Day 2 of the NCAA girls’s event was dominated by decrease seeds. There wasn’t a single upset, however there was loads of pleasure.
From the return of Paige Bueckers to the scoring prowess of Dyaisha Honest, listed here are the highlights from Day 2:
Blue bloods in peak type: UConn and Tennessee
The 2 most historic applications in girls’s basketball placed on blue-blood performances on Saturday. Tennessee, which has appeared in each NCAA event, defeated Inexperienced Bay, 92-63. UConn, which has made it to March Insanity each season since 1991, topped Jackson State, 86-64.
The No. 6 Volunteers went up in opposition to No. 11 Inexperienced Bay, which has made its mark on mid-major basketball. The Phoenix have 19 NCAA event appearances, and got here into the postseason with regular-season wins over Creighton and Washington State.
After a decent first quarter, the place Tennessee led by two, the Volunteers outscored the Phoenix 21-7 within the second quarter en path to the blowout victory. Rickea Jackson was dominant with 26 factors and 9 rebounds, exhibiting why she’s slated to be a prime WNBA Draft choose. Sara Puckett had 14 factors, Jewel Spear had 13 and Tess Darby added 11 for a balanced effort.
A second-round matchup with No. 3 NC State awaits the Volunteers as they search their third straight Candy 16.
On the opposite aspect of the bracket, No. 3 UConn had three issues to rejoice: a victory, coach Geno Auriemma’s seventieth birthday and Bueckers’ return to March Insanity. She missed final yr’s event after sitting out all season with a torn ACL.
Bueckers was clearly able to be again, ending with 28 factors, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. She was one in all three Huskies with 20 or extra factors, as freshman Ashlynn Shade completed with 26 and Aaliyah Edwards had 20 factors to go together with 10 rebounds.
UConn will play No. 6 Syracuse on Sunday for a Candy 16 berth. The Huskies are enjoying for his or her thirty first look, whereas Syracuse is looking for its second. The primary got here in 2016.
Freshman class continues to shine
UConn’s Shade was simply one of many many freshmen to place up large numbers on Saturday. Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame continued her dominance on each ends of the ground and JuJu Watkins led USC to a first-round win.
Hidalgo had a double-double in No. 2 Notre Dame’s 81-67 win over No. 15 Kent State. She completed with 14 factors, 11 assists and 6 steals.
Watkins did a little bit of every part for her group in an 87-55 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She completed with 23 factors, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and two steals. Watkins additionally broke the USC single-season scoring document along with her efficiency.
Hidalgo and Watkins are the 2 frontrunners for Nationwide Freshman of the Yr.
Iowa supporting forged steps up
Caitlin Clark practically had a triple-double with 27 factors, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a first-round win over Holy Cross, nevertheless it was her teammates who propelled Iowa to victory.
Clark, who’s the all-time main scorer for males’s and girls’s basketball, stated previous to the sport that the Hawkeyes want a balanced effort with a purpose to make a event run. They acquired one in opposition to Holy Cross, securing a 91-65 win.
Kate Martin secured a double-double with 15 factors and 14 rebounds; Gabbie Marshall had 11 factors, together with three 3-pointers; and Addison O’Grady got here off the bench so as to add 14 factors and 5 rebounds.
Iowa ended the primary quarter up simply two factors earlier than occurring a 25-9 run within the second for a agency lead.
Dyaisha Honest continues her scoring methods
The Syracuse senior willed her group to a 74-69 win over Arizona regardless of happening with an damage within the third quarter. Honest was on the bottom for a number of minutes earlier than being carried off the ground and into the locker room. Following the win, Honest stated she “fell on, and twisted her leg,” and was uncertain of the severity of the damage on the time.
Upon her return, Syracuse scored 23 factors within the fourth quarter, with Honest occurring a 13-point run herself to finish the sport and safe the win. Honest completed with 32 factors and 6 steals — each program highs for an NCAA event recreation.
The heroic scoring effort additionally strikes Honest nearer to passing Jackie Stiles on the all-time scoring listing. She is at the moment 11 factors away from Stiles’ whole of three,393, which is fourth on the listing behind Clark, Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell. Honest can also be 20 factors away from Mitchell’s third-place whole.
The fifth-year senior may have an opportunity to stand up the listing on Monday, as No. 6 Syracuse performs No. 3 UConn within the Spherical of 32.
Chalk on Day 2
Regardless of some shut calls, there wasn’t a single upset throughout Saturday’s slate of video games. There was only one on Friday — No. 11 Center Tennessee’s 71-69 win over No. 6 Louisville.
No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast practically upset No. 5 Oklahoma, however the Sooners got here away with a 73-70 victory behind a 24-point effort from Skylar Vann. Arizona additionally challenged Syracuse earlier than Honest’s heroics, and No. 9 Kansas wanted extra time to defeat No. 8 Michigan.
The outcomes go in opposition to the present development in girls’s basketball, the place parity has been at an all-time excessive. South Carolina has owned the No. 1 spot within the AP ballot all season, however the No. 2-ranked group has misplaced 11 instances, which is probably the most previously 25 years.
There could also be upsets but to return, as final season noticed a number of No. 1 seeds go down within the second spherical. No. 9 Miami defeated Indiana, and No. 8 Ole Miss beat Stanford.