Shaylee Gonzales’ 21 points led five Texas scorers in double figures, and the top-seeded Longhorns cruised at home to an 82-42 rout of No. 16 seed Drexel in the first contest of the Women’s NCAA Tournament’s Portland 4 Regional on Friday in Austin, Texas.
The Longhorns (31-4) went on a 16-2 run in the second quarter that helped Texas take a 20-point lead into halftime. Their onslaught of the Coastal Athletic Association’s automatic qualifier continued when they poured in 34 third-quarter points.
Gonzales shot 5-of-6 from 3-point range, accounting for all of the team’s makes on 10 attempts as a team. Texas did not need much from beyond the arc with Taylor Jones scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
DeYona Gaston added 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Khadija Faye and Aaliyah Moore each chipped in 10 points.
Amaris Baker led Drexel (19-15) with 10 points. The Dragons shot just 18-of-51 from the floor and 3-of-14 from long range, while committing 21 turnovers that Texas converted into 28 points.
No. 8 Alabama 82, No. 9 Florida State 74
Aaliyah Nye hit a corner 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining in regulation, part of her 18-point performance, to help the Crimson Tide hold off the Seminoles in Austin.
Nye, who came into the NCAA Tournament with a program-record 104 made 3-pointers on the season, added two more Friday, including the critical, fourth-quarter bucket off Karly Weathers’ assist.
Alabama (24-9) went on an 8-0 run beginning with Nye’s jumper to put Florida State away.
Essence Cody provided a team-high 20 points and game-high 14 rebounds to pace the Crimson Tide. Weathers added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for Alabama, which advanced in the tournament for the first time since 2021.
Florida State (23-11) got a game-high 25 points from Ta’Niya Latson, and a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double from Makayla Timpson. However, the Seminoles could not overcome a 30-of-75 shooting effort from the floor against Alabama’s 31-of-61 performance, which included a 7-of-14 shooting day beyond the arc.
Alabama moved on to face site host and No. 1 seed Texas in the second round on Sunday.
No. 7 Iowa State 93, No. 10 Maryland 86
Audi Crooks scored a career-high 40 points on 18-of-20 shooting from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds to help power the Cyclones from down 16 points at halftime in their defeat of the Terrapins in Stanford, Calif.
Iowa State (21-11) trailed by as many as 20 points late in the second quarter, but a 30-14 third quarter brought the Cyclones roaring back. Crooks shot 5-for-5 in the period for 11 points, almost matching Maryland’s scoring production on her own.
She shot 10-for-10 from the floor in the second half, and Iowa State went 19 of 28 as a team after intermission. The Cyclones shot 15 of 32 from the floor in the first half, and just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.
Maryland (19-14), meanwhile, built its first-half advantage shooting a blistering 9 of 13 from beyond the arc. Allie Kubek, who scored a career-high 29 points, made all five of her 3-point attempts before halftime and went 7 of 8 from outside overall.
Iowa State’s ability to complement Crooks’ interior scoring with effective 3-point shooting flipped the game in the second half, however. The Cyclones went 7 of 12 from long distance after the break, with Emily Ryan, Hannah Belanger and Kelsey Joens all making two.
Ryan finished with 18 points – 10 in the fourth quarter as Iowa State began to pull away – and dished 14 assists.
No. 2 Stanford 79, No. 15 Norfolk State 50
Four scorers for the Cardinal finished with at least 13 points, and the Stanford defense overwhelmed the Spartans in Stanford, Calif.
Cameron Brink keyed both the balanced offensive attack and stifling defense for the Cardinal (29-5). Brink scored 17 points while also grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds and blocking six shots.
Brink’s six swats contributed to Stanford holding Norfolk State to just 21-of-68 shooting from the floor.
The Spartans (27-6) went without making a 3-pointer until the 3:15 mark of the fourth quarter. Diamond Johnson, who scored a game-high 19 points, shot 0-for-8 beyond the arc while Norfolk State went 1-for-12 as a team.
Stanford, meanwhile, shot 30-for-58 from the floor and 9-for-20 from 3-point range. Elena Bosgana, who scored a team-high 18 points, and Hannah Jump each went 4-for-6 from deep. Jump finished with 13 points.
Kiki Iriafen finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinal. Stanford, which won its 24th consecutive first-round game, hosts Iowa State on Sunday.
–Field Level Media