Round 1 Recaps - March 16, 2017

WYOMING 68, SEATTLE 52

LARAMIE, WY – Bailee Cotton scored 16 points and added nine rebounds for Wyoming, which shot 52 percent and enjoyed an 18-5 advantage in assists in getting past Seattle.

The Cowgirls (22-9) will host Washington State in Round 2, with tipoff set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 18.

Natalie Baker added 14 points for Wyoming, to go with nine rebounds – the team outscored Seattle 40-28 in the second half.

The Redhawks (15-18) got 17 points from Kamira Sanders. 

COLORADO STATE 80, SAINT MARY’S 68 (OT)

FORT COLLINS, CO – Colorado State rode a fourth-quarter rally to force overtime, then overwhelmed Saint Mary’s with an 18-point burst.

The Rams (25-8) advance to Round 2 and will host either Utah or UC Davis at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

Elin Gustavsson had 28 points and seven rebounds for Colorado State, with Sofie Tryggedsson adding 18 points. The Rams trailed by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Saint Mary’s (20-13) had 20 turnovers; Carly Turner finished with 19 points.

COLORADO 66, UNLV 52

BOULDER, CO – Colorado scored as few as eight points in one quarter, and as many as 25 in another, but managed to keep UNLV at bay to move into Round 2.

The Buffaloes (16-15) will play at South Dakota State in the next round; tipoff is 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 19.

Kennedy Leonard had 22 points for Colorado; Alexis Robinson added 14points, and Haley Smith closed with 11 points and nine rebounds. Both teams ended up with 18 turnovers.

UNLV (22-11) was paced by Brooke Johnson’s 14 points; Dakota Gonzalez added 12 points and five rebounds.

WASHINGTON STATE 72, BYU 64

PROVO, UT – Washington State got back into the game with a 28-point third quarter, then held BYU to just six points in the final quarter, to claim a tough road victory.

Washington State (13-19) will play at Wyoming in Round 2; tipoff is 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 18.

Alexys Swedlund had 19 points for the victors; Caila Hailey added 17 points. Washington State forced BYU into 29 turnovers.

BYU (20-12) got 23 points from Makenzi Pulsipher; Cassie Broadhead came through with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE 67, MOREHEAD STATE 58

MURFREESBORO, TN – Middle Tennessee rode two superior performances to victory, with Alex Johnson scoring 26 points and Ty Petty adding 22 points.

The Blue Raiders (22-10) will host Wake Forest in Round 2; that game is Sunday, March 19 at 3 p.m. ET.

Johnson also had 12 rebounds; the Raiders enjoyed a 17-6 edge in made free throws and led more than 90 percent of the game.

Morehead State (22-9) was led by Miranda Crockett’s 11 points.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN 66, OKLAHOMA STATE 56

STILLWATER, OK – Abilene Christian hit eight 3-pointers and held on while host Oklahoma State struggled in spots, which allowed the Wildcats to move into Round 2 of the WNIT for the first time.

Sydney Shelstead had 12 points and nine rebounds for Abilene Christian (23-8), who will play at SMU or Louisiana Tech in the next round. Lizzy Dimba had 14 points for the Wildcats.

The Cowgirls (17-15) shot just 3-of-17 from long range; Kaylee Jensen closed with 26 points and seven rebounds.

SAINT LOUIS 62, IUPUI 57

ST. LOUIS, MO – Saint Louis escaped a rough night from 3-point range – going 0-for-13 overall – and came back from a halftime deficit to slip by IUPUI.

The Billikens (25-8) will play at Indiana in Round 2; tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 19.

Sadie Stipanovich closed with 22 points and 16 rebounds for Saint Louis. Jackie Kemph added 13 points.

For IUPUI (24-9), which shot 8-of-19 from long range, Mikale Rogers had 17 points and six rebounds, and Kelsi Byrd closed with 16 points.

ALABAMA 81, MERCER 57

TUSCALOOSA, AL – Alabama caught fire in the second half, outscoring Mercer 48-27 in the last two quarters, to advance to Round 2.

The Tide (20-13) will host Little Rock in the next round; that game will tip off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 19.

Alabama had five players hit double figures – Ashley Williams closed with 19 points and 12 rebounds, Quanetria Bolton had 14 points, Shaquera Wade added 12 points, and both Jordan Lewis and Hannah Cook tallied 10 points.

For Mercer (25-7), Kahlia Lawrence scored 19 points, and Sydni Means scored 15 points.

IOWA 95, MISSOURI STATE 74

IOWA CITY, IA – Iowa’s seasoned group had a superior offensive performance, as the Hawkeyes shot better than 62 percent from the field.

Iowa (18-13) will host South Dakota in Round 2; tip is set for 4 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 18.

Ally Disterhoft closed with 21 points for the Hawkeyes; Kathleen Doyle had 18 points and six assists, and both Megan Gustafson and Makenzie Meyer added 14 points. Gustafson also secured 10 rebounds.

Missouri State (16-15) was paced by Lexi Hughes, who had 26 points, four rebounds and four assists.

SOUTH DAKOTA 78, NORTH DAKOTA 55

VERMILLION, SD – South Dakota forced 20 turnovers, shot better than 55 percent and won every quarter in cruising past North Dakota.

The Coyotes (23-8) will play at Iowa in Round 2; tip is set for 4 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 18.

