While the Sweet 16 is set on the men's side, the women's NCAA tournament still has eight more second-round games to be played on Monday night before its field is trimmed to 16 teams.
The first eight second-round games were played on Sunday, and the higher seed won in seven of those eight matchups. Among the victors were No. 1 seeds Mississippi State and Louisville and No. 2 seeds UConn, Iowa and Oregon.
There weren't many upsets in the first round of the women's tournament, and there were no big ones on Sunday. Monday likely won't be much different, as No. 1 seeds Notre Dame and Baylor and No. 2 seed Stanford are among the schools looking to advance to the Sweet 16.
No. 6 South Dakota State vs. No. 3 Syracuse, 7 p.m.
No. 8 California vs. No. 1 Baylor, 9 p.m.
No. 5 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Oregon State, 9 p.m.
No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 3 Iowa State, 9 p.m.
No. 7 BYU vs. No. 2 Stanford, 11 p.m.
Monday Preview
Cinderella teams are less likely in the women's tournament than the men's, as the top seeds have dominated the NCAA tourney in recent years.
Monday's action features the No. 1 overall seed, Baylor, which will be taking on No. 8 seed California. The Bears have lost only one game this season, and that was against Stanford back on Dec. 15. Their first-round blowout win over Abilene Christian was their 24th straight victory.
"You're excited to play," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said after that win, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. "We hadn't played in about 12 days, I think. You get nervous when you're off that long a period of time. Are you going to come out rusty? I didn't think we came out rusty."
No. 1 seed Notre Dame, the defending national champion, also plays Monday night when it takes on No. 9 seed Michigan State. The Fighting Irish pummeled No. 16 seed Bethune-Cookman in the first round. Before that, they notched an impressive win over Louisville to win the ACC tournament championship.
Michigan State pulled out a close 88-87 win over No. 8 seed Central Michigan in the first round, but it's likely that the Spartans' season will end with a loss to Notre Dame.
If there's going to be a rare Cinderella team in this year's tournament, it would have to be Missouri State. The Bears, who previously beat Drake to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship, upset No. 6 seed DePaul in the first round.
"It's very emotional," Missouri State coach Kellie Harper said after the victory, according to The Gazette. "I'm so happy for this group, and we knew we'd put ourselves in a really good position going into the tournament with how we'd played. It'll sink in a little later."
The Bears will look to carry on that momentum when they play No. 3 seed Iowa State on Monday night.
NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2019: Sunday Scores and Updated Bracket
Mar 24, 2019
The second round of the 2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament got underway Sunday, with eight games scattered throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Star power wasn't in short supply, with three of the four Naismith Trophy finalists taking the court. Louisville and Asia Durr opened the proceedings against Michigan. Megan Gustafson and Sabrina Ionescu receive the spotlight later on.
Here's a look at Sunday's scores and a brief overview of the action.
No. 4 South Carolina def. No. 5 Florida State, 72-64
No. 2 Iowa def. No. 7 Missouri, 68-52
No. 2 UConn def. No. 10 Buffalo, 84-72
No. 5 Arizona State def. No. 4 Miami, 57-55
No. 1 Mississippi State def. No. 9 Clemson 85-61
No. 2 Oregon def. No. 10 Indiana 91-68
Bracket
The full bracket for the 2019 women's NCAA tournament can be viewed at NCAA.com.
Louisville 71, Michigan 50
Louisville rolled over Michigan in what was a home game for the Cardinals.
The Wolverines remained somewhat close heading into the half, trailing 38-26. Louisville broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring Michigan 17-6, which propelled the Cardinals to a 71-50 victory.
Although Michigan shot a relatively healthy 42.9 percent from the field, Louisville forced 22 turnovers. Efficient shooting doesn't matter much when a team is giving the ball to its opponent so frequently.
Durr delivered a typically electric performance as well. Playing for the final time in front of a Louisville home crowd, she led all scorers with 24 points. The senior guard padded her stat line with two rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Jazmine Jones (15 points, four rebounds, four assists) had a nice game as well for Louisville.
The Cardinals effectively bottled up Naz Hillmon, who entered Sunday as Michigan's leading scorer. The freshman forward finished with six points, well below her season average (13.3).
Texas A&M 78, Marquette 76
Durr, Gustafson and Arike Ogunbowale are all seniors, and Ionescu is eligible for the 2019 WNBA draft. Their departures will create a void in women's basketball, allowing Chennedy Carter to position herself as a Naismith Trophy contender in 2020.
