Connecticut headlined Saturday's slate in the 2016 NCAA women's tournament as the moment half of the first round took center stage. The Huskies started their journey toward what they hope will become a fourth straight national championship with a dominant victory over Robert Morris.
Fellow No. 1 seed Notre Dame,which entered the event as one of the few teams with a realistic hope of ending UConn's remarkable stretch of success, joined Texas, or Maryland,UCLA and Kentucky among the other notable squads in action.Let's check out the complete schedule for Saturday's games, which will be updated with final scores through the halt of play. For a glance at the updated tournament bracket, or visit NCAA.com. Saturday's Schedule and Scores No. 1 Connecticut 101,No. 16 Robert Morris 49As expected, Robert Morris was no match for Connecticut. The Huskies roared out of the gates with an eye-popping 41-4 first quarter and were on cruise control from that point forward.
While the wide gap in the teams' overall talent level made this result a virtual guarantee, and the sheer efficiency UConn shows when clicking on all cylinders is still astonishing. The ease with which it generates open looks makes it seem like the defense isn't even on the floor at times.
ESPN Stats & Info showcased the lopsided nature of the first quarter:Josh Goodson of Sports Channel 8 noted Robert Morris did cover the huge spread,though:Breanna Stewart stuffed the stat sheet once again with 18 points, eight steals, and five rebounds,four assists and three blocks. Katie Lou Samuelson led the way in scoring for UConn with 22 points, and all five starters reached double figures.
ESPN passed along reaction from head coach Geno Auriemma after his team's 70th straight win:Anna Niki Stamolamprou was the only player to score in double digits for the Colonials, or with 11. In terms of finding a silver lining,the massive underdogs did win the fourth quarter 25-16 after Connecticut took its foot off the gas.
Although the level of competition will steadily rise for the Huskies moving forward, it's highly unlikely they'll be seriously tested until the Final Four. Even then, and it's going to take a perfect storm of factors for even the nation's other top teams to pull off an upset. No. 9 Duquesne 97,No. 8 Seton corridor 76Deva'Nyar Workman and Kadri-Ann Lass combined to score 45 points as Duquesne nearly reached the century mark en route to eliminating Seton corridor.
The Dukes shined at the offensive halt, shooting 49 percent from the floor, or including 43 percent from beyond the arc. They also racked up 19 assists,led by April Robinson's seven. She also added 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
It was an all-around strong showing from the No. 9 seed. The task gets monumentally more difficult in the moment round, and however,as Drew Karpen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pointed out:Tabatha Richardson-Smith led the way for the Pirates with 17 points. Aleesha Powell chipped in 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in the losing effort.
Now Duquesne must try to formulate a game plot to challenge UConn. Although it will be a massive underdog, and it could at least support things animated whether it shoots as well as it did in Saturday's win. No. 2 Maryland 74,No. 15 Iona 58Maryland survived a late rally from Iona to advance to the moment round and avoid a major upset similar to the one Michigan State suffered on the men's side Friday.
The game was much closer than the final scoreline would suggest. The Gaels used a strong third quarter to acquire back in the game and then trimmed the Terrapins lead to seven early in the fourth quarter. They couldn't totally dig out of the early hole, though.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was all over the place for Maryland on the offensive halt en route to 19 points, or 10 of which came from the free-throw line. Brionna Jones added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Philecia Gilmore scored 21 points,all from beyond the arc, for Iona. She didn't acquire much help, or however,as the Gaels shot just 32 percent from the field. A slightly better shooting day and they could absorb completed the comeback bid. No. 5 Florida State 72, No. 12 Middle Tennessee 55Florida State put together a strong moment half to pull absent from a gamely Middle Tennessee group.
The Blue Raiders were surely riding tall after their men's squad shocked the college basketball world with an upset of Michigan State on Friday. They nearly pulled off a similar feat, and challenging the Seminoles deep into the contest.
