Women’s NCAA Tournament takeaways: Notre Dame, Virginia use upsets to punch Sweet 16 tickets

After a few days of (mostly) predictably outcomes, Monday’s second round brought the havoc.

No. 10 seed Virginia became a rare women’s NCAA Tournament Cinderella by upsetting No. 2 seed Iowa in double overtime at Carver Hawkeye Arena. Then, No. 6 seed Notre Dame booted No. 3 seed Ohio State behind the heroics of Hannah Hidalgo, making this the third straight season the Buckeyes have exited early as the hosting team.

No. 1 UConn 98, No. 9 Syracuse 45

In her final game in Gampel Pavillion, Azzi Fudd put on a show and UConn made a statement as it punched its ticket to the Sweet 16.

The Huskies came out against Syracuse firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 33-8 first-quarter lead that left the Orange digging themselves out of an increasingly deep hole the rest of the game. After building that sizable early lead, the Huskies built from there, finishing with 98-45 second-round win.

Fudd, for her part, finished by matching a career-high 34 points while shooting 72% from the floor and 73% from deep on eight 3-point attempts. She added four steals, five assists and three boards while playing just 28 minutes.

“Tonight was really special,” Fudd said on ESPN after the game. “To have one last night to soak this in, embrace it, enjoy – it was amazing.”

Sarah Strong had an uber efficient 24 minutes – 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal – while Blanca Quiñonez added 18 points, three rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Some other highlights from the Huskies’ high-scoring bonanza:

• During the second quarter, the Huskies went on a 31-0 run.

• UConn shot 66% from the floor in the first half.

• Six players had at least three assists.

Despite the 53-point win, the total doesn’t even rank among the top-10 biggest blowouts in NCAA Tournament history. Baylor holds that record, with an 89-point win over Texas Southern in 2017. Among the top-10 largest margins in March Madness, UConn has five.

It’s not as though the Orange were a complete defensive pushover this season. Syracuse ranked among the top 50 in defense, giving up 74.4 points per game, and among ACC teams, the Orange ranked sixth in scoring defense. The most points the Orange gave up this season were 87 points (twice, to Louisville and Cal).

On the other end, it was nearly an equally impressive defensive outing for UConn. The Huskies held Syracuse to its season low and allowed just one 3-pointer all game (on 18 attempts). UConn forced 20 turnovers (16 in the first half) and recorded 15 steals. – Chantel Jennings

No. 6 Notre Dame 83, No. 3 Ohio State 73

Ohio State was upset at home for the third NCAA Tournament in a row. The No. 3 seed Buckeyes were taken out this time by No. 6 seed Notre Dame and All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo.

Upsets at home have become a staple for coach Kevin McGuff just as much as hosting the first and second rounds has. The Buckeyes are one of just six teams to host in each of the past four tournaments, but the only one to have lost at home in three of them.

Two seasons ago, Ohio State lost as a No. 2 seed to No. 7 seed Duke. Last season, as a No. 4 seed, the Buckeyes fell to No. 5 seed Tennessee. On Monday, it was the Irish and Hidalgo, the ACC Player of the Year, who took them down.

Hidalgo is one of the best scorers in the country, but she also leads the nation in steals. She nearly notched a triple-double against the Buckeyes, scoring 26 points to go with 13 rebounds and eight steals. Five Notre Dame players finished in double-digits as the Irish advanced to their fifth straight Sweet 16.

Ohio State guard Jaloni Cambridge finished with a career-high 41 points in the game, but no other Ohio State player scored more than 10 points.

Notre Dame, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, will play the winner of No. 2 seed Vanderbilt and No. 7 seed Illinois in the Fort Worth 1 Region. – Cameron Teague Robinson

No. 10 Virginia 83, No. 2 Iowa 75 (2OT)

Iowa became the first seed highest seed so far to drop out of the tournament, falling to the last double-digit seed remaining in the field.

No. 10 seed Virginia beat No. 2 seed Iowa 83-75 in double overtime on Monday. The Cavaliers are making the most of the tournament, winning a play-in game to stay alive and reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in 26 years. The Cavaliers became the first No. 10 seed to advance to the regional rounds in four years. Virginia will face No. 3 seed TCU in the Sweet 16 at Sacramento, Calif. – Scott Dochterman

No. 3 Louisville 69, No. 6 Alabama 68

For the 13th time since he took over the program in 2008, Jeff Walz has led Louisville to the Sweet 16.

The third-seeded Cardinals held on to beat No. 6 seed Alabama on Monday afternoon, 69-68 at the KFC Yum! Center. And yes, the game was just as entertaining as the score would suggest.

With 18 lead changes and eight ties, the teams took turns trading blows and finished the afternoon with identical points in the paint (24) and near-identical field goal percentages (46 for Alabama, 45 for Louisville). Alabama freshman guard Ace Austin, who entered the game averaging just 6.6 points per game and was scoreless against Rhode Island in Round 1, led the Crimson Tide with 17 points. But the Cardinals dominated Alabama on the boards and were powered by forward Elif Istanbulluoglu and guard Tajianna Roberts, who both finished with 18 points. (Istanbulluoglu also hauled in 11 rebounds). For star forward Laura Ziegler, who finished with 12 points, her last dance continues on after transferring from St. Joseph’s ahead of this season.

The Cardinals now get No. 2 seed Michigan later this week, catching the Wolverines as they play some of their best basketball.

Bonus points for at least one family in March Madness: Both Graves sisters, Rebekah for Louisville and Sarah for Texas, are now both headed to Fort Worth. Should the Cardinals and Longhorns both win their Sweet 16 matchups, we’d get a sister matchup in the Elite Eight. – Grace Raynor