The Texas A&M guard was brilliant Sunday and narrowly missed out on a double-double. She had 30 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Carter also made a critical steal to preserve what was a 78-76 win for the Aggies. Down by a point, Marquette inbounded the ball inside the final seven seconds. Carter ripped the ball away from Danielle King to force the turnover.
Fittingly, Carter also found Shambria Washington in the corner for the go-ahead basket late in the second half.
Last year @AggieWBB needed a 37-point performance from Chennedy Carter to beat DePaul in NCAA second round. Today, Carter had 30 to lead Texas A&M over another Big East team, Marquette, 78-76 and into Sweet 16.
N'Dea Jones (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Ciera Johnson (11 points, 12 rebounds) provided support for the Aggies star.
Regardless of how far Texas A&M goes in this tournament, the future is bright for the squad with only two seniors on the roster.
South Carolina 72, Florida State 64
South Carolina closed the fourth quarter on a 12-4 run to beat Florida State 72-64 in the second round.
The final score is somewhat deceiving as the Seminoles trailed by just one point with 42 seconds remaining. Kiah Gillespie hit a layup to make it 65-64. Those were FSU's final points of the game, though, and South Carolina hit enough of its free throws to put the game out of reach.
Entering the game, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan was averaging 9.9 points per contest. The junior forward went above and beyond, coming off the bench to score 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Herbert Harrigan also knocked down seven of her eight free throws.
Free-throw shooting was a big factor in the outcome. South Carolina got to the charity stripe 24 times, compared to 11 times for Florida State. Four of the Seminoles' starters ended with at least three fouls, which spells trouble in a road game against a team as good as South Carolina.
Iowa 68, Missouri 52
Much like Durr and Carter, Gustafson more than lived up to the hype as Iowa pulled away from Missouri in a 68-52 victory.
Gustafson had 24 points and 19 rebounds, both of which were game highs.
Some saw this as an individual battle between Gustafson and Tigers star Sophie Cunningham, viewed by many as a first-round draft prospect.
Cunningham picked up two early fouls in the first half. She only finished with three for the game, but her early foul trouble appeared to throw off her groove. The senior guard shot 3-of-11, including 2-of-9 from beyond the arc.
The Hawkeyes relied heavily on Gustafson during their opening-round win over Mercer. Her 14 made field goals equaled half of the team's total, and she was responsible for 30 of Iowa's 66 points.
The offense had a little more balance Sunday as Makenzie Meyer and Kathleen Doyle combined for 33 points.
Connecticut 84, Buffalo 72
UConn earned a trip to the Sweet 16 for the 26th straight year after a 12-point win over Buffalo.
The Huskies built a big advantage in the first quarter and appeared to be in control throughout the game until the Bulls fought back late and cut it to single digits.
Buffalo outscored the No. 2 seed 17-11 in the fourth quarter and got as close as eight points away from the upset but simply ran out of time.
Cierra Dillard had 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to give her team a great chance of stealing a win, but the squad fell short.
Napheesa Collier was the star for UConn once again, finishing with 27 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Katie Lou Samuelson didn't have her best shooting day but still managed 17 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, the teamwork and great passing were on display throughout the day:
With 22 assists on 29 made field goals, the Huskies offense is clicking at the right time.
Arizona State 57, Miami 55
A pair of Robbi Ryan free throws with five seconds remaining was the difference as Arizona State earned a narrow victory over Miami.
The Hurricanes had possession in a tie game and the opportunity to hold it for the last shot in regulation, but a turnover on the inbounds pass allowed Ryan to get the go-ahead points.
This came after Sophia Elenga gave her team the lead a few possessions earlier:
Emese Hof had a close chance to tie it up in the final seconds, but the shot fell short to end the game.
Neither team led by more than four points in the entire fourth quarter of the dramatic battle, but the Sun Devils did just enough to survive and advance to the Sweet 16.
Not a single player on Arizona State had more than 10 points in a balanced offensive effort, while the defense stepped up while holding Miami to 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. This earned the team a chance to face either Mississippi State or Clemson in the regional semifinals.
Oregon 91, Indiana 68
Sabrina Ionescu was dominant with 29 points and a triple-double to lead Oregon to the Sweet 16.
Indiana kept it close in the first half, leading by four in the second quarter thanks to some strong play on both ends:
Even when Clemson kept the ball out of her hands, Howard was nearly as good with 21 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.
Add in 18 points from Jordan Danberry, and it was clear which was the better team in Starkville, Mississippi, on Sunday.