Allison Arens had 24 points for South Dakota, and Jaycee Bradley chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds. North Dakota (20-11) got 11 points from Makailah Dyer and 10 points from Leah Szabla.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 94, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 84

BROOKINGS, SD – South Dakota State’s potent offense was needed in a back-and-forth showdown with Northern Illinois, with the Jackrabbits hitting 14 of 31 3-point attempts in the victory.

South Dakota State (23-8) will host Colorado or UNLV in Round 2.

Kerri Young scored 28 points for the Jackrabbits; Clarissa Ober added 17 points 20 rebounds and Ellie Thompson came through with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Northern Illinois (21-12) got 19 points from both Courtney Woods and Kelly Smith.

TULANE 62, UT ARLINGTON 53

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Tulane outscored UT Arlington in the third quarter, 23-8, to break open a tight contest before easing into Round 2.

The Green Wave (17-14) will host Grambling State in the next round; the game is set for 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 19.

Kolby Morgan had 20 points to go with six rebounds for Tulane; Leslie Vorpal added 13 points, and the team also benefited from an 18-6 edge in made free throws. The Mavericks (22-9) were paced by 15 points from Christina Davis.

INDIANA 71, BALL STATE 58

BLOOMINGTON, IN – Guards Tyra Buss and Alexis Gassion helped Indiana get out early and closed with 19 points and 14 points, respectively, while Amanda Cahill added 16 points for the winners.

The Hoosiers (21-10) will host Saint Louis or IUPUI in Round 2 on Sunday, March 19, at 2 p.m. ET. Indiana made eight 3-pointers against Ball State (21-11) to go with 19 of 21 free throw attempts.

Ball State was paced by Moriah Monaco’s 17 points, while Destiny Washington added eight points and eight rebounds.

WAKE FOREST 71, BETHUNE-COOKMAN 42

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Ariel Stephenson scored 20 points as Wake Forest (16-15) pulled away from Bethune-Cookman (21-11) in the second half.

The Deacons will play Middle Tennessee or Morehead State in Round 2.

Amber Campbell added 20 points for Wake Forest, and Alex Sharp chipped in with six points and 11 rebounds. The Deacons outscored Bethune-Cookman, 42-19, over the final two quarters. The Wildcats were paced by Kendra Cooper, who scored 11 points, but the team shot just 26 percent from the field and was 2-of-18 from 3-point range.

WRIGHT STATE 66, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 64

DAYTON, OH – Mackenzie Taylor converted a layup with 49 seconds to go to put Wright State in the lead, and Emily Vogelpohl  added a key free throw with 26 seconds remaining as Wright State clawed past Central Michigan.

The Raiders (25-8) will take on Michigan in Ann Arbor for Round 2; that game is slated for Saturday, March 18 at 2 p.m. ET.

Chelsea Welch scored 21points for Wright State, Symone Simmons added 20 points, and Lexi Smith scored 10 points. Central Michigan (23-9) got 20 points from Cassie Breen. 

GRAMBLING STATE 78, OLE MISS 75

OXFORD, MS – Jazmine Torain hit a 3-pointer for Grambling State to tie the game at 75-all with 1:41 to go, and a layup by Johnea Thompson with 11 seconds to go put the Tigers up for good.

Grambling State (19-14) will play at Tulane on Sunday, March 19 at 5 p.m. ET.

Ole Miss (17-14) outscored Grambling State by nine points in the third quarter to get back in the contest, and Shandricka Sessom’s 3-pointer put the rebels ahead, 75-72, with 1:51 to go. Taylor Manuel had 28 points and eight rebounds, and Sessom closed with 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Tigers got 23 points from Torian, to go with 17 points from both Monisha Neal and Shakyla Hill.


GEORGIA TECH 71, JACKSONVILLE 55

ATLANTA, GA – Georgia Tech had four players hit double figures in scoring, and the Yellow Jackets eased past Jacksonville to advance to Round 2.

Georgia Tech (18-14) will host UCF coming up, with tipoff set for 5 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

Kaylan Pugh led the way for the winners with 13 points and seven rebounds; Imani Tilford and Francesca Pan each scored 11 points, and Antonia Peresson scored 10 points. Sherranda Reddick had 21 points and nine rebounds for Jacksonville (23-9), with Kayla Gordon adding 14 points and 10 rebounds.

MICHIGAN 67, KENT STATE 60

ANN ARBOR, MI – Katelynn Flaherty scored 22 points, 18 coming in the first half, as Michigan (23-9) rolled past Kent State (19-13) in the first round.

The Wolverines, who are 15-1 at home and have a program-best total for victories overall, will play Wright State in Round 2 on Saturday, March 18, at 2 p.m. ET.

Kent State played much better in the second half and outscored Michigan, 38-24, in the last two quarters. Larissa Lurken had 19 points and eight rebounds, and McKenna Stephens had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Flashes.

UCF 73, STETSON 53

ORLANDO, FL – UCF clamped down with impressive defense against Stetson and then found its own offensive groove in the last two quarters, advancing the Knights (21-11) into Round 2.

UCF will play at Georgia Tech on Sunday, March 19, with tipoff set for 5 p.m. ET.

Stetson (26-7) only had 20 points at halftime and never got untracked, while UCF scored 29 points in the third quarter to take command. The Knights got 23 points from Aliyah Gregory and 22 from Zykira Lewis, forcing 20 turnovers by Stetson.
The Hatters were led by Brittney Chambers, who had 15 points, while Brianti Saunders added 11 points and four rebounds.