Aziaha James scored a game-high 19 points, including five 3-pointers, as third-seeded North Carolina State defeated No. 14 Chattanooga 64-45 in the opening round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament’s Portland 4 Regional on Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C.
Saniya Rivers added 16 points and eight rebounds, and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolfpack (28-6), which will meet Tennessee in a second-round game Monday.
Jada Guinn led the Mocs (28-5) with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Raven Thompson scored 11 points.
It wasn’t an offensive clinic; both teams shot just 33.3 percent from the field. NC State shot 20 of 25 from the free-throw line to pull away.
The Wolfpack made just four field goals in each of the first three quarters before James scored 14 points in the fourth, making four 3-pointers.
NC State led by only nine at 29-20 early in the third before Rivers sparked a 12-0 run that gave the hosts some breathing room.
No. 6 Tennessee 92, No. 11 Green Bay 63
Rickea Jackson scored 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds as the Lady Volunteers cruised past the Phoenix in Raleigh, N.C.
Sara Puckett added 14 points, Jewel Spear had 13 and Tess Darby came off the bench to score 11 for Tennessee (20-12), which shot 58.3 percent from the field (35 of 60) and was 8 of 20 from 3-point range.
Maddy Schreiber led Green Bay (27-7) with 13 points. The Phoenix shot 37.9 percent (25 of 66).
Green Bay took an early six-point lead, but Tennessee pulled ahead 23-21 by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Volunteers extended the advantage to 44-28 by the half. The Phoenix never got closer than 14 points after that.
No. 5 Utah 68, No. 12 South Dakota State 54
Alissa Pili scored 16 of her 26 points in the second half as the Utes defeated No. 12 the Jackrabbits in the opening round in Spokane, Wash.
Kennady McQueen added 17 points for Utan (23-10), which will play host Gonzaga in the second round Monday. Jenna Johnson had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Tori Nelson scored 14 points to lead a balanced attack for South Dakota State (27-6), which had its 21-game winning streak come to an end. Brooklyn Meyer added 13 points and Paige Meyer scored 12. Mesa Byom had six points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Utes led 20-3 after the first quarter, but failed to score over the final 7:18 of the second as the Jackrabbits went on a 17-0 run to pull within 27-24 at the half.
Pili had nine points in the third as Utah outscored SDSU 26-17. The Utes shot 47.4 percent from the floor (27 of 57) while limiting the Jackrabbits to 32.7 percent (16 of 49).
No. 4 Gonzaga 75, No. 13 UC Irvine 56
Yvonne Ejim scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, both game-highs, as the Bulldogs defeated the Anteaters in the opening round in Spokane, Wash.
Kayleigh Truong added 16 points and five assists and Brynna Maxwell had 11 points and four steals for host Gonzaga (31-3), which shot 49.2 percent from the floor (31 of 63).
Nevaeh Parkinson had 18 points and 10 rebounds for UC Irvine (23-9). Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Deja Lee scored 13, but the Anteaters shot just 32.2 percent (19 of 59).
The Anteaters jumped to an early 17-6 lead, but the Bulldogs scored the final four points of the first quarter and the opening six of the second to pull within a point.
Gonzaga took a 30-25 halftime lead and opened the second half with a 20-4 run, capped by a pair of 3-pointers by Truong, to pull away.
–Field Level Media
