The ladies’s NCAA match rolls on Monday with eight second-round video games. The day is headlined by none apart from Caitlin Clark and top-seeded Iowa, who play in primetime on ESPN. JuJu Watkins and No. 1 USC are additionally in motion tonight, one in every of two evening caps to wrap up the day.
Girls’s March Insanity video games are airing and streaming throughout ESPN’s household of channels. USA TODAY Sports activities will present the newest information, scores, evaluation and extra all day. Comply with alongside.
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NCAA girls’s March Insanity bracket
You’ll find the entire girls’s March Insanity bracket right here.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, groups and extra.
Girls’s March Insanity scores
Right here is the scoreboard for immediately’s second-round video games within the NCAA girls’s match.
Girls’s March Insanity video games immediately
Right here is the total schedule for Monday’s NCAA girls’s match video games.
Creighton beginning to draw back from UCLA
No. 7 Creighton had as a lot as a 10-point lead within the second quarter and is up 42-34 over No. 2 UCLA heading into the halftime break.
The Bluejays have made 5 three-point photographs and have two gamers in double-digits already — Lauren Jensen has 17 and Emma Ronsiek has 12. Lauren Betts has 14 factors for the Bruins, who’ve two starters with two fouls.
Iowa pulling away
This could be getting away from West Virginia.
Caitlin Clark and top-seeded Iowa are on a 10-0 run and have opened up a 38-26 lead on West Virginia halfway via the third quarter. Making issues worse for the Mountaineers, Kylee Blacksten has picked up her fourth foul and is, briefly not less than, on the bench.
Is Gabriela Jaquez associated to Jaime Jaquez Jr.?
Sure! UCLA’s sophomore ahead Gabriela Jaquez is the youthful sister of Miami Warmth rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. Each siblings reached the Candy 16 with the Bruins final yr.
The older brother was the Pac-12 participant of the yr in his senior season when he averaged 17.8 factors per recreation. He was then drafted No. 18 general by the Warmth.
This yr, Gabriela is averaging 10 factors and 5.5 rebounds a recreation. Her crew is at present taking over Creighton for one more Candy 16 berth.
Creighton and UCLA battling early
After one quarter of play, the No. 7 Creighton Bluejays have a razor-thin 20-19 lead over the No. 2 UCLA Bruins.
Creighton has led many of the second-round recreation thus far, however UCLA has had a number of transient leads.
Senior guard Lauren Jensen is main the Bluejays with 11 factors. Sophomore heart Lauren Betts has 12 factors for the Bruins.
Former Bruin and present WNBA star Jordin Canada is within the constructing.
Iowa clinging to steer at halftime
Caitlin Clark and No. 1-seeded Iowa had about as unhealthy 1 / 4 of basketball as you may have.
Luckily for them, West Virginia wasn’t significantly better and the Hawkeyes are clinging to a 26-24 lead on the half.
Iowa had a season-low six factors within the second quarter and went the final 4:49 with out scoring. After scoring 9, all on 3s, within the first quarter, Clark had simply two. Faculty basketball’s all-time main scorer made one in every of 5 photographs within the quarter, and was 0-for-3 from lengthy vary.
Iowa additionally has 9 turnovers, which West Virginia has was 10 factors.
“We’ve received to make higher passing choices proper now. 9 turnovers and that’s method too many for us,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder, clearly annoyed, advised ESPN at halftime.
The Mountaineers couldn’t benefit from Iowa’s lull as a result of they have been in one in every of their very own, going oh-fer the final 2:11 of the second quarter. And one thing to keep watch over: J.J. Quinerly, who leads West Virginia with practically 20 factors a recreation, appeared to tweak her ankle late within the second quarter. She went to the bench and it regarded as if she was utilizing an digital stim machine, however she was again in a couple of minutes later.
Quinerly and Kyah Watson every have 7 for West Virginia.
Indiana comes again to oust Oklahoma
No. 4 Indiana got here again after No. 5 Oklahoma led many of the second half to win 75-68 in a second-round matchup.
The Hoosiers pulled away within the fourth quarter and end the season undefeated at Meeting Corridor.
