Here’s Part 2 of our roundup of Saturday’s action:
No. 12 seed Toledo Rockets over No. 5 seed Iowa State Cyclones, 80-73
Quinesha Lockett put on a show with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for Toledo. Sophia Wiard added 15 points, three assists and two blocks, while Jayda Jansen had 17 points. The legendary Ashley Joens went for 23 points, 13 boards, three assists and two steals in defeat in her career finale. ESPN projects her to be the No. 10 pick in the WNBA Draft.
Iowa State cut it to 78-73 with 29 seconds remaining on a Denae Fritz three, but Wiard free throws iced the game. The Cyclones led 23-20 after one, but lost the second 23-13.
The Rockets won field goal percentage 48.4 to 34.8 over the heavily-favored Cyclones, who were coming off a Big 12 Tournament championship. Toledo also won 3-point percentage 36.8 to 19.4, with Iowa State going 6-of-31.
No. 6 seed North Carolina Tar Heels over No. 11 seed St. John’s Red Storm, 61-59
A Deja Kelly 3-point play with two seconds left proved to be the game-winner. It gave the Heels a 61-58 lead and after that Danielle Patterson drew a controversial foul call on Deja Kelly while shooting a three, but missed her first two free throws and neglected to attempt to miss her third intentionally. She made the final free throw and St. John’s was not able to foul before time ran out.
North Carolina had a trio of double-figure scorers: Kelly (18 points), Kennedy Todd-Williams (14) and Alyssa Ustby (13). Todd Williams also had seven rebounds. Jayla Everett dropped 17 points in defeat.
The Red Storm were an efficient 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. They also attempted 14 more free throws and made 10 more.
No. 7 seed Baylor Bears over No. 10 seed Alabama Crimson Tide, 78-74
Baylor came back from down 18 points to win this one. The Bears were 14-of-28 from deep and 14-of-16 from the line, while Alabama was 14-of-26 and 8-of-9, respectively.
Ja’Mee Asberry paced Baylor with 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting from long range. Caitlin Bickle added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Sarah Andrews went 4-of-8 from downtown and finished with 14 points, five helpers, two steals and four blocks.
Brittany Davis was phenomenal in defeat with 33 points and three assists. Davis was 7-of-11 from distance and 6-of-6 at the stripe.
No. 6 seed Colorado Buffaloes over No. 11 seed Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 82-60
Frida Formann made five of Colorado’s NCAA Tournament program-record 13 threes on eight attempts, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Jaylyn Sherrod added 13 points and dished out six assists. Savannah Wheeler registered 15 points and four steals in defeat. The Buffaloes’ biggest advantages came by 12 in the third and 11 in the first.
Colorado won 3-point percentage 48.1 to 16.7 and rebounds 43-29. It won despite turning the ball over 16 times and forcing just eight miscues.
No. 4 seed Villanova Wildcats over No. 13 seed Cleveland State Vikings, 76-59
Maddy Siegrist dropped 35 points to reach 1,000 for the season as her Wildcats cruised into the second round. Christina Dalce hauled in an impressive 16 rebounds to aid the winning cause, while Bella Runyan was good for 13 points and five assists. Destiny Leo posted 25 points and four helpers in defeat.
Villanova dominated early before Cleveland State won the fourth 25-13. The Wildcats went 10-of-25 from three while holding the Vikings to a 4-of-19 effort. Cleveland State did however go 19-of-22 at the line compared to Villanova’s 8-of-12 showing. The Cats won rebounds 44-29 and led by as much as 32.