Iowa guard Caitlin Clark drives the ball between Illinois State's Mary Crompton, left, and Kate Bullman during the second half of a first-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament. Iowa won 98-58 on March 18, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa.Ron Johnson/The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds while top-seeded South Carolina’s stifling defence held Howard to the fewest points ever in a women’s NCAA Tournament game in a 79-21 victory Friday. It was the All-American’s 25th straight double-double and one of the biggest cheers of the second half on her home floor came when she pulled down her 10th rebound with 7:10 to go in the third quarter. The 21 points for the Bison broke the record held by Kansas State which scored 26 in a loss to UConn in 2012. The Gamecocks (30-2) held Howard (21-10) to a NCAA Tournament record low four points in the first half as they took a 44-4 lead.
Greensboro region
IOWA 98, ILLINOIS STATE 58
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Caitlin Clark had 27 points and 10 assists and Monika Czinano added 18 points as Iowa defeated Illinois State 98-58. Gabbie Marshall and Tomi Taiwo each had 13 points for the Hawkeyes (24-7), the No. 2 seed in the Greensboro Region. It was the 16th double-double of the season for Clark, an Associated Press first-team All-American who leads the nation in scoring at 27.4 points a game. Clark had a 15-minute scoreless stretch in the second and third quarters, but had six assists in the span during which Iowa extended its lead from nine points to 20.
MIAMI 78, SOUTH FLORIDA 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Karla Erjavec scored 14 points to lead a balanced Miami offence to a 78-66 win over South Florida. The No. 8 seeded Hurricanes (21-12) shot 54 per cent and all 10 players who played more than a minute scored to help Miami win its ninth game out of the past 11. The Hurricanes scored 24 points in the first quarter and led by as much as 19 before halftime. Ninth-seeded South Florida (24-9) kept hanging around, twice cutting the deficit to nine in the second half. But they couldn’t get any closer. Miami advances to Sunday’s second round against top overall seed South Carolina.
CREIGHTON 84, COLORADO 74
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Morgan Maly matched a career high with 20 points and Lauren Jensen and Molly Mogensen each had 16 as 10th-seeded Creighton defeated No. 7 seed Colorado 84-74. Emma Ronsiek added 10 points for the Bluejays, making their first NCAA appearance since 2018. Creighton (21-9) will play No. 2 seed Iowa in Sunday’s Greensboro Region second round. Colorado finished the season at 22-9.
Wichita region
BAYLOR 89, HAWAII 49
WACO, Texas – NaLyssa Smith had 21 points and 14 rebounds, Jordan Lewis scored 23 and the Baylor women won their 19th consecutive first-round game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, overwhelming Hawaii 89-49. Smith and Lewis combined to score the first 27 Baylor points in the third quarter, when the No. 2 seed Bears outscored the Rainbow Wahine 34-8 after taking a modest nine-point lead into halftime. Amy Atwell scored 29 points but was limited to nine after halftime as 15th-seeded Hawaii (20-10) faded and fell to 1-7 in the NCAA Tournament. The lone victory was in 1990.
GONZAGA 68, NEBRASKA 55
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kayleigh Truong scored a career-high 20 points to lead Gonzaga past Nebraska. Truong scored 15 of her points in the second half, and those came after she landed awkwardly in a second-quarter collision with Nebraska’s Jaz Shelley and missed the final five minutes of the first half. She scored the first two baskets of the second half as Gonzaga (27-6) won its sixth straight game.
SOUTH DAKOTA 75, MISSISSIPPI 61
WACO, Texas – Chloe Lamb scored 20 points and the South Dakota women earned their first NCAA Tournament victory, beating Mississippi 75-61. Fellow senior Hannah Sjerven had 20 points and seven rebounds as the 10th-seeded Coyotes (28-5) broke through in their fourth consecutive tournament appearance and fifth in 10 eligible seasons. Freshman Maddie Krull scored 13 points.
Spokane region
FLORIDA GULF COAST 84, VIRGINIA TECH 81
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Karli Seay made a 3-pointer from the corner with 26 seconds remaining as 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast ousted fifth-seeded Virginia Tech despite a career-high 42 points by Elizabeth Kitley. Kierstan Bell scored 22 points for FGCU, which was ranked in the AP Top 25 this week but received a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles (30-2) showed exactly how dangerous they can be, overcoming a huge matchup problem against the 6-foot-6 Kitley, who scored Virginia Tech’s first 14 points of the fourth quarter. FGCU leads the nation in three-point attempts by a wide margin, so this game was quite a contrast in styles. The Eagles went 15 of 38 from beyond the arc while Kitley dominated inside.