Mackenzie Holmes gave the Hoosiers the lead with a layup at 1:17 and Indiana completed the sport outscoring Oklahoma 9-4.
The ultimate minute capped off the back-and-forth recreation. There have been 5 timeouts between the 2 groups and 5 fouls referred to as.
Holmes had 29 factors, six rebounds and 4 blocks. Skylar Vann led the Sooners with 20 factors and eight rebounds.
Indiana will try to dethrone No. 1 South Carolina within the Candy 16.
Iowa takes lead after first quarter on Clark’s 3-pointers
Caitlin Clark is already cooking.
Faculty basketball’s all-time main scorer has 9 factors within the first quarter, all from 3-point vary, and top-seeded Iowa appears to have withstood an early problem from West Virginia. The Hawkeyes are up by 5, 20-15, after the primary quarter.
The Hawkeyes regarded out of sync early, maybe feeling the impression of the ultimate recreation at Carver-Hawkeye Area for starters Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. However Clark discovered her groove and Hannah Stuelke is making her presence recognized across the basket, grabbing 4 boards and blocking two photographs.
Iowa wants to observe the turnovers, although. The Hawkeyes have already got 5, and West Virginia has turned them into seven factors.
49ers’ George Kittle wears spouse’s Iowa jersey to recreation
George Kittle is in the home in Iowa Metropolis to observe Caitlin Clark and the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes tackle the No. 8 West Virginia Mountaineers within the second spherical. The San Francisco 49ers tight finish is sporting his spouse, Claire Until’s jersey. She performed for the Hawkeyes from 2012 to 2016.
Kittle went to Tremendous Bowl 58 and misplaced to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. He will probably be part of the upcoming Netflix sequence, “Receiver.”
Molly Davis out once more
Molly Davis is not going to make her return tonight.
Iowa’s guard has been out since injuring her knee within the regular-season finale, lacking the Massive Ten match and Saturday’s first-round win in opposition to Holy Cross. She’s been doing aggressive bodily remedy, and Iowa coach Lisa Bluder mentioned final week she hoped the Hawkeyes would possibly get her again for the senior’s final recreation at Carver-Hawkeye Area.
“I might say no to Saturday,” Bluder mentioned Friday. “I’m hoping for Monday.”
However Davis was in road garments for the sport in opposition to West Virginia.
Davis has appeared in 30 video games for the Hawkeyes this season, beginning 27 of them, and averages 6.1 factors per recreation.
UConn headed to thirtieth straight Candy 16
No. 6 Syracuse made them work for it, however No. 3 Connecticut got here out on prime 72-64 of their second-round matchup to advance to their thirtieth straight Candy 16 look.
Freshman KK Arnold electrified Gampel Pavilion when she nailed a three-point shot with an help from Paige Beuckers to make it a two-play recreation with 29 seconds left.
Syracuse went on an 8-0 run to convey the sport inside two, however Beuckers nailed a jumpshot to convey the Huskies lead again to 4.
Beuckers completed with 32 factors, 11 rebounds, six assists and 4 steals.
For the Orange, Dyaisha Truthful ends her faculty profession with a 20-point efficiency with six assists, 4 rebounds and three steals. She turned the fourth main scorer in girls’s faculty basketball historical past throughout the recreation was visibly emotional when the clock hit zero. She held her jersey as much as her face as she cried.
Connecticut will play No. 7 Duke within the Candy 16.
Oklahoma-Indiana nonetheless shut heading into fourth quarter
No. 5 Oklahoma is up 48-46 over No. 4 Indiana via three quarters of their second-round matchup.
Skylar Vann has 16 factors for the Sooners and Mackenzie Holmes has 17 for the Hoosiers in a recreation that’s wanting prefer it’s happening to the wire.
Connecticut clinging to steer with Paige Beuckers, Dyaisha Truthful battling
The No. 3 Huskies are up 53-44 over the No. 6 Orange coming into the fourth quarter of their second-round matchup.
Paige Beuckers has 25 factors and 7 rebounds for the Huskies. Dyaisha Truthful is coming alive within the second half and has 11 factors, together with a three-point play the place she was fouled on a layup and made the free throw. The additional level made her the fourth-leading scorer in girls’s faculty historical past and lower Connecticut’s result in 4.
