RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored 22 points and No. 3 seed North Carolina State blew nearly all of a 20-point lead before holding off No. 6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Monday's second round of the NCAA Tournament, sending the Wolfpack back to the Sweet 16.
Saniya Rivers added 20 points for the Wolfpack (29-6), who dominated the second quarter to build that huge margin before the Lady Vols (20-13) started creeping their way back.
Tennessee got as close as two points in the fourth, but N.C. State did just enough to protect its lead. That sent the Wolfpack on to a date with No. 2 seed Stanford in the Portland 4 Region.
James came up big in the critical moment amid the Lady Vols' surge. First the 5-foot-9 junior scored on a floater over the outstreched arms of 6-6 post Tamari Key. Then, after Baldwin blocked a shot from Rickea Jackson from behind, James curled around the left wing to catch and feed from Saniya Rivers and stick a huge 3-pointer for a 70-63 lead at the 2:48 mark.
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Tennessee didn't get it back to a one-possession game again.
Jackson had 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead Tennessee, which was trying for its third straight trip to the regional semifinals. And the Lady Vols flirted with tying the second-biggest comeback in women’s tournament history, fighting back to within a single bucket with about 4 minutes left.
N.C. State appeared on its way with a strong finish to the first quarter and an absolutely dominant second. After trailing 23-17 early, N.C. State outscored Tennessee 32-8 for the rest of the half — including a 16-2 burst that carried right into the locker room with reserve Maddie Cox’s catch-and-fire corner 3 giving the Wolfpack an 18-point margin.
Mimi Collins scored in the first minute of the third quarter, pushing N.C. State to its biggest lead at 51-31 before the Lady Vols started the long climb back.
The game marked the first meeting between the programs, as well as deeply intertwined sidelined connections. There was Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper facing off against a program she led for four years in the difficult aftermath of the passing of late Hall of Famer Kay Yow. There was also coaching against Wolfpack coach Wes Moore after working on his staff at Chattanooga.
ALBANY 1
NO. 2 NOTRE DAME 71, NO. 7 MISSISSIPPI 56: Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and Hannah Hidalgo added 19 to help Notre Dame beat Mississippi in South Bend, Ind.
Sonia Citron added 17 for the Fighting Irish (28-6), who advanced to the Sweet 16 where they will play No. 3 seed Oregon State in the Albany 1 Region.
Kennedy Todd-Williams and Madison Scott led Ole Miss with 15 points each.
Notre Dame hit Ole Miss with an intense attack from the opening tip, establishing an uptempo tone on offense and a relentless but controlled defense early.
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said that although the Fighting Irish primarily use a six-player rotation, the plan was to play fast-paced and aggressive.
“We’re a pace team,” Ivey said. “We’re better in transition. We like to run. We like to play fast. So did Ole Miss. That was the goal. Get out and run, make them defend us.
NO. 4 INDIANA 75, NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 68: Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points, including six in a row, to give host Indiana a late lead as the Hoosiers rallied past Oklahoma.
Sydney Parrish added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Hoosiers (26-6), who advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years and now face undefeated South Carolina in Albany, New York.
Indiana's players celebrated by racing into the student section and up the steps at Assembly Hall as music blared and fans pumped their hands in the air,
Big 12 Player of the Year Skylar Vann led the Sooners (23-10) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Aubrey Joens had 16 points for Oklahoma, which walked off the floor dejectedly after a fourth consecutive second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.
The more than 12,000 fans in Assembly Hall roared loudly in the final minutes — and after the final buzzer — as the Hoosiers seized control to avoid a repeat of last March's shocking second-round loss to Miami.
ALBANY 2
NO. 1 IOWA 64, NO. 8 WEST VIRGINIA 54: Caitlin Clark scored 32 points as Iowa survived one of its worst offensive performances of the season to beat West Virginia in Iowa City.
The Hawkeyes (31-4) advanced to play No. 5 seed Colorado in Saturday’s Albany 2 Regional semifinal.
Sydney Affolter’s three-point play with 2:03 to play, the Hawkeyes’ lone field goal of the fourth quarter, gave Iowa a 55-52 lead. Clark and Hannah Stuelke closed the game with nine free throws to clinch the win.
As time ran out on the final home game of her career, Clark, who became the NCAA's Division I all-time scoring leader this season, circled the court, making a heart-shaped symbol with her hands as the sellout crowd cheered.
Iowa came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 92.8 points per game, but the Hawkeyes were held to their lowest single-game point total this season. Iowa shot just 36.4% from the field.
NO. 2 UCLA 67, NO. 7 CREIGHTON 63: Kiki Rice scored 24 points, Lauren Betts had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and UCLA rallied in the second half for a home victory over Creighton.
The Bruins (27-6), who trailed by 10 points early in the third quarter, will face third-seeded LSU in an Albany 2 Regional semifinal Saturday afternoon. Top-seeded Iowa and fifth-seeded Colorado are in the other semi.
Lauren Jensen scored 20 points and Morgan Maly added 18 for the Bluejays (26-6).
Creighton led 44-34 early in the second half before UCLA fought back. The Bruins got back into the game with a 20-7 run that included 11 points by Rice.
The game was tied at 56-all after three quarters before the Bruins scored seven straight to start the fourth as part of a 9-2 run.
PORTLAND 3
NO. 1 USC 73, NO. 8 KANSAS 55: JuJu Watkins had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as host Southern California led all the way in defeating Kansas to reach the Sweet 16.
McKenzie Forbes hit a career-high six 3-pointers and scored 20 points for the Trojans (28-5), who will face fifth-seeded Baylor (26-7) in the Portland Region 3 in Oregon on Saturday.
USC last went this deep when it reached the Elite Eight in 1994, 10 years after the school won the second of its back-to-back national championships.
NO. 3 UCONN 72, NO. 6 SYRACUSE 64: Paige Bueckers tied her season high with 32 points, freshman Ashlynn Shade added 19, and host UConn held off Syracuse to earn a 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16.
It was Bueckers' fifth straight game with at least 25 points, and seventh in her last eight games.
Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half as Syracuse came back from a 12-point first half deficit to pull within two with just under two minutes left. But the Orange missed four 3-point attempts down the stretch and UConn scored seven of the game's final eight points.