NOTRE DAME 99, CAL STATE-NORTHRIDGE 81
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points and top-seed Notre Dame beat Cal State Northridge 99-81 on Friday in the opener of the women's NCAA Tournament.
The Irish did suffer another injury as senior captain Kathryn Westbeld went down early in the game with a rolled left ankle and did not return.
There was no immediate word whether Westbeld would be ready for Sunday's game. Notre Dame played most of the season without four players who suffered season-ending ACL injuries.
Jessica Shepard scored 24 points, Marina Mabrey had 23 and Jackie Young 13 for the Irish (30-3), who will meet the winner of Friday's second game between eighth-seed South Dakota State and ninth-seed Villanova on Sunday at the Purcell Pavilion, where Notre Dame has won 24 consecutive.
The Irish led 55-32 at halftime thanks a 13-of-16 shooting performance (81 percent) and 18 points from Ogunbowale, 14 by Shepard and 12 by Mabrey, all in the second quarter with the help of a 3-for-3 performance from beyond the arc.
The Matadors (19-16), who won four consecutive to win the Big West Tournament coming in, got 25 points from Channon Fluker and 23 from Tessa Boagni.
DEPAUL 90, OKLAHOMA 79
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Amarah Coleman and Kelly Campbell each scored 17 points and fifth-seeded DePaul held off a second-half comeback by 12th-seed Oklahoma for a victory.
Ashton Millender and Mart'e Grays both added 16 for the Blue Demons (27-7), who used three-pointers to jump to an early lead that it never lost.
Center Vionise Pierre-Louis led Oklahoma (16-15) with 21 and guard Gabbi Ortiz scored 18.
TEXAS A&M 89, DRAKE 76
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Freshman Chennedy Carter scored 26 points, powering No. 4 Texas A&M to a victory over No. 13 seed Drake.
Khaalia Hillsman added 22 to help send the Aggies (25-9) to the second round against DePaul. Carter also had 11 assists and six steals.
Sara Rhine scored 21 and Becca Hittner had 19 for Drake (26-8).
MINNESOTA 89, GREEN BAY 77
EUGENE, Ore. -- Kenisha Bell scored 24 of her 26 points in the second half to lead No. 10 seed Minnesota to a victory over No. 7 Green Bay.
Destiny Pitts, the Big Ten freshman of the year, added 20 points for the Golden Gophers (24-8), who will play either Oregon or Seattle in the second round of the Spokane Regional on Sunday.
Minnesota outscored the Phoenix (29-4) 30-13 in the fourth quarter, with half the points coming at the foul line. The Golden Gophers made 22 of 23 free throws in the second half and 25 of 29 overall.
VILLANOVA 81, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 74, OT
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Adrianna Hahn scored 24 points, including a key three-pointer in overtime to help No. 9 Villanova beat No. 8 seed South Dakota State.
South Dakota State (26-7) trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game on Madison Guebert's three-pointer from the wing just before the buzzer at the end of regulation.
With the game tied at 70 in overtime, the Wildcats hit three consecutive three-pointers -- the first two by Jannah Tucker. Hahn's three-pointer made it 79-70 with 55 seconds left and Villanova (23-8) advanced to play top seed Notre Dame.
OREGON 88, SEATTLE 45
EUGENE, Ore. -- Sabrina Ionescu had 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for her 10th career triple-double, and No. 2 seed Oregon defeated No. 15 seed Seattle.
Oregon jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Alexis Montgomery broke through for the Redhawks on a long jumper with 4:50 left in the first quarter, but the Ducks were simply overwhelming and led 25-6 by the end of the opening quarter. Ionescu led all scorers with nine points and four rebounds.
Lexi Bando's three-pointer gave Oregon a 30-10 lead. Aina Ayuso finished the half with a crossover and layup -- and added a free throw before a pair of Seattle free throws to make it 48-16 at the break.
ALBANY REGION
Wilson leads S. Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A'ja Wilson had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a 63-52 victory over North Carolina A&T after the 15th-seeded Aggies threw a serious scare into the defending national champions in the women's NCAA Tournament's Albany Regional.
South Carolina (27-6) was up 39-21 at the half and seemed ready to cruise to their seventh consecutive NCAA victory and ninth consecutive opening-round game. Instead, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament champ outhustled and outplayed the SEC Tournament winners much of the final 20 minutes.
The Gamecocks were still ahead 53-37 after Doniyah Cliney's layup with 8:44 to go. Then the Aggies took off on a 14-5 run that cut the margin to 58-51 on Kala Green's third three-pointer of the period with 3:22 remaining. That was as close as North Carolina A&T (23-9) got as the Gamecocks held on to advance to a Sunday second-round game with Virginia.
Virginia, the No. 10 seed, topped No. 7 seed Cal 68-62 earlier Friday.
South Carolina, the No. 2 seed, will need a stronger effort than this if they hope to advance to Albany, New York.
VIRGINIA 68, CALIFORNIA 62
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Dominique Toussaint hit a tie-breaking three-pointer with 1:08 to go and No. 10 seed Virginia held off No. 7 seed California for its first women's NCAA Tournament victory in nine years.
Felicia Aiyeotan led the Cavaliers (19-13) with 16 points, just her second game in double figures since Jan. 7.
Kianna Smith led Cal with 20 points while Asha Thomas added 17.
Sports on 03/17/2018