Women’s NCAA Tournament roundup: Iowa holds off pesky Mercer 66-61

Megan Gustafson scored 30 points with 16 rebounds and second-seeded Iowa narrowly avoided a monumental upset, holding off No. 15 Mercer 66-61 on Friday in Iowa City, Iowa, for its first NCAA Tournament win in four years.

No 15 seed has ever won an NCAA Tournament game going 0-101 now.

Makenzie Meyer added 16 for the Hawkeyes (27-6), who survived the opening round at home despite committing 24 turnovers.

Hannah Stewart hit three consecutive baskets after Iowa got down by two with 4:19 to go, putting the Hawkeyes ahead 64-61. Stewart missed a jumper with 21 seconds left, but the ball knocked off a Mercer player.

Iowa’s Tania Davis then missed two free throws, but the Hawkeyes were bailed out of the ensuing scrum by the possession arrow.

Kathleen Doyle finally sealed it for Iowa with two free throws with 8.9 second to go.

(4) South Carolina 74, (13) Belmont 52: Te’a Cooper scored 13 points, Alexis Jennings added 12 points and nine rebounds, and the Gamecocks shook off a sluggish start to pull away from the Bruins in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tyasha Harris chipped in with 12 points and six assists and Doniyah Cliney added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting for the Gamecocks (22-9), who won in their first game since getting upset by Arkansas in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Darby Maggard had 13 points and Conley Chinn had 10 for Belmont (26-7).

(5) Florida State 70, (12) Bucknell 67: Kiah Gillespie had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Seminoles held on to beat the Bison in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nicki Ekhomu, Nausia Woolfork and Valencia Myers each had 15 points for the Seminoles (24-8).

Kate Walker led Bucknell (28-6) with 18 points.

(7) Missouri 77, (10) Drake 76 (OT): Jordan Roundtree hit a free throw after being fouled with 1.1 seconds left in overtime and the Tigers beat the Bulldogs in Iowa City, Iowa.

Sophie Cunningham scored 21 points and Cierra Porter had 18 for the Tigers (24-10).

The Tigers found Amber Smith open underneath for a 76-74 lead on a jumper with 20.8 seconds left. Maddy Dean pulled Drake even at the line, but Bulldogs star Becca Hittner hit Roundtree’s shooting hand while she was attempting a desperation 3. She missed the first free throw, hit the second and missed the third.

Drake (27-7) got the rebound and after two timeouts, miraculously got Hittner – a 40 percent shooter from beyond the arc – a wide-open look at a 3. But it bounced off the back of the iron.

Albany Regional

(1) Louisville 69, No. 16 Robert Morris 34: Asia Durr and Sam Fuehring each had 19 points, and the Cardinals scored 27 straight points in the first half to overwhelm the Colonials in Louisville, Kentucky.

The absences of suspended coach Jeff Walz and injured point guard Arica Carter didn’t affect the Cardinals (30-3), who led 32-4 early in the second quarter by holding the Colonials scoreless for nearly 15 minutes. Robert Morris (22-11) missed 17 consecutive shots during that drought before making three of five entering halftime, but the game was out of reach by then.

Natalie Villaflor had 13 points and Nneka Ezeigbo nine for the Colonials, who had won their last four games.

(2) UConn 110, (15) Towson 61: Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and the Huskies, in the unusual position of being a No. 2 seed, got off to its usual NCAA Tournament start with a rout of the Tigers in Storrs, Connecticut.

Collier added 14 rebounds in putting up her fourth straight double-double and 21st this season.

Freshman Christyn Williams scored 21 points and Crystal Dangerfield added 20 for Connecticut (32-2).

Kionna Jeter had 20 points for Towson, which was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance and finishes the season 20-13.

(8) Michigan 84, (9) Kansas State 54: Naz Hillmon scored 17 points off the bench, Nicole Munger and Kayla Robbins each added 13 and the Wolverines shot a season-high 56 percent to run away from the Wildcats in Louisville, Kentucky.

Michigan’s 17-5 surge over 5:10 in the second quarter provided a 43-28 halftime lead that expanded to as many as 37 late in the fourth. The Wolverines (22-11) owned rebounding 50-19 – including a 33-13 gap defensively – and paint scoring 52-26 while holding the Wildcats (21-12) to 36 percent shooting.

Christianna Carr had 21 points and Rachel Ranke 11 for Kansas State.

