DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Megan Rogowski scored 22 points and Megan Podkowa added 18 to help DePaul upset Duke 74-65 on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Brittany Hrynko added 14 for the seventh-seeded Blue Demons (29-6). They earned their third appearance in the round of 16 by hitting 14 3-pointers and forcing second-seeded Duke into 21 turnovers with their high-pressure defense.
DePaul will play the James Madison-Texas A&M winner on Saturday in the Lincoln Regional semifinals.
Elizabeth Williams scored 12 points, and seniors Haley Peters and Tricia Liston each added 11 in their final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (28-7) led for only 12 seconds and became the first top-four seed to lose in the tournament.
The Blue Devils - who made four straight appearances in the regional finals - became the first No. 2 seed to lose this early since Xavier lost to Louisville in 2011.
BYU 80, NEBRASKA 76
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Morgan Bailey tied her career high with 18 points, Jennifer Hamson had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and BYU held on to beat Nebraska, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s tournament for the first time since 2002.
Lexi Eaton added 15 points and Xojian Harry hit three 3-pointers in the final eight minutes for the 12th-seeded Cougars (28-6), who became just the third No. 12 seed to reach the final 16.
They led by 17 points in the first half on the way to their second straight upset. The Cougars defeated No. 5 seed North Carolina State in the first round at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Next up is either Connecticut or St. Joseph’s.
Tear’a Laudermill scored 22 points and Big Ten player of the year Jordan Hooper added 20 points for fourth-seeded Nebraska (26-7), which now hosts a regional it won’t be playing in.
NOTRE DAME REGIONAL
NOTRE DAME 84, ARIZONA STATE 67
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - Natalie Achonwa had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and top-seeded Notre Dame pulled away in the second half for a victory over ninth-seeded Arizona State.
The unbeaten Fighting Irish (34-0) have won their last 15 games by double digits, although the Sun Devils (23-10) kept this one close during a sloppy first half. Deja Mann scored 16 points for Arizona State.
Notre Dame led 32-26 at halftime before scoring the first six points of the second. Led by the 6-foot-3 Achonwa, the Irish outscored Arizona State 46-34 in the paint.
Kayla McBride had 22 points and nine assists for Notre Dame, which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 12th time in the last 18 years.
BAYLOR 76, CALIFORNIA 56
WACO, Texas (AP) - Odyssey Sims scored 27 points in her final home game and Baylor advanced to its sixth consecutive NCAA Sweet 16, taking over in the second half for a victory over California.
Sims punctuated a game-clinching 13-2 run with a long 3-pointer with 4½ minutes left. Baylor coach Kim Mulkey could only smile even though she appeared to be calling for a different play from the sideline. Sims scored 11 points in that spurt of about 5 minutes that pushed Baylor (31-4) ahead 66-52.
Afure Jemerigbe had 17 points and Brittany Boyd 15 for Cal (22-10), a Final Four team last season.
Baylor, the No. 2 seed in the Notre Dame Regional, has a rematch with Kentucky (26-8) on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
KENTUCKY 64, SYRACUSE 59
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Bria Goss scored 17 points and third-seeded Kentucky held off No. 6 seed Syracuse.
Goss went 11 of 12 from the foul line as the Wildcats (26-8) ground out a victory two days after beating Wright State by 46 points. Syracuse’s physical play and its 2-3 zone defense had a lot to do with disrupting Kentucky’s rhythm and scoring opportunities in a 36-percent shooting performance.
The Wildcats offset those struggles with scrappy defense that forced the Orange into 23 turnovers and held them to 33 percent shooting, culminating with a victory that earned Kentucky a berth in the round of 16 of the Notre Dame Regional.
Syracuse couldn’t follow up its first-ever NCAA tournament win, struggling to score after losing star guard Brittney Sykes to a right knee injury on Saturday. Brianna Butler had 15 points for the Orange.
OKLAHOMA STATE 73, PURDUE 66
Brittney Martin had 20 points and 20 rebounds to lead Oklahoma State past Purdue and into the Sweet 16.
The Cowgirls (25-8) won their second straight, ending a 15-game stretch in which they had alternated wins and losses.
It’s the first time since 2008 and the third time Oklahoma State has ever reached the regional semifinals. The Cowgirls will face top-seeded Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
And it came on a night the fifth-seeded Cowgirls lost star point guard Tiffany Bias for nearly 10 minutes in the second half with what appeared to be a left leg or foot injury.
Fourth-seed Purdue (22-9) was led by Whitney Bays with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
After Bias left, Purdue closed to 52-46, but the Cowgirls regained control with a 9-4 run and never let Purdue get close.
STANFORD REGIONAL
STANFORD 63, FLORIDA STATE 44
AMES, Iowa (AP) - Chiney Ogwumike had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Stanford broke open the game with a 30-2 run spanning the halves in a victory over Florida State in the second round of the NCAA women’s tournament.
The second-seeded Cardinal (31-3) won two games in Ames to advance to the regional they’ll host at Maples Pavilion starting Saturday. They’re in the Sweet 16 for the seventh year in a row.
The 10th-seeded Seminoles (21-12) struggled to score in both of their two tournament games, following a 55-44 win over Iowa State with another dud.
Lili Thompson added 14 points and Bonnie Samuelson had 11 with three 3-pointers. The Cardinal had 17 assists on 22 field goals.
LOUISVILLE REGIONAL
TENNESSEE 67, ST. JOHN’S 51
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Cierra Burdick had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Tennessee relied on its smothering defense to pull away from St. John’s for a victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Tennessee, the top seed in the Louisville Regional, advanced to a regional semifinal Sunday against the winner of Tuesday’s game between No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 5 seed Texas.
Although St. John’s (23-11) never led, the eighth-seeded Red Storm tied the game 39-39 with 16:59 remaining. St. John’s would score just two more points over the next nine minutes as its hopes for an upset disintegrated. The Red Storm shot 5 of 24 and committed 13 turnovers in the second half.
Meighan Simmons scored 17 points as Tennessee (29-5) won for the 15th time in its last 16 games. Isabelle Harrison had 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Aliyyah Handford scored 23 for St. John’s.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.