Dyaisha Truthful turns into fourth-leading scorer in girls’s faculty basketball historical past
After a gritty efficiency overcoming harm within the first spherical of the NCAA Match, Dyaisha Truthful made historical past in second-round play.
Within the third quarter of Syracuse’s recreation in opposition to Connecticut, she handed Jackie Stiles to turn out to be the fourth-leading scorer in girls’s faculty historical past. Truthful scored her 3,394th profession level with a free throw.
She has 11 factors for the Orange thus far.
Oklahoma enters half with slight lead over Indiana
The No. 5 Sooners gave followers a touch of momentum within the first quarter that they established within the second. Oklahoma goes into the half up 30-29 over No. 4 Indiana in hopes of reaching the Candy 16.
Payton Verhulst made a three-pointer as the primary play of the second quarter to interrupt a tie and the Sooners have been up practically your entire interval.
Sara Scalia gave the Hoosiers a fast one-point lead with a three-point bucket with 1:12 left earlier than the half. It was her first factors of the sport. However Skylar Vann answered with a brief shot of her personal to place the Sooners again up.
Vann has 10 factors for the Sooners. Sydney Parrish has 12 factors and 5 rebounds for the Hoosiers.
Indiana and Oklahoma tied after first quarter
It’s neck-and-neck as No. 4 Indiana and No. 5 Oklahoma are tied at 19 after the primary quarter of their second-round matchup.
Oklahoma squeaked in a four-point lead with layups from Aubrey Joens and Kiersten Johnson, however that’s as far forward as both crew has gotten. Senior ahead Skylar Vann has eight factors for the Sooners and graduate scholar ahead Mackenzie Holmes has the identical quantity for the Hoosiers.
Connecticut pulling away from Syracuse on the half
Paige Beuckers is doing what Paige Bueckers does.
No. 3 Connecticut went on a 12-2 run within the second quarter to enter halftime up 39-28 over No. 6 Syracuse. The star guard has 20 factors and 5 rebounds for the Huskies.
Georgia Woolley introduced the sport inside six for the Orange late within the interval, however Beuckers squashed the comeback with three scores of her personal.
There wasn’t a free throw till 2:30 on the clock when Woolley was fouled. Dyaisha Truthful has but to attain.
Connecticut clinging to steer over Syracuse after first quarter
No. 3 seed Connecticut is main No. 6 seed Syracuse 18-16 after the primary quarter in a second-round matchup.
It’s been a tightly contested recreation with Syracuse up by 4 at one level. Paige Bueckers has eight factors for the Huskies. Georgia Woolley and Sophie Burrows every have six factors for the Orange. Woolley has two fouls.
NC State, Aziaha James knock out Tennessee, 79-72
The closest Tennessee received was two factors.
With a Candy 16 journey on the road, the Woman Volunteers practically erased a 20-point deficit, however NC State’s clutch shot making and tight protection was sufficient to drag the Wolfpack via, 79-72.
NC State guard Aziaha James led all Wolfpack scorers with 22 factors and added seven assists. Fellow guard Saniya Rivers added 20 factors and Zoe Brooks chipped in 16 off the bench.
For Tennessee, star ahead Rickea Jackson helped spark the comeback try, dropping 33 factors on 13-of-22 capturing and including 10 rebounds. She accounted for practically half of Tennessee’s factors on the day.
Although Tennessee drastically slowed NC State’s transition alternatives on offense within the second half, the Wolfpack created an enormous drawback for the Woman Vols, outscoring Tennessee 29-13 on fast-break factors. NC State additionally dominated down low, outscoring Tennessee 40-28 within the paint.
The Wolfpack will play No. 2 Stanford within the Candy 16.
Tennessee has outscored NC State 32-16 since halftime
Tennessee is using a second-half surge to take its second-round recreation in opposition to NC State all the way down to the wire. The Woman Volunteers have doubled up NC State within the second half, outscoring the Wolfpack 32-16 since intermission.
