Iowa cruises past Holy Cross 91-65 as Caitlin Clark scores 27

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Caitlin Clark struggled to make shots early, but finished with 27 points and 10 assists as Iowa defeated Holy Cross 91-65 in a women’s NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday.

Kate Martin also had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (30-4), the top seed in the Albany 2 Regional. Iowa advanced to Monday’s second round to face either eighth seed West Virginia or ninth seed Princeton.

Clark, a unanimous Associated Press All-American selection, was just 8 of 19 from the field, 3 of 9 in 3-pointers, showing her frustration with missed shots multiple times during the game.

Clark finished with her 65th career double-double, and added eight rebounds.

She got off to a slow start and didn’t make her first field goal until 22 seconds were left in the first quarter. She committed five turnovers in the first eight minutes.

Iowa had a similar start. The Hawkeyes had a 10-0 run midway through the first quarter that didn’t bother the Crusaders, who were within 23-21 at the end of the quarter.

The Hawkeyes then outscored Holy Cross 25-9 in the second quarter, holding the Crusaders to just 1 of 12 shooting. Clark finally got her first 3-pointer with 3:26 left in the first half, shaking her head and rolling her eyes after making the shot.

Holy Cross (21-13) made 12 3-pointers in Thursday’s 72-45 First Four win over UT-Martin, but were just 7 of 34 in 3-pointers in this game, with only three in the second half. The Crusaders, who missed their first 10 shots of the fourth quarter, shot just 32.4% from the field.

ALBANY REGIONAL 1

NO. 9 NOTRE DAME 81, KENT STATE 67

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Sonia Citron scored 29 points and Hannah Hidalgo added a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists to help No. 2-seed Notre Dame beat 15th-seeded Kent State.

Citron was 13 of 20 from the field while Hidalgo added six steals for the Irish (27-6), who play Monday in the second round.

Katie Shumate led Kent State (21-11) with 20 points while Janae Tyler scored 18.

A relentless defensive effort in the first quarter set a dominating tone for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish used an 18-0 run on the way to building a 22-5 lead, harassing Kent State into a stretch of 0-for-13 shooting.

NO. 14 INDIANA 89, NO. 25 FAIRFIELD 56

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Sara Scalia scored 27 points to lead fourth-seeded Indiana to a victory over No. 13 Fairfield on in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.

Scalia sank five of the Hoosiers’ 10 3-pointers. Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 13 points for the Hoosiers.

The Hoosiers (25-5) will face No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Monday night.

Fairfield (31-2) saw its 29-game winning streak come to an end. Janelle Brown led the Stags, who earned the first Top 25 ranking in school history earlier this month, with 19 points.

NO. 18 OKLAHOMA 73, FLORIDA GULF COAST 70

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Skylar Vann scored 24 points and fifth-seeded Oklahoma held off No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast.

Oklahoma (23-9) will face No. 4 seed Indiana (25-5) in the second round on Monday night.

Payton Verhulst gave the Sooners a 72-70 lead on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 48 seconds left. After a Eagles’ turnover, Vann hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to push the Sooners’ lead to 73-70.

Dolly Cairns 3-point shot was blocked by Vann with 3 seconds left. The Eagles got the rebound with a second left. Uju Ezeudu missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

Sahara Williams scored 14 and Verhulst added 11 for the Sooners.

Emani Jefferson led Florida Gulf Coast (29-5) with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jefferson was 8-of-22 from the field. Brylee Bartram scored 14 points and Cairns added 10 for the Eagles.

MISSISSIPPI 67, MARQUETTE 55

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Madison Scott scored 20 points and No. 7 Mississippi used a late run to beat 10th-seeded Marquette in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Ole Miss (24-8) takes on the host No. 2 Seed Fighting Irish (27-6) on Monday.

Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Rebels. Tyia Singleton had 12 points and Kharyssa Richardson scored 10.

Liza Karlen led Marquette (23-9) with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Rose Nkumu scored 18 points, and Mackenzie Hare had 10 points.

Scott’s drive to the hoop with 7:22 left in the game gave Ole Miss an eight-point lead at 55-47.

PORTLAND REGIONAL 3

NO. 3 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 87, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 55

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 23 points in her NCAA Tournament debut, leading No. 1 seed Southern California to a blowout victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Trojans (27-5) also got 23 points from McKenzie Forbes in a first-round game they dominated from the opening tip.