(10) Buffalo 82, (7) Rutgers 71: Summer Hemphill scored 23 points and Cierra Dillard added 20 as the Bulls upset the Scarlet Knights in Storrs, Connecticut.

Hanna Hall and Autumn Jones each added 12 points for the Bulls (24-9), who will be looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for a second straight season.

Stasha Carey had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Rutgers (22-10), which has been without head coach C. Vivian Stringer since late February because of an undisclosed medical issue.

Chicago Regional

(4) Texas A&M 84, (13) Wright State 61: Chennedy Carter scored 27 points in her return from injury, with 14 coming in Texas A&M’s huge first quarter, to help the Aggies cruise past the Raiders in College Station, Texas.

Texas A&M, which is in the tournament for the 14th consecutive season, advances to the second round for the fourth straight year where it will play five-seed Marquette on Sunday.

The Aggies (25-7) led by 18 early after scoring 31 points in the first quarter. The game was tied at 5-all in the first before Texas A&M used a 17-3 run to take a 22-8 lead, and it was never close again.

Wright State (27-7) was led by Angel Baker’s 25 points.

(5) Marquette 58, (12) Rice 54 (OT): Natisha Hiedeman scored 13 points, Allazia Blockton had 12 and the Golden Eagles overcame a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to get a win over the Owls in College Station, Texas.

Amani Wilborn made a jumper with 3 1/2 minutes left in overtime to put Marquette (27-7) up 54-52 and extend its run to 11-0. Blockton extended the lead to 4 with a shot with just over a minute to go.

The Owls (28-4) ended a scoring drought of about seven minutes stretching back to the fourth quarter when Erica Ogwumike made a basket with 51 seconds left.

Portland Regional

(1) Mississippi State 103, (16) Southern 46: Anriel Howard scored 23 points, Teaira McCowan added 22 and the Bulldogs rolled past the Lady Jaguars in Starkville, Mississippi.

Mississippi State (31-2) didn’t have much trouble against the Jaguars, jumping out to a 37-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. Howard and McCowan both finished with double-doubles – McCowan had 16 rebounds and Howard had 12.

Bre’Amber Scott added 18 points and Jordan Danberry had 13.

The Jaguars (20-13) were led by Skylar O’Bear, who scored nine points.

(2) Oregon 78, (15) Portland State 40: Satou Sabally had 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to help the Ducks to an easy victory over the Vikings in Eugene.

Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu put the home crowd at Matthew Knight Arena on its feet with a stunning 3-pointer at the start of the second half and finished with 12 points and eight assists for the Ducks (30-4). Ruth Hebard had 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Ashley Bolston had 19 points for the Vikings (25-8).

(4) Miami 69, (13) Florida Gulf Coast 62: Beatrice Mompremier scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Hurricanes needed an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to come from briefly being behind and beat the Eagles in Coral Gables, Florida.

Endia Banks scored 14 and Mykea Gray added 10 for the Hurricanes (25-8).

Keri Jewett-Giles scored 24 for Florida Gulf Coast (28-5), whose 19-game winning streak was snapped.

No. 5 Arizona State 60, No. 12 UCF 45: Courtney Ekmark scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the second half, and Arizthe Sun Devils downed the Golden Knights in Coral Gables, Florida.

Ekmark opened the game with a 3-pointer, then opened the second half with a pair of 3s. Those two quickly turned what was a 10-point halftime lead to a 16-point edge, and Arizona State (21-10) wound up winning a first-round game for the sixth consecutive season.

Kay Kay Wright led UCF (26-7) with 18 points.

(10) Indiana 69, (7) Texas 65: Jaelynn Penn had 24 points and Bendu Yeaney added 17 to help the Hooisers surprise the Longhorns in Eugene.

Brenna Wise and Ali Patberg contributed another 10 points apiece for the Hoosiers (21-12), who were making their first appearance in the tournament since the 2015-16 season.

Texas (23-10) was led by Danni Williams with 15 points. Joyner Holmes added 12 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

(9) Clemson 79, (8) South Dakota 66: Simone Westbrook scored 27 points, Danielle Edwards added 25 and the Tigers pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the Coyotes in Starkville, Mississippi.

Clemson (20-12) trailed for much of the game until late in the third quarter, when Westbrook made a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 47-45 lead. The Tigers never trailed again, partly because of Edwards and partly because South Dakota’s shooting touch vanished.

South Dakota (28-6) shot just 3 of 19 from 3-point range in the second half.