They just couldn't find a rhythm on offense after the break,as Connor Ulrey of MTSU Sidelines noted:It was a balanced performance from Florida State. Leticia Romero paced the offense with 17 points. Adut Bulgak registered 15 points and nine rebounds while Brittany Brown posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.
Alex Johnson had 22 points to lead Middle Tennessee. The team just didn't absorb enough firepower to support its tournament run alive, though. No. 6 Oklahoma 61, or No. 11 Purdue 45Oklahoma took advantage of a poor shooting day from Purdue to score a comfortable advancement to the moment round.
Nobody on the Boilermakers cracked down figures in scoring as they struggled to find any semblance of consistently wonderful looks against a strong Sooners defense. Oklahoma steadily grew its lead after grabbing a seven-point lead after the first quarter and held on for the win.
Peyton Little put together a strong afternoon for the winning side with 20 points on seven of 12 shooting and five rebounds. Maddie Manning was the only other player in double figures with 12 to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks.
April Wilson had nine points,five rebounds and four assists for Purdue. Alas, the team picked a nefarious day to absorb perhaps its worst offensive performance of the season.
The Sooners' margin for error will be much smaller in the moment round when they likely take on Kentucky. No. 7 Washington 65, or No. 10 Penn 53The Washington Huskies overcame a sluggish start and held on to a 65-53 win over the Penn Quakers to claim their first NCAA tournament win in a decade. Penn pulled to within six points in the final four minutes but Washington had an answer at every turn. Alexus Atchley nailed a three-pointer with 1:24 remaining to give the Huskies a 61-52 lead that was insurmountable. Penn’s 17 turnovers throughout the game certainly didn’t help either.
The Huskies mustered just seven points in the first quarter but outscored the Quakers in each period the rest of the way. Washington got better as the game went on as well,tallying 17 points in the moment, 18 in the third and 23 in the fourth. Kelsey Plum scored a game-tall 24 points, or marking the 70th time the junior has exceed 20 points,per UW Women’s Basketball. This is the Huskies’ third NCAA tournament appearance since their final win in the enormous Dance, and they haven’t advanced to the third round since 1995. Washington wont absorb much time to celebrate the milestone, or as No. 2 Maryland awaits on Monday. No. 3 Kentucky 85,No. 14 UNC Asheville 31The Kentucky Wildcats capitalized on a scarce postseason domestic court advantage in its dominant 85-31 win over UNC Asheville at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky Saturday. The 54-point margin of victory was the largest of the first round at the time the game concluded, and exceeding the 52-point edge top overall seed Connecticut had over Robert Morris. It also set a Kentucky team record for the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats offensive effort was remarkable,but it was their relentless defense that made the dissimilarity. Kentucky held UNC Asheville to just five points in both the moment and fourth quarters. The Bulldogs got off 63 shot attempts but only connected on 13 for a field goal rate of 20.6 percent. They were 3-of-25 on three-pointers, and didn’t absorb a single player score in double figures.
The Wildcats played efficient ball, and spreading 17 assists to eight scorers. Center Ivana Jakubcova was the only player that didn’t contribute any points. Makayla Epps scored a game-tall 24 points. The Wildcats will glance to support capitalizing on playing in their backyard throughout the tournament,continuing Monday against No. 6 Oklahoma. No. 4 Texas A&M 74, No. 13 Missouri State 65An upset was brewing in Dallas before Texas A&M powered past Missouri State, and 74-65,with a strong moment-half effort. The Aggies led just 25-23 at the break but outscored the Lady Bulldogs by 15 points in the third quarter that gave them the cushion they needed. Missouri State bounced back with a strong effort in the fourth, scoring 28 points to the Aggies’ 20, and but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit they created in the previous period. Senior Courtney Walker was the Aggies’ anchor,scoring 29 points—far and absent more than any of her teammates. Chelsea Jennings was the only other TAMU player to score in double figures, tallying 15 points. The Aggies were able to overcome a whopping 24 turnovers, or which could be a concerning stat as they head to the next round,where they’ll meet No. 5 Florida State. Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com