Star ahead Rickea Jackson has been the catalyst, pouring in 31 factors on 12-of-20 capturing. NC State is up 65-63, with 3:44 left to play and a Candy 16 berth on the road.
Tennessee cuts into NC State’s lead heading into ultimate quarter
Tennessee within the third quarter chipped away on the NC State lead, outscoring the Wolfpack by 10 to make it an eight-point recreation headed into the fourth.
The Wolfpack are up 58-50, as Tennessee made a wonderful adjustment to drop again extra our bodies in transition to sluggish NC State’s tempo. Within the first half, the Wolfpack had scored 20 fast-break factors; within the third quarter, they didn’t rating a single level in transition.
Tennessee senior guard Jasmine Powell was instrumental on the offensive finish, flattening a 3 pointer and attacking and drawing three fouls earlier than changing all six free throws.
NC State’s general capturing dipped to under 50% within the third quarter, with the Wolfpack now 24-of-50 (48%) from the ground.
NC State has massive lead over Tennessee at halftime
NC State started the second quarter a lot in the best way it ended the primary: forcing turnovers, pushing the ball up the ground and getting baskets in transition.
The Woman Volunteers tried a defensive zone, and whereas they barely slowed NC State’s momentum halfway via the second quarter, the problem for Tennessee was that it didn’t make sufficient photographs to ascertain its typical protection.
NC State takes a commanding 49-31 lead into halftime, after Tennessee scored simply eight factors within the second quarter. In reality, going again to late within the first quarter, NC State is on a 32-8 run.
Woman Volunteers star ahead Rickea Jackson, who scored 14 factors within the first quarter, had simply two within the second.
NC State has an edge in steals (3-1), quick break factors (20-5), factors within the paint (24-8), turnovers dedicated (2-6) and rebounds (19-13).
Each of NC State’s stellar guards, Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James, scored 12 factors.
NC State leads Tennessee after first quarter of fast-paced recreation
The tempo and offensive tempo within the second-round matchup between No. 6 Tennessee and No. 3 NC State has been enthralling.
Each groups have been seeking to rise up on quick breaks, however it’s the Wolfpack who closed the primary quarter on a 7-0 run to say an early lead, 24-23.
Tennessee star senior ahead Rickea Jackson wanted solely four-and-a-half minutes to achieve double figures, and made 4 of her first six photographs, together with her first two 3-pointers, to attain 14 factors within the first body.
NC State is getting extra balanced offensive manufacturing with three gamers — heart River Baldwin and guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers — every with not less than six factors.
The Wolfpack have already scored 10 quick break factors, in comparison with Tennessee’s 5, and NC State additionally holds a 12-4 benefit in factors within the paint.
Notre Dame reaches Candy 16 by toppling Ole Miss
For the third time in Niele Ivey’s 4 seasons as Notre Dame’s head coach, her program is headed to the Candy 16.
Due to a stifling zone protection, No. 2 Notre Dame toppled No. 7 Ole Miss 71-56 in its second-round recreation and can face No. 3 Oregon State Friday.
Within the fourth quarter, Ole Miss turned to full-court press and ramped up its defensive depth to attempt to spark a run, however the Combating Irish relied on their very own defensive depth and compelled 22 turnovers to shut the sport.
Notre Dame, because it has many of the season, received huge contributions from its massive three: freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo (19 factors, 4 assists), junior ahead Maddy Westbeld (20 factors, 4 rebounds) and junior guard Sonia Citron (17 factors, 10 rebounds and 6 assists).
Notre Dame shot 26-of-52 (50%) from the sphere and restricted Ole Miss to only 22-of-57 (38.6%).
Ole Miss extra aggressive, however Notre Dame nonetheless leads massive
Ole Miss stopped the bleeding, roughly, however it’s showing as if that received’t be near sufficient.
Notre Dame outscored the Rebels by solely two factors within the third quarter, however the Combating Irish nonetheless retain a large lead.
Notre Dame is up 61-42 and is one quarter away from reserving its third consecutive journey to the Candy 16.