Clemson led 2-0 and trailed the rest of the night as Mississippi State advanced to the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs hope they are just getting started, as they set up an interesting battle with Arizona State in the regional semifinal.
Michigan State's Shay Colley (0) and Victoria Gaines (15) hug as they walk off the court following their 88-87 win over Central Michigan in a first-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in South Bend, Ind., Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Robert Franklin)
Saturday marked Day 2 of the 2019 women's NCAA tournament, with first-round action heating up as teams looked to claim the remaining sports in the round of 32.
Below is a look at Saturday's games.
2019 Women's NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule/Results — Saturday
No. 6 South Dakota State def. No. 11 Quinnipiac 76-65
No. 3 NC State def. No. 14 Maine 63-51
No. 3 Syracuse def. No. 14 Fordham 70-49
No. 6 UCLA def. No. 11 Tennessee 89-77
No. 9 Michigan State def. No. 8 Central Michigan 88-87
No. 5 Gonzaga def. No. 12 Little Rock 68-51
No. 11 Missouri State def. No. 6 DePaul 89-78
No. 8 California def. No. 9 North Carolina 92-72
No. 7 BYU def. No. 10 Auburn 73-64
No. 1 Baylor def. No. 16 Abilene Christian 95-38
No. 2 Stanford def. No. 15 UC Davis 79-54
No. 3 Iowa State def. No. 14 New Mexico State 97-61
No. 4 Oregon State def. No. 13 Boise State 80-75 (OT)
Bracket
The full bracket for the 2019 women's NCAA tournament can be viewed at NCAA.com.
Notre Dame 92, Bethune-Cookman 50
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish got their title defense off to a good start by cruising past the 16th-seeded Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Saturday.
Notre Dame dominated from the start, scoring the first six points of the game. The lead quickly grew to double digits, and by the time halftime arrived, it was a 51-19 margin.
Fighting Irish Jessica Shepard made her presence felt early and often, recording a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds in the first half) before the break. She finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Reigning NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player Arike Ogunbowale scored a team-high 23 points, while forward Brianna Turner added 19 points and nine rebounds.
Angel Golden had 25 points for the Wildcats in the loss.
Kentucky 82, Princeton 75
Early on, the upset-minded Princeton Tigers gave the sixth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats all they could handle.
Trailing 37-33 at the half, Kentucky was on full upset alert. However, the Wildcats managed to save their season with a strong second-half performance.
Kentucky used a late 9-0 run to close out the third quarter in order to gain control of the game. The lead would grow to double digits early in the fourth.
Princeton continued to battle, though, refusing to go down without a fight. The Tigers clawed back to make it a two-possession game in the final minute, but they were unable to complete the comeback.
Each team had four players in double figures. Seniors Maci Morris and Taylor Murray led the way for Kentucky with 19 points apiece, and Gabrielle Rush scored a game-high 22 for Princeton.
No. 3 Maryland 73, No. 14 Radford 51
A balanced attack led by freshman Taylor Mikesell helped Maryland go wire-to-wire en route to a comfortable victory.
The Terrapins jumped out to a 16-2 lead and never looked back.
Mikesell made four treys while recording a game-high 16 points, establishing a new program record in the process:
— Maryland Women’s Basketball (@TerpsWBB) March 23, 2019
Kaila Charles (14 points), Stephanie Jones (12) and Shakira Austin (11) joined Mikesell in double figures for Maryland.
Destinee Walker led Radford with 15 points.
No. 6 South Dakota State 76, No. 11 Quinnipiac 65
South Dakota State's Macy Miller and Quinnipiac's Jen Fay put on a show in their head-to-head battle, but only Miller and the Jackrabbits were able to move on.
Miller notched a double-double while going off for 28 points and hauling in 11 boards. Meanwhile, Fay did her best to keep her team in the game, going 10-of-18 from the floor for 25 points.
In the end, South Dakota State was too much for Quinnipiac. Myah Selland added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Jackrabbits.
No. 3 NC State 63, No. 14 Maine 51
While the 14th-seeded Maine Black Bears provided a stern test early on, the NC State Wolfpack used a late first-quarter run to start to pull away.
NC State ended the opening period on a 10-0 run, and it would stretch the lead to double figures as the second quarter progressed. And just like in the first quarter, the Wolfpack closed the second quarter on fire, scoring the final 11 points of the half.
That made it a 17-point game entering the break, and that proved to be too much for Maine to overcome.
