SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points and teammate Jessica Shepard had a double-double as No. 3 Notre Dame, the No. 1 seed in the Chicago Region, began defense of its NCAA championship with a 92-50 victory over No. 16-seed Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
Ogunbowale hit 8-of-15 shots while adding four assists and three steals for the Fighting Irish (31-3), who never trailed. Notre Dame shot 54.5 percent (36 of 66) with 24 assists.
Shepard, who had her 15th double-double of the season by halftime, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, her 55th double-double in a career that started at Nebraska in 2015.
Brianna Turner, a 6-foot-3 forward who sat out last season's NCAA run with an ACL injury, just missed a double-double by one rebound, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and five blocks. Jackie Young added 11 points. Sophomore reserve Mikayla Vaughn, who also sat out last season's championship run with an ACL injury, had nine points and 11 rebounds for Notre Dame, which won the board battle 48-28.
Angel Golden had 25 points for coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis' Lady Wildcats (21-11), who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament and were playing in their first NCAA Tournament.
The Irish used their 39th run of 10 points or better -- 25-0, their longest spurt of the season -- to take control of the game midway through the first quarter on the way to a 51-19 halftime lead.
Bethune-Cookman was cold for nearly nine minutes as Notre Dame increased a 29-12 first-quarter lead to 47-12 on Young's drive to the basket with 3:15 left. McGraw was able to rest her starters for much of the second quarter as Shepard scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds, Ogunbowale had 14 points and Turner had 11 points with four rebounds and four blocks.
In other Chicago Regional games Saturday, Alanna Smith scored the first nine Stanford points of the third quarter on the way to 21, and her No. 2 seed Cardinal came out shooting from the get-go to beat No. 15 seed UC Davis 79-54. ... Bridget Carleton led four players in double figures with 23 points and third-seeded Iowa State routed New Mexico State 97-61 for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2013. ... Alexa Willard and Danielle Gitzen each scored 20 points and 11th-seeded Missouri State stunned DePaul 89-78, snapping the Blue Demon's five-game winning streak in opening-round NCAA Tournament games. ... Shay Colley's driving layup with 7.6 seconds left lifted No. 9 seed Michigan State to an 88-87 victory over No. 8 seed Central Michigan. ... Brenna Chase had 19 points, 7 assists and 3 blocked shots, and No. 7 seed Brigham Young used an impressive third quarter to run away from No. 10 seed Auburn 73-64.
PORTLAND REGIONAL
SYRACUSE 70, FORDHAM 49
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse guard Tiana Mangakahia just missed a triple-double with 21 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds to lead the No. 3 seed Orange past No. 14 seed Fordham.
Gabrielle Cooper had 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting for the Orange (25-8) and forward Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi had 10 points. Mangakahia also had five steals.
The Orange held Fordham (25-9) to 29 percent shooting. Syracuse hit at a 43 percent clip but at a blistering 64 percent from beyond the arc, going 9 of 14.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 76, QUINNIPIAC 65
Macy Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 seed South Dakota State to a victory over No. 11 seed Quinnipiac.
South Dakota State dominated on the boards, outrebounding Quinnipiac 49-34.
Jen Fay led Quinnipiac (26-7) with 25 points and nine rebounds. Paula Strautmane had 15 points. The loss snapped the Bobcats' 21-game winning streak.
South Dakota State dominated on the boards, outrebounding Quinnipiac 49-34.
At a glance
NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT
All times Central
GREENSBORO REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Saturday’s games
At Waco, Texas
California 92, North Carolina 72
Baylor 95, Abilene Christian 38
At Raleigh, N.C.
Kentucky 82, Princeton 77
N.C. State 63, Maine 51
SECOND ROUND
Today’s games
At Charlotte, N.C.
Florida State (24-8) vs. South Carolina (22-9), 1 p.m.
At Iowa City
Missouri (24-10) vs. Iowa (27-6), 1 p.m.
PORTLAND REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Saturday’s games
At Syracuse, N.Y.
South Dakota State 76, Quinnipiac 65
Syracuse 70, Fordham 49
SECOND ROUND
Today’s games
At Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State (31-2) vs. Clemson (20-12), 8 p.m.
At Coral Gables, Fla.
Arizona State (21-10) vs. Miami (25-8), 6 p.m.
At Eugene, Ore.
Indiana (21-12) vs. Oregon (30-4), 8 p.m.
CHICAGO REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Saturday’s games
At Notre Dame, Ind.
Notre Dame 92, Bethune-Cookman 50
Michigan State 88, Central Michigan 87
At Ames, Iowa
Missouri State 89, DePaul 78
Iowa State 97, New Mexico State 61
At Stanford, Calif.
BYU 73, Auburn 64
Stanford 79, UC Davis 54
SECOND ROUND
Today’s games
College Station, Texas
Marquette (27-7) vs. Texas A&M (25- 7), 1 p.m.
ALBANY REGIONAL
FIRST ROUND
Saturday’s games
At Corvallis, Ore.
Gonzaga 68, UALR 51
Oregon State 80, Boise State 75, OT
At College Park, Md.
Maryland 73, Radford 51
UCLA 89, Tennessee 77
SECOND ROUND
Today’s games
At Louisville, Ky.
Louisville (30-3) vs. Michigan (22-11), 11 a.m.
At Storrs, Conn.
Buffalo (24-9) vs. UConn (32-2), 6 p.m.
Sports on 03/24/2019