener.
The Wildcats played without backup center Samantha Drake who was suspended by Coach Matthew Mitchell.
“We have a standard we want to uphold as Kentucky basketball players and she hasn’t been doing that,” he said. “It’s not one particular thing, it’s a series of things. We want her to try to strive to do her best and that’s not happening right now.”
The Midshipmen were making their third straight trip to the NCAA tournament after winning the Patriot League tournament. Navy lost to Maryland last season and De-Paul the year before. With the Mids’ loss, 15 seeds remained winless in the NCAA tournament at 0-76.
NORTH CAROLINA 59, ALBANY 54
NEWARK, Del. - Tierra Ruffin-Pratt scored a career-high 30 points, and North Carolina squeezed past Albany to stagger into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina trailed 28-23 at halftime and 48-44 with just under 10 minutes left before rallying behind Ruffin-Pratt, who scored 17 of the Tar Heels’ final 21 points - including two clinching free throws with 10.8 seconds left.
Waltiea Rolle had 14 points and 14 rebounds for North Carolina (29-6), which will next face Delaware (31-3) on Tuesday night.
DELAWARE 66, WEST VIRGINIA 53
NEWARK, Del. - Elena Delle Donne scored 33 points and led a second-half surge that carried Delaware past West Virginia.
Delaware (31-3) had never won an NCAA Tournament game before last year. The Blue Hens have yet to reach the round of 16, a milestone they will seek to accomplish Tuesday night against either North Carolina or Albany.
Delle Donne, a 6-foot-5 senior, scored 17 points after halftime. She finished 10 for 24 from the floor, went 12 for 13 at the foul line and had seven rebounds.
Ayana Dunning had 15 points and 10 rebounds for West Virginia (17-14), which closed the season with a four-game losing streak.
DAYTON 96, ST. JOHN’S 90, (2 OT)
NEW YORK - Andrea Hoover scored a career-high 24 points and Dayton outlasted St. John’s.
It was the first double overtime game in the tournament since 2000 when Vanderbilt beat Kansas.
Brittany Wilson hit a three-pointer and Kelley Austria had a three-point play to make it 90-86 with 2:11 left in the second extra period. After St. John’s failed to score, Olivia Applewhite added a basket with 47 seconds left to seal the win.
The Red Storm (18-13) trailed by 13 with 5:30 left in regulation before rallying. Nadirah McKenith hit a layup with onetenth of a second left in regulation to force overtime. Dayton’s Amber Deane tied it with 15 seconds left in overtime to force a second one. McKenith led her team with 22 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds before fouling out.
SPOKANE REGION STANFORD 72, TULSA 56
STANFORD, Calif. - Chiney Ogwumike had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, and Stanford pulled away in the second half from Tulsa.
Amber Orrange added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Cardinal (32-2), who needed more than a half to get rolling while playing at home in Maples Pavilion coming off final exams and a two week layoff since winning the Pacific-12 tournament.
Conference Player of the Year Ogwumike took charge in Stanford’s quest for a sixth straight Final Four after her big sister, Nneka, became the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft and the league’s rookie of the year with the Los Angeles Sparks.
PENN STATE 85, CAL POLY 65
BATON ROUGE - Maggie Lucas scored 19 points, Alex Bentley added 18 and Penn State overwhelmed NCAA Tournament newcomer Cal Poly.
While the dynamic Lucas scored from all over the court, Penn State (26-5) also used its size advantage to assert itself inside on both ends.
The 6-foot-2 Mia Nickson, 6-3 Talia East and 6-4 Nikki Greene combined for 32 rebounds, and the Lady Lions out rebounded Cal Poly 52-40 overall.
Penn State outscored the Mustangs 44-28 in the paint.
Nickson finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, Greene scored 11 points and East grabbed 12 rebounds for Penn State, which plays Tuesday against the winner of LSU-Wisconsin-Green Bay. Molly Schlemer led Cal Poly (21-11) with 24 points.
LSU 75, GREEN BAY 71
Danielle Ballard capped a 16-point performance by hitting a key free throw with 4 seconds to go, and LSU held off Green Bay (29-3) in Baton Rouge.
Theresa Plaisance also scored 16, Adrienne Webb 15 and Bianca Lutley 13 for LSU (21-11), which saw an 18-point lead nearly evaporate in the second half, but survived to meet Penn State in the second round Tuesday.
MICHIGAN 60, VILLANOVA 52
Kate Thompson hit a key three-pointer down the stretch and another late jumper to finish with 17 points, and Michigan (22-10) overcame a cold-shooting first half to beat Villanova (21-11) in Stanford, Calif.
Jenny Ryan added 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals as the Wolverines extended their season for another game by shooting 61.9 percent in the second half. Michigan second-leading scorer Rachel Sheffer had 16 points and matched her career high with 13 rebounds.
At a glance FIRST ROUND
SUNDAY’S GAMES
OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL
Florida State 60, Princeton 44 Baylor 82, Prairie View 40 Louisville, Ky.
Purdue 77, Liberty 43 Louisville 74, Middle Tennessee 49
SPOKANE REGIONAL
Stanford 72, Tulsa 56 Michigan 60, Villanova 52 Penn State 85, Cal Poly 55 LSU 75, Green Bay 71
NORFOLK REGIONAL
Notre Dame 97, UT-Martin 64 Iowa 69, Miami 53 Duke 67, Hampton 51 Oklahoma State 73, DePaul 56
BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL
Delaware 66, West Virginia 53 North Carolina 59, Albany (N.Y.) 54 Kentucky 61, Navy 41 Dayton 96, St. John’s 90, 2OT
SECOND ROUND
TODAY’S GAMES - All times Central
OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL
Oklahoma vs. UCLA, 6:15 p.m.
Creighton vs. Tennessee, 6:10 p.m.
SPOKANE REGIONAL Iowa State vs. Georgia, 8:50 p.m.
California vs. South Florida, 8:45 p.m.
NORFOLK REGIONAL South Carolina vs. Kansas, 8:35 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Nebraska, 8:40 p.m.
BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL Vanderbilt vs. Connecticut, 7:05 p.m.
Maryland vs. Michigan State, 7:20 p.m.
Sports, Pages 17 on 03/25/2013