With President Obama looking on, eighth-seeded and unbeaten Princeton rallied past ninth-seeded UW-Green Bay 80-70 on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA women’s tournament in College Park, Md.
Princeton, after trailing at halftime, came back to improve to 31-0 behind guard Michelle Miller’s 20 points, forward Annie Tarakchian’s 19 points and a 49-22 rebounding edge in the game held on the campus of the University of Maryland.
Princeton freshman Leslie Robinson, a reserve forward for the only undefeated team in the women’s tournament, is the president’s niece. Robinson’s father Craig, the former men’s basketball coach at Oregon State and Michelle Obama’s brother, also was in attendance, as well as the president’s oldest daughter, Malia, and his mother-in-law.
“He was actually sitting right in front of my family, so I’d look back at my family, and I’d be like, ‘Oh, my God. It’s Barack.’ But it certainly wasn’t in my focus,” Princeton coach Courtney Banghart said. “And that’s not belittling his importance. That will go down as a highlight, as well, and I’m hoping there’s a picture of me — and he’s somewhere in the background. Someone got that, right.”
Connecticut 89, St. Francis (N.Y.) 33
Forward Morgan Tuck scored 26 points and made 12 of 13 shots from the field as top-seeded Connecticut overwhelmed No. 16 seed St. Francis in the first round of the Albany Regional in Storrs, Conn.
Forward Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (33-1), who shot 71 percent from the floor. Reserve guard Gabby Williams contributed 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting and guard Kia Nurse chipped in 12 for the Huskies, who face former Big East opponent Rutgers in Monday’s second round.
Forward Sarah Benedettihad 13 points for St. Francis (15-19), which shot 22 percent from the field.
Maryland 75, New Mexico 57
Center Brionna Jones scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to carry top-seeded Maryland past 16th-seeded New Mexico State in College Park, Md.
The Terrapins (31-2) will bring a school-record 25-game winning streak into Monday night’s matchup against Princeton.
The 6-foot-3 Jones dominated on both ends of the court against the Aggies (22-8). Jones went 7-for-10 from the floor and 8-for-9 at the free-throw line. Senior guard Larin Mincy added 19 points for the Terrapins.
Tennessee 72, Boise State 61
Forward Bashaara Graves scored a career-high 24 points as second-seeded Tennessee outlasted 15th-seeded Boise State in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Lady Vols (28-5) advanced to a second-round game Monday against Pittsburgh.
Guard Brooke Pahukoa scored 22 points for the Broncos (22-11).
Pittsburgh 51, Chattanooga 40
Forward Stasha Carey scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds as 10th-seeded Pittsburgh snapped seventh-seeded Chattanooga’s 25-game winning streak in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Lady Mocs (29-4) fell for the first time since losing at Arkansas State on Dec. 1.
Pittsburgh is now 20-11 and will face Tennessee in the second round on Monday.
North Carolina 71, Liberty 65
Guard Latifah Coleman scored 17 points and guard Allisha Gray added 15 to lead fourth-seeded North Carolina past 13th-seeded Liberty in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Tar Heels (25-8) shot 49 percent from the field, led by 14 and withstood the Flames’ late push to give coach Sylvia Hatchell a victory in her return to the NCAA Tournament after a year away to fight leukemia.
“This whole week, I have been so stressed out,” Hatchell said. “It’s a good stressed because I’m so excited about the tournament.”
North Carolina will face Ohio State in the second round Monday night.
Forward Ashley Rininger had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Flames (26-7).
Ohio State 90, James Madison 80
Guard Ameryst Alston scored 28 points to lead fifth-seeded Ohio State over 12th-seeded James Madison in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Guard Kelsey Mitchell added 23 points and forward Alexa Hart finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots for Ohio State (24-10).
Guard Precious Hall had 28 points on 10-of-30 shooting from the field and guard Ashley Perez added 20 points for the Dukes (29-4).
Florida State 91, Alabama State 49
Freshman forward Shakayla Thomas scored 17 points as second-seeded Florida State won its 30th game of the season, routing 15th-seeded Alabama State in Tallahassee, Fla.
Guard Maegan Conwright added 16 points and guard Leticia Romero had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Florida State will meet Florida Gulf Coast in Monday’s second round.