Kiara Leslie paced the Wolfpack with 20 points, and Parise Rossignol had 19 for the Black Bears.
No. 9 Michigan State 88, No. 8 Central Michigan 87
There was no shortage of drama when the Spartans and Chippewas met on the court on Saturday.
Michigan State controlled the game early on, grabbing a double-digit lead late in the opening period. However, Central Michigan chipped away at the lead and ultimately made it a one-point game in the second.
The Spartans managed to gain some breathing room by opening up an 11-point lead in the third, but once again the Chippewas refused to fold.
It was a back-and-forth battle down the stretch, with the two teams exchanging leads throughout the final six minutes.
While a Presley Hudson triple with 21 seconds to play appeared to put Central Michigan in position to advance, it was a layup by Michigan State's Shay Colley with seven seconds to play that proved to be the difference.
Michigan State takes an 88-87 lead over Central Michigan with 7.6 seconds remaining on a layup from Shay Colley. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cDDd4mRYRs
Hudson (20 points), Reyna Frost (34) and Micaela Kelly (24) combined to score all but nine of the Chippewas' 87 points.
Syracuse 70, Fordham 49
Fordham gave Syracuse all it could handle in the opening period, but the final three quarters were all Orange.
Trailing by one after 10 minutes of action, Syracuse used a 14-0 run in the opening two-plus minutes of the second to move out in front. From that point on, it never looked back.
Tiana Mangakahia's all-around effort (21 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and five steals) helped the Orange cruise to victory in the second half. Gabrielle Cooper provided 13 points in support.
UCLA 89, Tennessee 77
After the Bruins dominated the opening quarter, the Lady Vols battled all the way back to make a game of it down the stretch.
However, UCLA made enough plays late to hold off the upset charge.
It took the Bruins just over four minutes to open up a double-digit lead, and by the end of the first quarter, the Lady Vols were being doubled up 28-14. However, they slowly chipped away at the deficit over the next two quarters before evening the score at 52-all late in the third.
The two squads traded leads throughout the fourth. But once UCLA sophomore Michaela Onyenwere (22 points and 15 rebounds) gave her team a 72-70 lead with 3:16 to play, the Bruins never looked back. That sparked a 10-0 run that put the game out of reach.
Kennedy Burke (19 points) scored eight points over the final three minutes and two seconds, and Japreece Dean (14 points) going six-of-six from the line in the final 98 seconds helped ice the game.
Tennessee sophomore Rennia Davis had 21 points in a losing effort.
Gonzaga 68, Little Rock 51
There was no hint of an upset in this 5-12 clash.
From the moment Katie Campbell hit a three-pointer just nine seconds in, the game was essentially over. The Bulldogs stormed out to a 16-0 lead and held a 21-2 advantage after the opening quarter.
While Little Rock trimmed a 21-point deficit down to 12 by halftime, the Trojans were never able to put much of a scare into the Bulldogs.
Campbell finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Missouri State 89, DePaul 78
Eleventh-seeded Missouri State pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament to date by taking down DePaul in the first round.
After an even first quarter, the Lady Bears opened up a double-digit lead just before halftime. A 19-10 edge in the second gave them some breathing room heading into the break.
The Blue Demons were never able to cut the margin below seven in the second half before the Lady Bears began to run away with the game. With less than six minutes to play, Missouri State had grown its lead to 21, leaving little doubt in the outcome.
The upset charge was led by four Lady Bears players reaching double figures, led by Alexa Willard (20 points) and Danielle Gitzen (20).
California 92, North Carolina 72
North Carolina threatened to run away with this one early on, but Cal battled back and found a way to turn the tables.
Led by Shayla Bennett and Janelle Bailey, the Tar Heels doubled up the Golden Bears in the first quarter. It was a different story in the second, though, as Cal cut Carolina's lead to a single point in the final minute of the half.
The Golden Bears withstood a strong start by the Tar Heels coming out of the locker rooms, and eventually, they pulled away for a comfortable victory. They wound up outscoring their opponent by 10-plus points in each of the final two quarters.
After putting up 11 apiece in the first half, Bennett and Bailey combined for just seven points in the second half in the loss.
Double-double machine Kristine Anigwe led Cal to victory with a monster performance that featured 18 points and 22 boards.
The streak continues!
With that three-point play, @KristineAnigwe extends her double-double streak to 33 in a row, tied for the second-longest streak in Division I Women's Basketball history 🦄 pic.twitter.com/2WxGpbD3bE
Asha Thomas had a team-high 19 points for the Golden Bears.
