Results from the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday.
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ALBANY REGION
No. 1 UCONN 71, No. 9 QUINNIPIAC 46
STORRS, Conn. (AP) - Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and UConn beat in-state neighbor Quinnipiac to advance to a 25th straight Sweet 16.
Azura Stevens added 14 points and Kia Nurse chipped in with 13 for the Huskies (34-0), who found themselves in a much slower-paced game than their 140-52 first-round rout of Saint Francis (Pa.).
But Connecticut was not threatened in this one either. They opened with a 9-2 run and never trailed.
Jen Fay had 12 points to lead the ninth-seeded Bobcats (28-6), who saw their school-record 23-game winning streak snapped.
Quinnipiac got plenty of open looks, but hit just four of 24 shots from 3-point range, including just one of 12 from in the first half.
No. 5 DUKE 66, No. 4 GEORGIA 40
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - Leaonna Odom scored 16 points and Duke’s defense was dominant, holding Georgia to two second-quarter points.
Lexie Brown and Erin Mathias each had 14 points for Duke (24-8), which will play UConn in the Albany Regional on Saturday.
Georgia (26-7) made only 1 of 19 shots in the second period. The Lady Bulldogs set season lows for fewest points in a period and game and lowest field-goal percentage (24.0) in a game.
The Lady Bulldogs missed their first 13 3-pointers before Simone Costa sank a 3 midway through the final period.
The shooting woes even carried over to the free-throw line, where the Lady Bulldogs made only 7 of 14 shots.
While Georgia struggled, Duke shot 50 percent from the field to overcome 21 turnovers.
Caliya Robinson led Georgia with 11 points and 12 rebounds. No other Georgia player had more than five points.
No. 11 BUFFALO 86, No. 3 FLORIDA STATE 65
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Cierra Dillard scored 22 points and Buffalo shocked Florida State to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
The Bulls, who were one of the last four to earn an at-large berth in the 64-team field, shot 47.4 percent from the field and went 24 of 26 from the foul line. They also held the Seminoles to 3 of 25 on 3-pointers and 33.8 percent from the field.
Buffalo (29-5) won’t have far to go for the regional semifinal as it will face defending champion and second-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in Albany, New York.
It is the first time that in eight games that Florida State (26-7) has dropped an NCAA Tournament contest when it has been the host.
Shakayla Thomas led Florida State with 25 points in her final game.
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KANSAS CITY REGION
No. 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE 71, No. 9 OKLAHOMA STATE 56
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Victoria Vivians scored 23 points, Teaira McCowan added 21 points and 18 rebounds and Mississippi State earned a hard-fought win over Oklahoma State.
Top-seeded Mississippi State (34-1) also got 17 points from Morgan William, who hit several crucial baskets throughout the game. McCowan scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and shot 8 of 12 from the field.
Oklahoma State (21-11) was hurt when starting guard Loryn Goodwin picked up her fourth foul with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter. She stayed in the game, but her defensive presence was limited and that was around the time that Mississippi State went on a 10-2 lead to open up a 51-43 advantage.
William made a jumper a few seconds before the third-quarter buzzer to give the Bulldogs their biggest lead in the game at 55-45 and they slowly pulled away.
Oklahoma State, the No. 9 seed, was led by Kaylee Jensen’s 18 points. Goodwin added 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
No. 2 TEXAS 85, No. 7 ARIZONA STATE 65
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Lashann Higgs scored 19 points and Brooke McCarty scored 15 as Texas booked its fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 with a win over Arizona State.
Higgs scored 15 in the first half, and McCarty took over in the third quarter with 10 points in a 14-2 run that pushed the Longhorns to a big lead and never let the Sun Devils recover. McCarty had a pair of 3-pointers in the run and her nifty drives and assists made sure the No. 2-seed Longhorns (28-6) avoided the same kind of home court upsets that hit several host teams earlier in the evening.
The No. 7-seed Sun Devils had played eventual national champion South Carolina within a minute of a huge upset in the second round last season, but saw any hopes of catching the Longhorns disappear in the decisive third quarter.
Kianna Ibis scored 27 to lead Arizona State (22-13).
No. 3 UCLA 86, No. 11 CREIGHTON 64
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jordin Canada scored 21 points and Japreece Dean added 16 points to lead UCLA to a victory over Creighton.
UCLA (26-7) reaches the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year and advances to the Kansas City Regional and will face Texas on Friday.
Canada, made six of seven shots and dished out eight assists to lead the Bruins. The senior guard, the Pac 12 defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Conference guard, has scored 20 or more points in six of her last eight games.
Monique Billings scored 15 points and Kennedy Burke added 11 points for UCLA.
Audrey Faber led Creighton with 20 points and Olivia Elger added 13 for the Bluejays.
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SPOKANE REGION
No. 11 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 95, No. 3 OHIO STATE 78
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Presley Hudson scored 28 points and Central Michigan stunned Ohio State to earn the school’s first ever trip to the Sweet 16.
Cassie Breen threw the ball high in the air as the clock wound down and the joyous Central Michigan players jumped, screamed and hugged as they celebrated the biggest win in school history.
The Chippewas had won their first tournament game ever in Saturday’s first-round upset of No. 6 Louisiana State. With the upset of Ohio State, they advance to face No. 2 Oregon in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday.
Central Michigan (30-4) out-rebounded and out-hustled Ohio State, played taut defense, hit a season-high 14 3-pointers and kept the Buckeyes at bay late in the game.
The Chippewas got plenty of help in the upset from the unusually error-prone Buckeyes, who got behind in the first half and then were run over by momentum and couldn’t climb back in. Central Michigan led by as much as 23 points in the second half as Ohio State struggled to put together a run that would shift the tide.
All-American guard Kelsey Mitchell led Ohio State (28-7) with 28 points but hit just 11 of her 29 shots from the floor.
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LEXINGTON REGION
No. 4 STANFORD 90, No. 12 FLORIDA GULF COAST 70
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Alanna Smith scored 28 points with four 3-pointers, Brittany McPhee added 17 points and nine rebounds and Stanford is headed back to the Lexington Regional for a third straight March after beating scrappy Florida Gulf Coast.
Freshman Kiana Williams shined on the big stage for the second time in three days with 12 points and six assists for the Cardinal (24-10), on to the Sweet 16 for the 11th straight season.
Florida Gulf Coast (31-5) set the single-season 3-point record with 431, breaking Sacramento State’s mark of 424 from 2014-15, but didn’t have the depth or talent to keep up against a taller Stanford team that made it hard for the Eagles to do their signature move: drive and dish.
China Dow scored 23 points all in the second half to lead the Eagles.
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