Women’s Top 25 Capsules: No. 22 Belmont women win OVC, first into NCAA field

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Julie McCabe had 19 points and 10 rebounds and No. 22 Belmont became the first team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, beating Tennessee-Martin 63-56 in overtime Saturday in the Ohio Valley Conference championship game.

Belmont (31-3) stayed alive in regulation with 3-pointers from Maura Muensterman with 14.6 seconds to go and Darby Maggard with 4.5 seconds left. The Bruins even got the final possession after forcing a five-second count on the inbound but didn’t get off a last shot.

Kylee Smith and Maggard each added 15 points to helo the Bruins run their winning streak to a school- record 22 games. They’ve beaten OVC opponents 46 straight.

Janekia Mason had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the second-seeded Skyhawks (19-14). They missed their last three shots in regulation and first five in overtime.

(2) Mississippi State 70, (15) Texas A&M 55

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Victoria Vivians scored 22 points and Mississippi State remained in position to add a Southeastern Conference Tournament title to its regular-season championship.

The Bulldogs (32-0) reached the title game for a third straight year and extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 32 games. They will play No. 8 South Carolina, the three-time defending tournament champion, on Sunday.

Chennedy Carter led Texas A&M (24-9) with 27 points.

(3) Baylor 83, Kansas State 54

OKLAHOMA CITY – Kalani Brown scored 26 points and Baylor beat Kansas State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Brown, a 6-foot-7 center who was named Big 12 Player of the Year this week, made 9 of 12 shots and had 13 rebounds. Dekeiya Cohen had 19 points, and Juicy Landrum added 14 for the Lady Bears (29-1). They shot 50.8 percent from the floor en route to their 26th straight victory.

Baylor will face TCU in the semifinals.

Kayla Goth scored 24 points for Kansas State (16-15).

(4) Louisville 64, (23) N.C. State 59

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sam Fuehring scored 15 points and Louisville held off North Carolina State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The top-seeded Cardinals (31-2) will face No. 5 Notre Dame in the final,

Chelsea Nelson scored 20 points for the Wolfpack (24-8).

(5) Notre Dame 90, (11) Florida State 80

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Marina Mabrey scored a season-high 27 points in Notre Dame’s comeback victory over Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals.

The second-seeded Fighting Irish (29-2) rallied from eight down in the third quarter in their pursuit of a record-tying fifth straight tournament title. They will face No. 4 Louisville in the title game.

Shakayla Thomas had 24 points for the Seminoles (25-6).

(6) Oregon 65, (9) UCLA 62

SEATTLE – Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points and Oregon scored the final 10 points to rally past UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals.

UCLA opened a 62-55 lead on Kennedy Burke’s jumper with 5:28 remaining, but the Bruins failed to score again. Oregon (29-4) advanced the title game against the winner of the late game between No. 16 Stanford and Arizona State.

Jordin Canada had 19 points for the Bruins (24-7).

(7) Texas 81, Iowa State 69

OKLAHOMA CITY – Ariel Atkins scored 25 points and Texas beat Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Atkins made 10 of 15 field goals and 5 of 6 3-pointers. Jatarie White had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Brooke McCarty added 12 points and seven assists to help the Longhorns (25-5) advanced to play West Virginia.

Emily Durr and Bridget Carleton each scored 25 points for the Cyclones (3-18).

(8) South Carolina 71, (19) Georgia 49

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A’ja Wilson had 21 points and 11 rebounds and South Carolina routed Georgia to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship for the fourth straight year.

Wilson came off the bench for a second straight game after a bout of vertigo kept her out of the regular-season finale and left her questionable for the tournament.

Three-time defending tournament champ South Carolina (25-6) will play No. 2 Mississippi State for something no SEC team has ever managed – a fourth straight title.

Mackenzie Engram led the Bulldogs (25-6) with 10 points.

(13) Ohio State 90, Minnesota 88

INDIANAPOLIS – Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 points, and Stephanie Mavunga had 26 points, a Big Ten Tournament-record 21 rebounds and seven blocks in Ohio State’s semifinal victory.

The top-seeded Buckeyes didn’t secure a spot in the championship game until Carlie Wagner’s 12-foot jumper from the right of the lane bounced off the rim as time expired.

Ohio State (26-6) will face No. 17 Maryland for the title.

Kenisha Bell had 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Minnesota (23-8). Wagner had 26.

(16) Stanford 58, Arizona State 46

SEATTLE – Freshman Kiana Williams scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including a season-high six 3-pointers, to help No. 16 Stanford beat Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals.

Alanna Smith added 13 points for second-seeded Stanford.

The Cardinal will play top-seeded and No. 6 Oregon in the championship game Sunday. Stanford (22-9) beat the Ducks 78-65 on Feb. 4 in the only other meeting between the teams this season.

Kianna Ibis made a jumper to give No. 6 seed Arizona State (21-12) a 2-0 lead, but the Sun Devils missed their next nine – and 13 of their next 14 – field-goal attempts as Stanford (22-9) used a 27-5 run to open a 20-point lead.

(17) Maryland 66, Nebraska 53

INDIANAPOLIS – Brianna Fraser scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Eleanna Christinaki had 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in Maryland’s victory in the Big Ten semifinals.

Maryland (25-6) will play No. 13 Ohio State in the championship game Sunday.

Janay Morton led Nebraska (21-10) with 15 points.

(21) Green Bay 62, Northern Kentucky 49

DETROIT – Allie LeClaire scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and Green Bay pulled away from Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League quarterfinals.

The top-seeded Phoenix (27-3) will play the winner of the Youngstown State-Milwaukee game Sunday in the semifinals Monday.

Molly Glick had 16 points for Northern Kentucky (9-22).