AUSTIN, Texas -- Freshman Essence Cody had season highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 8 seed Alabama defeated No. 9 Florida State 82-74 on Friday night in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.
Working inside, the 6-4 Cody more than doubled her average of eight points a game. She also blocked four shots. Her layup on a pick-and-roll gave Alabama (24-9) a 74-69 lead with 2:33 left.
"Essence has grown up a lot this year," Alabama guard Loyal McQueen said. "You know, we need her to be aggressive every single night. We need her to be on the boards every night in order for us to beat big-time teams."
O'Mariah Gordon quickly countered Cody's basket with a three-pointer for Florida State (23-11), but Aaliyah Nye -- who finished with 18 points -- made a three-pointer of her own for Alabama with 1:21 remaining.
Alabama, which shot 5 of 6 from the foul line in the final 44 seconds, will face No. 1 seed Texas on Sunday.
Ta'Niya Latson led Florida State (23-11) with 25 points and five assists. Makayla Timpson had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.
TEXAS 82, DREXEL 42
AUSTIN, Texas -- Shaylee Gonzales scored 21 points, Taylor Jones added 18 and No. 1 seed Texas beat No. 16 Drexel.
Gonzales converted 5 of 6 three-point attempts while matching her season-high in scoring. Jones hit 7 of 11 shots inside for the Longhorns, who have won 13 of their last 14 games.
Drexel (19-15) had only one starter taller than 6 feet -- 6-2 Hedda Staatman. Texas (31-4), rotating four post players who are between 6-1 and 6-4 most of the game, outscored Drexel 44-18 in the paint and 22-6 on second-chance points thanks to a 26-10 edge in offensive rebounding.
Texas' dominance inside eventually resulted in open three-pointers for Gonzales. She made three in the third third quarter without missing.
Freshman Madison Booker had a season-best 14 assists for Texas.
Amaris Baker led Drexel with 10 points. The Dragons shot 35% and committed 21 turnovers.
STANFORD 79,
NORFOLK STATE 50
STANFORD, Calif. -- Cameron Brink had 17 points, 15 rebounds and blocked six more shots to add to her nation-leading total, and No. 2 seed Stanford beat 15th-seeded Norfolk State.
Kiki Iriafen added 17 points and nine rebounds, while Elena Bosgana scored a career-high 18 points and Hannah Jump had 13 with four three-pointers for the Cardinal (29-5) as they looked determined and focused coming off a 74-61 loss to USC in the Pac-12 Tournament championship.
Diamond Johnson scored 19 points for Norfolk State (27-6), which was held to seven points in the second quarter as both teams endured scoring droughts and trailed 32-19 at halftime.
Stanford advances to face seventh-seeded Iowa State on Sunday.
IOWA STATE 93,
MARYLAND 86
STANFORD, Calif. -- Freshman Audi Crooks scored a career-high 40 points on 18-for-20 shooting in her sensational NCAA Tournament debut, and No. 7-seed Iowa State (21-11) hit all the big shots in the second half to rally from 20 points down and beat 10th-seeded Maryland.
The 20-point comeback marked the second-largest all-time in an NCAA Tournament game trailing only Texas A&M overcoming a 21-point deficit to beat Penn in 2017.
Emily Ryan knocked down a key three-pointer with 6:06 remaining and finished with 18 points while dishing out 14 assists as Iowa State kept pounding the ball inside to the ever-reliable Crooks -- even when it led to a handful of late turnovers.
Crooks, the program's first freshman to earn AP All-America honors with her honorable mention selection this week, came in leading the team averaging 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds and became the 16th player to score 40 or more this season. She had 12 rebounds against Maryland.
Allie Kubek knocked down all five of her three-pointers in the first half and finished with seven from long range on the way to a season-best 29 points.
PORTLAND 3 REGION
BAYLOR 80,
VANDERBILT 63
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Bella Fontleroy scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lift fifth-seeded Baylor to a victory over No. 12 Vanderbilt.
Fontleroy hit 6 of 12, including four three-pointers, for the Bears (25-7), who broke open a close game at halftime with a dominating third quarter in winning for the seventh time in their past eight games.
Sarah Andrews added 13 points, and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 11 for Baylor. Iyana Moore led the Commodores (23-10) with 15 points, but made just 3 of 14 from the floor.
VIRGINIA TECH 92,
MARSHALL 49
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Matilda Ekh scored 21 points to lead No. 13 Virginia Tech to a victory over Marshall.
The Hokies won without star center Elizabeth Kitley, who is out for the tournament with a torn ACL.
Ekh connected on 6 of 9 from the floor and hit five three-pointers for the Hokies (25-7), who set a school record by winning their 26th consecutive game at Cassell Coliseum.
Abby Beeman scored 12 points for Marshall (26-7), which saw its 10-game winning streak snapped.
DUKE 72, RICHMOND 61
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Reigan Richardson scored 25 points and had seven rebounds as Duke rallied in the second half to overtake Richmond.
No. 7 seed Duke (21-11) advances to play Ohio State on Sunday.
The Blue Devils battled back from a nine-point deficit at halftime, going ahead 42-41 with 4:42 left in the third quarter and never relinquishing the lead again.
Ashlon Jackson added 14 points and Kennedy Brown had 10 for Duke.
Grace Townsend led Richmond (29-6) with 18 points, Addie Budnik had 17 and Maggie Doogan added 15.
OHIO STATE 80, MAINE 57
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jacy Sheldon had 19 points as Ohio State ran away from Maine.
The bigger and faster Buckeyes (26-5) swarmed Maine with a stifling press, forcing 22 turnovers.
Cotie McMahon scored 13 for Ohio State, and Celeste Taylor and Taylor Thierry each added 12. Sheldon scored her 2,000th career point with a layup late in the first half.
Anne Simon led Maine (24-10) with 25 points and Olivia Rockwood had 15.
Texas guard Shay Holle (10) grabs a rebound over Drexel forward Chloe Hodges (5) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas guard Shay Holle (10) grabs a rebound over Drexel forward Chloe Hodges (5) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Texas forward Madison Booker, right, looks to pass around Drexel guard Grace O'Neill (12) during the first half of a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Drexel forward Chloe Hodges (5) is blocked by Texas guard Shaylee Gonzales (2) as she tries to score during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the women's NCAA Tournament in Austin, Texas, Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)