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NCAA Women’s Wraps: No. 2 Seed Notre Dame beats No. 7 Seed Ole Miss 71-56 to advance to Sweet 16

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and Hannah Hidalgo added 19 to help No. 2 seed Notre Dame beat seventh-seeded Mississippi 71-56 on Monday in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Sonia Citron added 17 for the Fighting Irish (28-6), who advanced to the Sweet 16 where they will play No. 3 seed Oregon State in the Albany Regional 1.

Kennedy Todd-Williams and Madison Scott led Ole Miss (24-9) with 15 points each.

Notre Dame hit Ole Miss with an intense attack from the opening tip, establishing an uptempo tone on offense and a relentless but controlled defense early.

The Fighting Irish bolted to a 21-9 lead after one quarter, harassing Ole Miss into 4-of-17 shooting in the first quarter while connecting on 6-of-12 shots.

Notre Dame expanded its lead to 19 points at 33-14 on a 3 by Westbeld from the top of the key with 5:10 left. The Fighting Irish led by 17 points, 43-26, at halftime. Ole Miss committed 13 turnovers and only hit 38% of its shots (11-of-29).

INDIANA 70, OKLAHOMA 68

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Mackenzie Holmes scored 29 points, including six in a row, to give fourth-seeded Indiana a late lead Monday night as the Hoosiers rallied past fifth-seeded Oklahoma.

Sydney Parrish added 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Hoosiers (26-6), who advanced to their second Sweet 16 in three years and now face undefeated South Carolina in Albany, New York.

Indiana’s players celebrated by racing into the student section and up the steps at Assembly Hall as music blared and fans pumped their hands in the air,

Big 12 Player of the Year Skylar Vann led the Sooners (23-10) with 20 points and eight rebounds. Aubrey Joens had 16 points for Oklahoma, which walked off the floor dejectedly after a fourth consecutive second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament.

PORTLAND REGIONAL 3

UCONN 72, SYRACUSE 64

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Paige Bueckers tied her season high with 32 points, freshman Ashlynn Shade added 19 and No. 3 seed UConn held off Syracuse to earn a 30th straight trip to the Sweet 16.

It was Bueckers’ fifth straight game with at least 25 points, and seventh in her last eight games.

Dyaisha Fair scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half as Syracuse came back from a 12-point first half deficit to pull within two with just under two minutes left. But the Orange missed four 3-point attempts down the stretch and UConn scored seven of the game’s final eight points.

PORTLAND REGIONAL 4

NC STATE 79, TENNESSEE 72

Raleigh, N.C. (AP) — Aziaha James scored 22 points and the Wolfpack blew nearly all of a 20-point lead before holding off the Volunteers, sending them back to the Sweet 16.

Saniya Rivers added 20 points for the Wolfpack (29-6), who dominated the second quarter to build that huge margin before the Lady Vols (20-13) started creeping their way back.

Tennessee got as close as two points in the fourth, but N.C. State did just enough to protect its lead. That sent the Wolfpack on to a date with No. 2 seed Stanford in the Portland 4 Region.

James came up big in the critical moment amid the Lady Vols’ surge. First the 5-foot-9 junior scored on a floater over the outstreched arms of 6-6 post Tamari Key. Then, after Baldwin blocked a shot from Rickea Jackson from behind, James curled around the left wing to catch and feed from Saniya Rivers and stick a huge 3-pointer for a 70-63 lead at the 2:48 mark.

Tennessee didn’t get it back to a one-possession game again.

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