Kent Knocks Off Texas A&M;, 72-68

NCAA women’s tournament

It didn’t take long for form to fall by the wayside in the NCAA women’s tournament, although some of the game’s big guns showed why upsets are rare.

In the opening game of the West Regional, Kent surprised No. 25 Texas A&M, the Southwest Conference tournament champion, 72-68.

But things went as expected for the likes of Georgia, Iowa, Penn State, Texas Tech and Alabama.

Bille Jean Smith-Goldman scored 20 points and made a steal in the final seconds as Kent (24-6) pulled the first surprise of the tournament.

Texas A&M (20-12), the seventh seed in the West Regional, cut the lead to 70-68 with 15.1 seconds left after Marianne Sevin stole the ball from Smith-Goldman and made a layup. Smith-Goldman made up for her turnover by stealing an errant pass in the backcourt and dribbling out the clock.

“She steps up in big games and this was one of her best,” said Kent forward Amy Sherry, who scored 19 points.

East

Tajama Abraham had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks as George Washington (26-6) wore down Maine (27-5).

Virginia (24-6) opened its 13th straight appearance in the women’s tournament with its biggest postseason victory, a 100-55 win over Manhattan (19-11). Tora Suber led Virginia with 17 points.

Midwest

Gina Shaterkina scored 23 points for Oklahoma State (20-9), which raced to a 16-point lead in the first 5 minutes and held on to beat Rhode Island (21-8).

Katrina Gaither scored 18 points and hauled in 13 rebounds as Notre Dame (23-7) used ball-hawking defense and sharpshooting offense to eliminate Purdue 73-60. The Boilermakers finished 20-11.

Michi Atkins had 30 points and 13 rebounds to propel No. 9 Texas Tech past pesky Portland 78-61. The game was tied 44-44 with 11 minutes left. Atkins scored six points as Tech took control with a 13-0 run. The Pilots finished 20-11.

Tracy Henderson had 21 points as Georgia (24-4), which closed out the first half with a 21-3 run, beat St. Francis. Pa. (19-11), 98-66.

Mideast

Barb Franke scored 24 points and Ann Klapperich added 16 for 18th-ranked Wisconsin (21-7), which blew open a tight game at the start of the second half by working the ball inside to beat 11th-seeded Oregon 74-60. The Ducks finished 18-11.

Latasha Byears scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and four other Blue Demons were in double figures as DePaul (21-9) beat SMU 96-82.

Sheri Sam scored a career-high 39 points as Vanderbilt (21-7) rallied in the second half for a 100-83 win over Harvard (20-7).

Tangela Smith and Tiffany Gooden each scored 15 points and Smith had 14 rebounds as Iowa (26-3) beat Butler 72-67. Butler finished 21-9.

West

Muriel Davis and Chasity Melvin each had 17 points as North Carolina State (20-9) wore down Montana 77-68. Montana (24-5), the Big Sky champion for the 11th time in 14 years, fell behind by as many as 11 points.

Shalonda Enis scored 32 points and Dominique Canty had 31 as Alabama (23-7) routed Appalachian State (24-6) 95-66.

Kim Calhoun scored 24 points and Penn State (26-6) overcame a slow start with a 19-0 second-half run to eliminate Youngstown State (20-9) 94-71.

Kristen Morehouse scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds as No. 18 Auburn (21-8) beat Hawaii (23-6) 73-53, the Big West postseason tournament champion.

Erin Scholz scored 19 points and Raegan Scott added 17 as No. 17 Colorado (26-8) used its inside presence to defeat Tulane (21-10) 83-75.