The Guru’s Postseason NCAAW Tourney Report: Records With Few Surprises and Lots of Chalk on Round One, Part One; Look Ahead to Saturday, Part Two

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

With two exceptions, one resulting in an upset loss and the other a narrow escape, round one, day one of the 68-team NCAA women’s tournament on Friday belonged to the chalk in betting parlance with all the ranked teams and most of the favored rest turning in solid performances, but a few were in duels before taking control.

Before continuing, for the newbies following coverage here and elsewhere, this is the third year since the regional format was reduced by the tournament committee from four with four teams each at the Sweet 16 level to just two with eight teams each and with each city given two numerical designations in order of the “s” curve assignments of the four number one seeds.

Hence, Spokane 1 is where Big Ten tournament champion UCLA, the number one overall seed as well the current top ranked team in the Associated Press women’s poll is located.

Spokane 4 is where the fourth team -Southern Cal - is placed and the two Final Four teams emerging in Tampa, Fla., in two weeks from these two regions would meet Friday night, April 4, in the semifinals.

Birmingham (Ala.) 2 is where second seed and second ranked South Carolina, the defending NCAA champion is placed, while Birmingham 3 is where third seed and fifth ranked Texas sits and all of them plus the rest of the first 16, including Connecticut, ranked third but one of the two seeds, are hosting two rounds this weekend, even if any suffer losses in their openers, which none did.

Each site has two games the first day and one each the next with a break between the two dates.

The rest of round one is being completed Saturday and round two will occur Sunday and Monday with the entire tournament airing on ESPN Platforms, the marquee ones on the also Disney-owned ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.

The NCAA-owned tourney which Saint Joseph’s and Villanova are colliding on Hawk Hill Sunday at 2 p.m. are on ESPN+ the first three rounds while at the semifinal and final level at Butler’s Hinkle Fieldhouse are on ESPNU and then ESPN2.

The two survivors from the Wednesday First Four pair of games, 16th seed Southern U., the first from the SWAC to gain a win, went down quickly late Friday night with Southern (21-15) losing 84-46 to No. 1 UCLA (31-2) at the Bruins’ Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles while 11th-seed Iowa State (23-12), which ousted Princeton, one of a record three Ivy League teams in the field, lost earlier in the day 80-74 to sixth-seed Michigan (23-10) in South Bend, Ind., at Purcell Pavilion, the home of three seed and eighth ranked Notre Dame.

In the UCLA win, Lauren Betts, one of several frontrunners for national player of the year, had 14 points, six boards and three blocks.

“I was fired up last night,” said UCLA’s Cori Close. “I thought I needed to coach them hard to hold the standard. I understand the expectations. I want my intensity to lead the way of what was important.

“We've been talking a lot about how we have a lot of talent, but that is not going to determine our ceiling. What determines our ceiling is our character, our choices, disciplined, grittiness.”

Close on Thursday was named by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) as women’s coach of the year for leading the Bruins to their first No. 1 ranking which they held 12 straight weeks and then returned to the top after avenging two Big Ten season losses to arch rival Southern Cal in the conference tourney title game.

In the early game, ninth seed Richmond (28-6), the Atlantic 10 regular season champion, got 30 points, 15 boards, and six assists from Broomall’s Maggie Doogan, the A-10 player of the year, and the Spiders took a 74-49 win from ninth seed Georgia Tech (22-11) of the ACC, the only triumph from a mid-major over a Power 4 representative on Day One.

Addie Budnik added 14 points to give Richmond its first NCAA victory in five appearances.

“It’s just what you dream of,” said Doogan, whose mother starred at La Salle. “My family is here, so to be able to do that in front of them is really cool. They’ve seen my progress from when I was really little. A lot of them have been to almost every single one of my games. It’s a special feeling.”

Richmond plays UCLA Sunday afternoon.

“It was just a tough night for us,” said Yellow Jackets coach Nell Fortner, a former Texas star who has served as an ESPN studio host between coaching gigs. “We have to learn from it and move on.”

In a close game Michigan’s Jordan Hobbs scored 28 points in the win over Iowa State, which got 28 points from inside force Audi Crooks.

