SOUTH BEND, Indiana — Sonia Citron scored 29 points and Hannah Hidalgo achieved a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists to assist No. 2-seed Notre Dame in defeating 15th-seeded Kent State 81-67 on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Citron made 13 of 20 field goals while Hidalgo added six steals for the Irish (27-6), who will play in the second round on Monday.
Katie Shumate led Kent State (21-11) with 20 points while Janae Tyler scored 18.
Notre Dame's strong defensive effort in the first quarter set a commanding tone. The Fighting Irish went on an 18-0 run to take a 22-5 lead, putting pressure on Kent State with 0-for-13 shooting.
No. 2 IOWA 91, HOLY CROSS 65
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark initially struggled to make shots, but ended up with 27 points and 10 assists as Iowa defeated Holy Cross in a NCAA tournament first-round game.
Kate Martin also achieved 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.
No. 14 INDIANA 89, No. 25 FAIRFIELD 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sara Scalia scored 27 points to lead fourth-seeded Indiana to a victory over No. 13 Fairfield in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Scalia made 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. — 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 provided the Sooners a 72-70 lead with a turnaround jumper in the paint with 48 seconds left. After an Eagles’ turnover, Vann hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to extend 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.
MISSISSIPPI 67, MARQUETTE 55
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Madison Scott scored 20 points and No. 7 Mississippi used a late surge to defeat 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 scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Rebels. Tyia Singleton earned 12 points and Kharyssa Richardson had 10 points.
No. 3 USC defeated TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI with a score of 87 to 55.
In Los Angeles, JuJu Watkins scored 23 points in her first NCAA Tournament game, leading top-seeded Southern California to a lopsided victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Trojans (27-5) also received 23 points from McKenzie Forbes in a first-round game they controlled from the start.
No. 10 UCONN won against JACKSON STATE with a score of 86 to 64.
In Storrs, Conn., Paige Bueckers tallied 28 points and freshman Ashlynn Shade contributed 26 points as No. 3 seed UConn celebrated coach Geno Auriemma's 70th birthday with a victory over Jackson State.
Wearing a mask after missing two games due to a broken nose, Aaliyah Edwards scored 20 points and collected 10 rebounds for the Huskies (30-5), who secured a victory in the opening round of the tournament for the 30th consecutive time.
No. 22 SYRACUSE beat ARIZONA with a score of 74 to 69.
In Storrs, Conn., Dyaisha Fair, star player of Syracuse, scored 32 points including 13 after returning from a second-half injury, leading the Orange to a come-from-behind victory 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).
KANSAS won against MICHIGAN with a score of 81 to 72 in overtime.
In Los Angeles, Zakiyah Franklin achieved 22 points, including a tying 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, leading Kansas to an overtime victory over Michigan in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Wyvette Mayberry and S’Mya Nichols each contributed 15 points, while Taiyanna Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the eighth-seeded Jayhawks (20-12).
The Jayhawks made a comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 23-14. Then Kansas intensified its defense and controlled the five-minute extra session, 14-5.
Lauren Hansen’s 3-pointer brought the Wolverines within 75-72. Franklin missed, but the 6-foot-6 Jackson secured the rebound. Nichols scored and drew the foul, increasing the Jayhawks’ lead to 78-72.
Franklin intercepted the ball with 22 seconds remaining and Nichols was fouled and made both free throws.
No. 11 NC STATE defeated CHATTANOOGA with a score of 64 to 45.
In Raleigh, N.C., Aziaha James scored all 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 achieved 16 points and River Baldwin earned 10 points and 11 rebounds, securing N.C. State coach Wes Moore a victory against his former team.
TENNESSEE won against GREEN BAY with a score of 92 to 63.
In Raleigh, N.C., Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and led Tennessee to a resounding victory over Green Bay.
Sarah Puckett contributed 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.
