Visits: 10
Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points and Jessica Shepard had a double-double as Notre Dame, the No. 1 seed in the Chicago Region, began defense of its N.C.A.A. women’s basketball championship with a 92-50 victory over Bethune-Cookman at home in South Bend, Ind.
Ogunbowale hit 8 of 15 shots and added four assists and three steals for the Fighting Irish (31-3), who never trailed. Shepard, who had her 15th double-double of the season by halftime, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Brianna Turner, a 6-foot-3 forward who sat out last season’s N.C.A.A. run with an injury, contributed 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks. Jackie Young added 11 points.
Angel Golden had 25 points for the 16th-seeded Lady Wildcats (21-11), who won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament and were playing in their first N.C.A.A. tournament.
The Irish used their longest spurt of the season, a 25-0 run, to take control of the game midway through the first half on their way to a 51-19 halftime lead. Bethune-Cookman, which left 80-degree temperatures behind in Daytona Beach, Fla., was cold for nearly nine minutes.
Where the Heart Is
Taylor Mikesell scored 16 points, Kaila Charles had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and third-seeded Maryland (29-4) used a relentless defensive effort on its home floor in College Park to overpower Radford, 73-51. Stephanie Jones added 12 points and Shakira Austin tallied 11 for the Terrapins, who advanced to the second round for the 15th time in 15 tries under Coach Brenda Frese.
Mikesell, a freshman guard, made four 3-pointers to set the program’s single-season record of 94.
After yielding 90 points to Iowa in losing the Big Ten championship game, the Terrapins cranked up the defense against a Radford team that came in with an 18-game winning streak. Maryland limited the Highlanders to 29.7 percent shooting, forced 17 turnovers and had 11 steals.
Destinee Walker scored 15 points for Radford (26-7), the Big South champion. In its three previous trips to the N.C.A.A. tournament, Radford was outscored by 57, 40 and 41.
Turnovers Hurt Princeton
Taylor Murray scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half, and Kentucky beat Princeton, 82-77, in Raleigh, N.C. Maci Morris added 19 points, the freshman Rhyne Howard had 15 and Tatyana Wyatt finished with 12 to help the sixth-seeded Wildcats (25-7) reach the second round of the Greensboro Region.
Kentucky, one of the nation’s leaders in turnover margin, turned Princeton’s 16 turnovers into 22 points and shot 50 percent but could never get comfortable against the 11th-seeded Tigers.
The Ivy League player of the year, Bella Alarie, finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists for Princeton (22-10). Gabrielle Rush added 22 points with six 3-pointers, while Sydney Jordan scored a career-high 17 points.
Princeton had a final chance to make it a one-possession game, trailing, 80-75, after Howard missed two free throws with 20.6 seconds left, but Carli Littlefield missed a 3 with about 12 seconds left and Howard soon iced it with two free throws.
One Streak Grows, One Halts
Macy Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the No. 6 seed South Dakota State past Quinnipiac in Syracuse. The 76-65 victory was the 17th straight win for the Jackrabbits (27-6).
Jen Fay led Quinnipiac (26-7) with 25 points and 9 rebounds. The loss snapped the Bobcats’ 21-game winning streak.
The Jackrabbits held a 41-30 halftime lead, but Fay rallied Quinnipiac, and her layup with 3 minutes 29 seconds remaining brought the Bobcats to within 62-59. Tylee Irwin’s layup nine seconds later extended South Dakota State’s lead to 64-59, but Fay connected on another jumper to bring Quinnipiac within 64-61 with 2:59 left.
Two foul shots by Irwin and a 3 by Miller extended South Dakota State’s lead to 8 with 1:31 to go. Miller hit five more free throws and Myah Selland sank two from the line to secure the victory.