BYU 73, Auburn 64
BYU grabbed a double-digit lead early in the second half to create some separation from 10th-seeded Auburn, but the Tigers hung around and forced the Cougars to sweat out an upset bid.
With the score tied at 30 apiece in the opening minutes of third quarter, BYU went on a 13-2 run to seize control. The lead would grow to 15 early in the fourth, but Auburn would apply pressure by making it a four-point game with less than two minutes to play.
That's as close as it would get, though, as the Cougars made enough plays to close out the victory.
Brenna Chase led BYU with 19 points and seven assists.
Stanford 79, UC Davis 54
This one was over before it ever had a chance to get interesting.
Stanford scored the first 15 points of the game, and it didn't get any better for UC Davis the rest of the way. Tara VanDerveer's squad shot 49.2 percent from the floor while knocking down 10 triples.
Cardinal guard Kiana Williams scored 11 points in the first and finished the game with 19. Alanna Smith added 21 points and seven rebounds.
Baylor 95, Abilene Christian 38
Looking to win their first national title since 2012, the Baylor Lady Bears couldn't have gotten started in a more dominating fashion.
Baylor raced out to a 20-0 start against Abilene Christian, and after a Wildcats three-pointer late in the first, the Lady Bears proceeded to score the next 15 points of the game to grab a 35-3 stranglehold on this contest before the midway point of the second quarter arrived.
Lady Bears center Kalani Brown had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
Iowa State 97, New Mexico State 61
Powered by a dominant second quarter, Iowa State was able to end all thoughts of an upset by halftime.
New Mexico State managed to stay within two possessions for much of the opening quarter, but the Cyclones put the game away by outscoring the 14th-seeded Aggies 27-10 in the second.
That created a hole too big for New Mexico State to climb out of.
Oregon State 80, Boise State 75 (OT)
Thirteenth-seeded Boise State appeared to be on the verge of upsetting the fourth-seeded Beavers, but it could not finish off the job, falling in overtime after failing to protect a lead late in regulation.
Oregon State led 29-15 with just more than five minutes to play in the opening half. Over the next 15 minutes, though, the Broncos outscored the Beavers 32-16 to take a lead into the final period.
Failing to gain any cushion proved costly. Oregon State senior Katie McWilliams made a pair of free throws to tie the score at 66-all with 8.5 seconds to play.
That set up a five-minute overtime period with a trip to the second round on the line.
Taya Corosdale powered Oregon State to a 14-9 edge in the extra session with six points, including two free throws with seven seconds remaining to ice the game. Boise State's Rachel Bowers also had five in overtime, but it wasn't enough.
Mikayla Pivec and Aleah Goodman each had 20 points to power the Beavers to victory. Marta Hermida had 22 points for the Broncos in a losing effort.
Louisville guard Asia Durr (25) drives past the defense of Robert Morris center Nneka Ezeigbo (33) during the second half of a first-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Louisville, Ky., Friday, March 22, 2019. Louisville won 69-34. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
The NCAA women's basketball tournament kicked off Friday with a number of intriguing teams in action, including top seeds Louisville and Mississippi State and perennial powerhouse and No. 2-seeded UConn.
Below, we'll break down the day's results.
Friday Matchups and Scores
No. 1 Louisville def. No. 16 Robert Morris 69-34
No. 4 South Carolina def. No. 13 Belmont 74-52
No. 2 Iowa def. No. 15 Mercer 66-61
No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 12 Rice 58-54
No. 8 Michigan def. No. 9 Kansas State 84-54
No. 5 Florida State def. No. 12 Bucknell 70-67
No. 10 Buffalo def. No. 7 Rutgers 82-71
No. 4 Texas A&M def. No. 13 Wright State 84-61
No. 7 Missouri def. No. 10 Drake 77-76
No. 2 UConn def. No. 15 Towson 110-61
No. 5 Arizona State def. No. 12 UCF 60-45
No. 10 Indiana def. No. 7 Texas 69-65
No. 9 Clemson def. No. 8 South Dakota 79-66
No. 1 Mississippi State def. No. 16 Southern 103-46
No. 2 Oregon def. No. 15 Portland State 78-40
No. 4 Miami def. No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast 69-62
Bracket
For the women's bracket, be sure to check out NCAA.com.
Miami def. Florida Gulf Coast 69-62
An 11-0 run in the fourth quarter pushed the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes into the second round over the No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
The Hurricanes held a 12-point advantage at halftime, but Florida Gulf Coast fought back to end the third quarter in a 48-48 tie.