The 16th-seeded Islanders (23-9) scored the first basket, then the Trojans took over. Watkins hit a 3-pointer for her first points to launch a 21-0 run in which five different players scored.

The Islanders managed just one other basket in the first and it came as time expired. They scored 16 points in the second quarter and trailed 36-20 at halftime.

Mireia Aguado, one of six players from Spain on the roster, scored 15 points and Alecia Westbrook added 12 for the Islanders.

NO. 10 UCONN 86, JACKSON STATE 64

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 28 points and freshman Ashlynn Shade added 26 as No. 3 seed UConn celebrated coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday with a win over Jackson State.

Aaliyah Edwards, wearing a mask after missing two games with a broken nose, had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (30-5), who won in the opening round of the tournament for a 30th straight time.

Ti’Ian Boler scored 25 points and Angel Jackson had 13 for 14th seeded Jackson State (26-7), which lost for the first time in 22 games.

The Tigers’ Miya Crump opened the game with a jumper and Jackson State led briefly at 4-2.

But Bueckers sparked a 17-0 Husky run by scoring eight of UConn’s first 10 points. She gave Connecticut its first lead at 5-4 on an up-and-under layup and foul shot.

UConn led 22-8 after 10 minutes, and took its first 20-point lead at 39-19 on a 3-pointer from Bueckers, who also pulled down 11 rebounds and had seven assists in the game.

NO. 22 SYRACUSE 74, ARIZONA 69

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair scored 32 points, including 13 after she returned from a second-half injury, to lead the Orange to a come-from behind win over No. 11 seed Arizona in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The third team All-American scored all of her team’s points during a game-winning run that began with the Orange trailing 66-61 with 3:16 left. Alyssa Latham added 10 points for Syracuse (24-7).

Skyler Jones had 24 points while Jada Williams and Helena Pueyo each added 14 for Arizona (18-16).

The Wildcats led by as many as nine points in the first half at 31-22 after a 3-pointer from Williams. But Fair scored five points in the final 41 seconds of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 37-32 at intermission.

KANSAS 81, MICHIGAN 72, OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zakiyah Franklin scored 22 points, including a tying 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped with 12 seconds left in regulation, and Kansas beat Michigan in overtime in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Wyvette Mayberry and S’Mya Nichols added 15 points each and Taiyanna Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the eighth-seeded Jayhawks (20-12).

The Jayhawks rallied in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Wolverines 23-14. Then Kansas stepped up its defense and controlled the five-minute extra session, 14-5.

Lauren Hansen’s 3-pointer pulled the Wolverines within 75-72. Franklin missed, but the 6-foot-6 Jackson grabbed the rebound. Nichols scored and drew the foul, extending the Jayhawks’ lead to 78-72.

Franklin stole the ball with 22 seconds left and Nichols got fouled and made both.

The Jayhawks advanced to a second-round game against No. 1 seed Southern California.

PORTLAND REGIONAL 4

NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 64 CHATTANOOGA 45

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored each of her 19 points in the second half, and North Carolina State pulled away from Chattanooga for a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Saniya Rivers scored 16 points and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds, boosting N.C. State coach Wes Moore to a victory against his former team.

Next up for No. 3 seed N.C. State (28-6) is ex-Wolfpack coach Kellie Harper and sixth-seeded Tennessee (20-12) on Monday.

The winner goes to the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.

Jada Guinn scored 13 points for Chattanooga (28-5), which had lost only once previously in 2024. Raven Thompson added 11 points.

The Mocs fell to 1-17 in NCAA Tournament play, with the lone victory coming when Moore was coaching the team.

TENNESSEE 92, GREEN BAY 63

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Tennessee rolled past Green Bay.

Sarah Puckett added 14 points and Jewel Spear had 13 for the sixth-seeded Lady Vols, who are the only team to participate in all 42 women’s NCAA Tournaments. It was the first game in Raleigh for Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who coached North Carolina State for four seasons from 2009-13.

Tennessee (20-12) will play the third-seeded Wolfpack on Monday with a spot in the Sweet 16 in Portland, Oregon.

Maddy Schreiber led 11th-seeded Green Bay (27-7) with 13 points, but the Phoenix remained without an NCAA Tournament victory since 2012 by suffering their most-lopsided loss of the season.