The Wolverines Sunday face Notre Dame (27-5) which took a dominating 106-54 win over 14th-seed Stephen F. Austin (29-6), the Southland champion.

Merchantville’s Hanna Hidalgo, another strong national player of the year candidate, scored 24 for the Irish as did Sonia Citron.

“I think we have a lot of firepower,” Hidalgo said. “Everybody plays well together.”

There was some concern when Olivia Miles left the game early in the fourth period, but coach Niele Ivey said of the injured ankle that her backcourt guard who teams with Hidalgo should be fine.

The upset of the day by seed saw 10th seed Oregon (20-11), one of four from the former Pac-12 moving to the Big Ten this past season, take a 77-73 overtime contest against seven-seed Vanderbilt (22-11) spoiling a 26-point performance from SEC freshman of the year Mikayla Blakes from Summerville, N.J.

Deja Kelly, a former North Carolina player, had familiarity with Duke’s Cameron Indoor Arena in Durham, N.C., where she scored 20 points for the winning Ducks, shooting 6-for-16 from the field, grabbing eight rebounds, with three steals and three assists.

“That was a hell of a game,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves. “I’m just really proud of our team. Before the game, I talked about our grit and our toughness. I think that's the one defining characteristic we've had all year, and we showed that late in the game with the defensive stops.”

Said Vandy coach Shea Ralph, a former UConn star and longtime assistant, “For whatever reason this, this team likes to fight out of a hole and we dug ourselves a pretty big one. Then we showed up like the team that I truly believe we are for most of the second half. Unfortunately, we ran out of time.”

With a double-digit seed Graves has 10 of them turned to victories with Oregon in the NCAA tournament, the best for all active Division I coaches.

The Ducks Sunday face second seed and seventh ranked Duke (27-7) which crushed 15th seed and Patriot champion Lehigh (27-7) with an 86-25 victory, second fewest allowed in tournament history.

Oluchi Okananwa scored 15 for the Blue Devils.

“Doesn't matter who your opponent is,” she said. “You address each and everyone with the same intensity. No one wants to go home, so we we’re going to bring all we've got.”

The slimmest victory margin went to fourth seed and 13th ranked Kentucky (23-7) taking a 79-78 win over 13th seed and Conference USA champion Liberty (26-7), which lived up to their Flames nickname after the host Wildcats flamed out from a 17-point lead early in the fourth quarter at home in Lexington, Ky.

Fortunately, transfer and Australian Georgia Amoore, who followed Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech in the offseason to rejuvenate the program, had plenty of firepower scoring 34 points with six from deep and three foul shots in the closing seconds to help provide the win.

“We might be the higher seed, but Liberty had nothing to lose,” she said. “They wanted to come out and win and had all the energy.”

Emma Hess’ shot from behind the arc for Liberty were the game’s final points in the closing seconds.

It was Kentucky’s first NCAA win in four seasons.

“Thank goodness for Georgia's performance,” Brooks said. “She and Dazia (Lawrence) really carried us from a mental standpoint, and we have to have others step up if we want to continue on.”

On Sunday, Kentucky will face fifth seed and 19th ranked Kansas State (27-7) making it a match of Wildcats after the Big 12 representative easily handled 12th seed and MAAC champion Fairfield 85-41 and celebrated the return of Aoki Lee, out for a month with a foot injury.

She had 17 points shooting 7-10 and grabbing 10 boards against the Stags (28-5) in 15 minutes of action.

 “I don't think there were any stretches where I came out and I was just like dying.” she said.

Katey L’Amoreaux scored 11 for Fairfield, held to a season-low 29.4 percent from the field.

“Obviously, they played a lot of their season without their all-American post, and we had the honor of playing against her today,” Fairfield coach Carly Thibauldt-DuDonis said. “She's a great player, but they're a great team with and without her on the floor. I think that's a team that's capable of making a run.”

Elsewhere at separate sites the SEC reps of top seed and defending champion South Carolina (31-3) and 5th seed, and 20th ranked Tennessee (23-9) displayed explosive offenses.