The Combating Irish have been deliberate and measured of their offensive strategy, swinging the ball to seek out areas in Ole Miss’ protection, attacking after which ending — or making the additional go. Notre Dame has recorded 15 assists on its 24 made subject objectives, in contrast with solely seven on Ole Miss’ 18.
Notre Dame additionally has been dominating within the paint, outscoring Ole Miss 30-20 there.
Notre Dame up massive at half over Ole Miss
Within the first half, Notre Dame’s 2-3 zone brought on all kinds of issues for Ole Miss.
The Rebels struggled to seek out gaps within the defensive stress and sometimes had their possessions run deep into the shot clock, forcing up rushed and contested photographs, or – even worse – committing turnovers.
The Combating Irish compelled Ole Miss into 13 turnovers and restricted the Rebels to only 11 of 29 (37.9%) from the ground. The Notre Dame zone additionally prevented Ole Miss from making straightforward entry passes into the put up.
Notre Dame junior ahead Maddy Westbeld led all scorers with 14 factors, together with the ultimate bucket earlier than halftime, off of an offensive rebound. Star freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo added 9 factors, three rebounds and three assists.
The Irish are up 43-26 on the half. —Lorenzo Reyes
Notre Dame up early on Mississippi
The conclusion of the ladies’s second spherical is underway in South Bend, Ind.
Taking part in on their dwelling court docket, the second-seeded Notre Dame Combating Irish have a 21-9 lead over No. 7 Ole Miss on the finish of the primary quarter.
The Irish linked on 50% of their photographs from the sphere within the quarter, together with 3 of 6 from 3-point vary. Freshman Hannah Hidalgo leads the best way for Notre Dame with six factors and a pair of steals.
The Rebels shot simply 23.5% from the sphere for the quarter – and their 11-point deficit is the biggest they’ve confronted after one quarter all season. — Steve Gardner
Notre Dame and Ole Miss tip off
The primary of the final video games in Spherical 2 of the ladies’s March Insanity bracket has gotten underway, as No. 2 seed Notre Dame takes on No. 7 seed Ole Miss.
The best way to watch girls’s NCAA Match video games
The ESPN household of networks will carry all of the girls’s match video games. So you’ll find them on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC. The primary recreation ideas at 2 p.m. ET and the final recreation ideas at 10:30 p.m. Here is how one can watch girls’s March Insanity like a professional.
What number of factors has Caitlin Clark scored?
Iowa, wealthy with basketball historical past, loves Caitlin Clark a lot they carved her out of butter
“Clearly I by no means anticipated to be sculpted out of butter,” Clark mentioned, laughing as she recalled the August 2023 statue that went viral. “However in case you’re from the state of Iowa, you recognize that’s a very massive deal. You go to the state truthful simply to see the butter sculptures.”
Learn Lindsay Schnell’s full function on Clark and Iowa.
Girls’s March Insanity bracket predictions
Listed here are all of immediately’s NCAA girls’s match second-round recreation picks from USA TODAY Sports activities consultants Nancy Armour, Scooby Axson, Ellen Horrow and Lindsay Schnell.
Girls’s March Insanity gamers to observe immediately
- Notre Dame G Hannah Hidalgo (23.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.6 spg), essentially the most annoying on-ball defender within the nation who can get to the rim every time she needs
- Indiana F Mackenzie Holmes (20.0 ppg, 66.7% FG), a power within the paint
- UCLA F Lauren Betts (14.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 65.3% FG), can rating at-will within the paint when her teammates get her the ball
- Iowa G Caitlin Clark (31.9 ppg, 8.9 apg), the most effective scorer and most full offensive participant within the historical past of the ladies’s faculty recreation
- USC G Mckenzie Forbes (13.5 ppg, 3.3 apg), who just about solely hits massive photographs in massive moments
- UConn F Ice Brady (4.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg), who stepped up massive within the Massive East match, greater than doubling her scoring output
- N.C. State guard Saniya Rivers (12.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.9 apg), whose athleticism is often good for not less than one jaw-dropping spotlight per recreation
- Gonzaga twin Gs Kayleigh (11.9 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Kaylynne Truong (11.6 ppg, 5.9 apg), whose stats, like them, are practically an identical.