Forward Britney Wright scored 14 points for Alabama State (17-15).
Florida Gulf Coast 75, Oklahoma State 67
Guard Kaneisha Atwater scored 26 points and guard Whitney Knight added 19 points and 10 rebounds as seventh-seeded Florida Gulf Coast beat 10th-seeded Oklahoma State in Tallahassee, Fla.
Atwater hit 10 of 17 shots from the field and also grabbed eight rebounds for the Eagles (31-2), who will face Florida State in Monday’s second round.
Oklahoma State (20-12) was led in scoring by junior guard Roddricka Patton’s 23 points.
Arkansas-Little Rock 69, Texas A&M 60
Coach Joe Foley picked up his 700th career win in 11th-seeded Arkansas Little-Rock’s upset of Texas A&M in the first round of the Greensboro Regional in Tempe, Ariz.
Guard Taylor Gault scored a season-high 25 points and forward Kiera Clark added a career-high 22 for UALR, which was the third 11th seed to win a first-round game. The Trojans (29-4) will face Arizona State in the second round on Monday.
Courtney Williams led the Aggies (23-11) with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Oklahoma 111, Quinnipiac 84
Guard Gabbi Ortiz led six players in double figures and fifth-seeded Oklahoma cruised past No. 12 Quinnipiac in the first round of the Oklahoma City Regional in Stanford, Cali.
Guard Maddie Manning and center Vionise Pierre-Louis added 15 points apiece for the Sooners (21-11), who face Stanford in Monday’s second round.
Guard Jasmine Martin scored 24 points for Quinnipiac (31-4), which was making its second NCAA Tournament appearance.
Louisville 86, BYU 53
Forward Myisha Hines-Allen scored 19 points and third-seeded Louisville cruised past No. 14 BYU in the first round of the Albany Regional in Tampa, Fla.
Guard Jude Schimmel had 13 points and forward Shawnta’ Dyer and guard Bria Smith added 11 each for the Cardinals (26-6), who face South Florida in Monday’s second round.
Forward Morgan Bailey had 15 points and 10 rebounds for BYU (23-10), which committed 30 turnovers.
Arizona State 74, Ohio 55
Guard Katie Hempen hit five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as third-seeded Arizona State defeated No. 14 Ohio in the first round of the Greensboro Regional in Tempe, Ariz.
Forward Sophie Brunner added 14 points and guard Arnecia Hawkins contributed 12 for the Sun Devils (28-5), who face Arkansas Little Rock in Monday’s second round.
Guard Quiera Lampkins scored 17 points for Ohio (27-5), which committed 18 turnovers and was 4 of 16 from 3-point range.
Stanford 73, Cal State Northridge 60
Reserve forward Taylor Greenfield scored 19 points and fourth-seeded Stanford used a 14-0 run in the second half to pull away from No. 13 Cal State Northridge in the first round of the Oklahoma City Regional in Stanford, Calif.
Guard Lilli Thompson scored seven of her 17 points during the deciding run and forward Bonnie Samuelson added 14 for Stanford (25-9). The Cardinal will face fifth-seeded Oklahoma in the second round on Monday.
Guard Ashlee Guay scored 27 points for the Matadors (23-10), who led by six points early in the second half.
South Florida 73, LSU 64
Guard Courtney Williams collected 17 points and 12 rebounds and sixth-seeded South Florida beat LSU in the first round of the Albany Regional in Tampa, Fla.
Williams made 7 of 25 shots from the field for South Florida (27-7), which shot 37 percent and will face Louisville in Monday’s second round. Forward Alisia Jenkins added 15 points for the Bulls, who have their highest seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Guard Danielle Ballard scored 17 points for LSU (17-14).
Rutgers 79, Seton Hall 66
Forward Kahleah Cooper and guard Tyler Scaife scored 21 points each and No. 8 seed Rutgers defeated No. 9 Seton Hall in the first round of the Albany Regional in Storrs, Conn.
Forward Betnijah Laney added 17 points for Rutgers (23-9), which shot 54 percent from 3-point range and will face Connecticut or St. Francis (N.Y.) in Monday’s second round.
Forward Tabatha Richardson-Smith scored 18 points for Seton Hall (28-6), which did not score in the final three-plus minutes.