At Columbia in their home Colonial Life Arena, Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks led by freshman Joyce Edwards’ 22 points crushed 16th seed and Ohio Valley champion Tennessee Tech 108-48 ending a 17-game win streak of the Golden Eagles (26-6).

South Carolina on Sunday will host ninth seed Indiana (20-2) which topped eighth seed Utah 76-68 as Yarden Garzon scored 17 points and Shay Ciezki scored 16 to end the Utes’ season at 22-90).

In Columbus, Ohio, Tennessee blew out 12th seed and AAC champ South Florida 101-66 as Talaysia Cooper scored 20 points with six boards and four assists while Samara Spencer scored 15 and Zee Spearman had 13 points and Jewel Spear scored 11 under first-year coach Kim Caldwell who a year ago led Marshall to both regular-season and Sun Belt tournament titles and  the Thundering Herd’s first NCAA appearance since 1997.

Shortly thereafter she was tapped to revive Tennessee’s prominence replacing Kelly Harper, who this week took the vacant Missouri job.

“Our team is at our best when we are playing as a team,” Caldwell said. “We were able to get something from everyone. I think we had fun. It was a really good steppingstone for us. We had been a little bit off track, and so we needed to get to kind of get our juice back.”

On Sunday, Tennessee at Value City Arena will face four seed and 15th ranked Ohio State (26-6) which toppled 13th seed and Big Sky champion Montana State 71-51in a balanced attack led by Taylor Thierry with 16 points.

Cotie McMahon and Chance Gray each scored 15 while freshman Jaloni Cambridge scored 12.

Esmeralda Morales scored 20 for Montana State (30-4).

The Buckeyes have had success against the Lady Vols in recent seasons.

In other games, seventh seed Louisville (22-10) got 16 points from Jayda Curry in a 63-58 win over 10th-seed Nebraska (21-12) in Fort Worth, Texas, and on Sunday will meet two-seed and sixth-ranked TCU (32-3), which made 15th-seed and Northeast Conference champion Fairleigh Dickinson’s first NCAA appearance short-lived by way of a 73-51 ouster of the opposition (29-4).

The Horned Frogs’ Hailey Van Lith will face one of her two former teams – the other LSU.

Madison Conner had 23 points for TCU.

In Waco, Texas, four-seed and 14th-ranked Baylor (28-7) got 25 points and 11 boards from Aaronette Vonleh in a 73-60 win over 13th-seed Grand Canyon (32-3), ending the Western Athletic Conference champions’ nation leading 30-game win streak, while 5th seed and 25th-ranked Ole Miss (21-10) got 18 points and 11 boards Starr Jacobs in an 83-65 win over 12th seed and Mid-American champion Ball State (27-8) to set up a Sunday meeting for a trip to the Sweet 16 as will all the other teams playing the same day will be taking aim.

Looking Ahead

Completing first-round play Saturday, in Storrs, two-seed UConn meets 15-seed Arkansas State at 1 p.m. on ABC followed by seven-seed Oklahoma State facing 10-seed South Dakota at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

In Austin, No. 1 and fifth-ranked Texas meets 16th seed William & Mary at 9:45 p.m. on ESPN2 after eighth seed Illinois and ninth seed and 23rd ranked Creighton play at 7:15 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

In Raleigh, N.C., two-seed and ninth-ranked NC State hosts 15th seed Vermont at 2 p.m. on ESPN followed by 10th seed Harvard playing seventh seed Michigan State at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNEWS.

In Baton Rouge, La., six-seed Florida State plays 11-seed George Mason at 7:45 p.m. followed by three-seed LSU hosting 14-seed San Diego State at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN.

In College Park, Md., four-seed Maryland hosts 13-seed Norfolk State at 4 p.m. on ESPN after 5-seed Alabama plays 12-seed Green Bay at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

In Norman, Okla., 11-seed Murray State plays 6-seed Iowa at 12 p.m. on ESPN followed by 14-seed FGCU playing Oklahoma at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

And in Los Angeles, 16-seed UNC Greensboro plays 1-seed Southern Cal at 3 p.m. on ABC followed by eighth-seed California playing ninth-seed Mississippi State at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.