Girls’s March Insanity schedule
Right here is the ladies’s schedule:
- First spherical: March 22-23
- Second spherical: March 24-25
- Candy 16: March 29-30
- Elite Eight: March 31-April 1
- Closing 4: Friday, April 5 at 7:30 and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
- NCAA championship recreation: Sunday, April 7 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC
What to learn about Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame’s freshman star and ACC rookie of the yr
The ACC match accolades are simply the tip of the iceberg for Hidalgo, whose stellar freshman marketing campaign has additionally earned her nationwide recognition. Here is the whole lot to know in regards to the freshman standout.
Meet Syracuse’s Dyaisha Truthful, the most effective scorer in girls’s faculty basketball not named Caitlin Clark
Syracuse guard Dyaisha Truthful is the fifth all-time main scorer in girls’s faculty basketball historical past after surpassing former Baylor star Brittney Griner (3,283 factors) this season. Truthful, 22, solely trails Missouri State alum Jackie Stiles (3,393), Ohio State alum Kelsey Mitchell (3,402), Washington alum Kelsey Plum (3,527) and Clark (3,685 and counting) on the NCAA girls’s basketball all-time scoring checklist.
“She’s completely different. She’s particular. She’s top-of-the-line gamers to ever play the sport,” coach Felisha Legette-Jack advised the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, a part of the USA At the moment Community, in January when Truthful eclipsed 3,000 profession factors.
Here is the whole lot to know in regards to the Syracuse star, who has quietly climbed the all-time scoring checklist in Clark’s shadow. — Cydney Henderson
Utah’s Alissa Pili on her Polynesian heritage
To completely perceive and respect the satisfaction Utah girls’s basketball standout Alissa Pili feels for her Polynesian heritage, one wants solely to take a look at her proper leg.
Tattooed there, in distinguished show from ankle to hip, is a spiral of Polynesian tribal symbols. In historic instances, ink like that — particularly full sleeves — was usually related to warriors.
That’s additionally a becoming description for Pili, the reigning Pac-12 participant of the yr, a troublesome, relentless ahead who averages 21.0 factors and 6.4 rebounds for the No. 22 Utes. However as a result of the senior, who’s Samoan and Alaska Native (Inupiaq), additionally values femininity, she requested her tattoo artist so as to add flowers, too.
“Girls aren’t recognized for being tremendous female in our Polynesian tradition, however I believe it’s essential to not simply be caught in a field that different folks (put you in),” Pili advised USA TODAY Sports activities. “For me, I grew up taking part in soccer with my brothers and cousins, I used to be a tomboy. However I additionally prefer to be female. And if you wish to put on the (faux) lashes or placed on make-up or do your nails, it’s OK to indicate that aspect of you, too.”
Learn Lindsay Schnell’s full function right here.
Girls’s basketball wants faces of future to be Black. Enter JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo
With Caitlin Clark headed to the 2024 WNBA draft, the place she’s projected No. 1 general, Watkins, the nation’s second main scorer this season behind Clark, is positioned to turn out to be the face of ladies’s basketball. She’ll be joined by Notre Dame level guard Hannah Hidalgo, the opposite favourite for freshman of the yr.
Not misplaced on any of the powerbrokers within the recreation: Each of those gamers are Black. And in a recreation constructed by Black girls, it issues that the faces of the long run appear to be the faces of the previous.
Learn Lindsay Schnell’s full function right here.
Caitlin Clark: Full information to basketball profession of Iowa’s prolific scorer and celebrity
The postseason for Clark and Iowa begins subsequent week, with the Hawkeyes taking part in within the quarterfinals of the Massive Ten convention match. It doesn’t matter what occurs within the subsequent few days, Iowa is anticipated to earn a prime 4 seed within the NCAA match, and host the primary two rounds. A yr after main Iowa to the nationwide championship recreation, Clark is making an attempt to get again to her second consecutive Closing 4, an accomplishment few gamers have achieved. USA TODAY Sports activities has been monitoring her recreation carefully. In case it’s good to brush up in your Clark trivia, we’ve received you lined with our full information to all issues Clark.
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