Eagles guard Keri Jewett-Giles led all scorers with 24 points. However, the game's most valuable player was Miami forward Beatrice Mompremier, who put up 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Miami will play No. 5 Arizona State in the second round Sunday.
Oregon def. Portland State 78-40
The No. Oregon Ducks were all over the ball Friday night, out-rebounding Portland State 50-23.
And when they had the ball, they were putting it in the net (46 percent shooting from the field). With 8:27 left in the third quarter, Oregon reminded everyone of its dominance when Sabrina Ionescu nailed a deep three-pointer as the shot clock expired:
Oregon forward Ruthy Hebard led all scorers with 22 points.
The Ducks will play No. 10 Indiana in the second round on Sunday.
Mississippi State def. Southern 103-46
The No. 16 Southern Lady Jaguars were no match for the tournament's top overall seed, which not only scored 100-plus points but also secured 51 rebounds.
No Southern player scored in double digits, while the Bulldogs had five players with at least 10 points. Mississippi State forward Anriel Howard had a game-high 23 points. Center Teaira McCowan finished with 22.
Next for Mississippi State is No. 9 Clemson in the second round Sunday.
Clemson def. South Dakota 79-66
Propelled by senior guard Danielle Edwards' four three-pointers in the fourth quarter, the No. 9 Clemson Tigers pulled away from the No. 8 South Dakota Coyotes.
Edwards made five of nine shots from behind the arc and finished with 25 points. Clemson graduate guard Simone Westbrook led all scorers with 27 points.
Next up for the Tigers will be the daunting task of unseating No. 1 Mississippi State in the second round Sunday.
Indiana def. Texas 69-65
The first two quarters ended with the No. 7 Texas Longhorns in the lead, and it was 37-29 at halftime. But the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers held the lead at the end of the only quarter that mattered.
With just under two minutes to go, guard Jaelynn Penn sunk a three to give Indiana a 67-63 lead. Penn was on fire all game long and finished with a game-high 24 points.
Indiana secured just its third NCAA tournament win in program history and will now go for its second consecutive upset over the No. 2 Oregon Ducks in the second round Sunday.
Arizona State def. UCF 60-45
Led by Courtney Ekmark's 20 points and seven rebounds, Arizona State led off its tournament with a 60-45 win over UCF.
The Sun Devils shot well from three (6-of-13, 46.2 percent) and dominated on the boards, 42-27. Kay Kay Wright (18 points, two steals) did all she could to lead UCF to the upset, but none of her teammates scored in double-digits.
Arizona State now awaits the winner of Miami vs. Florida Golf Coast.
UConn def. Towson 110-61
Was there ever any doubt?
UConn raced out to a 31-7 lead after the first quarter and it was smooth sailing from there, as the Huskies did what they do, dominating Towson 110-61.
All five Huskies starters scored in double-digit figures, led by Napheesa Collier's 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
Up next for UConn is Buffalo.
Missouri def. Drake 77-76
In the game of the day—and the second contest to go to overtime—Missouri survived against Drake 77-76.
Cierra Porter led the Tigers with 18 points and three blocks, while Sophie Cunningham added 21 points. Becca Hittner posted 19 points, nine boards and four assists for Drake.
The game literally came down to the wire, with Jordan Roundtree hitting the game-winning free throw with just one second on the clock. Hittner's three-pointer at the buzzer didn't connect, and Missouri moved on.
Up next for the Tigers is a date with Iowa.
Texas A&M def. Wright State 84-61
Chennedy Carter and Angel Baker had themselves quite the showdown, but Carter and Texas A&M won the battle and the war.
Carter went for 27 points and seven rebounds, as Texas A&M stomped Wright State. Baker did all she could off the bench, putting up 23, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the more talented Aggies.
Up next for Texas A&M is a matchup against Marquette.
Buffalo def. Rutgers 82-71
It may be March, but it was Summer for Buffalo on Friday.
Summer Hemphill, that is. The forward led Buffalo to a first-round win over Rutgers with 23 points and seven boards, while Cierra Dillard did a little bit of everything, posting 20 points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
That spoiled a 20-point effort from Rutgers' Stasha Carey.
Up next for Buffalo is UConn. Good luck, Buffalo.
Florida State def. Bucknell 70-67
In a day of close calls for higher seeds, Florida State was yet another favorite to squeak by.
Led by Kiah Gillespie's 17 points and 11 rebounds, the Seminoles held off Bucknell. Nicki Ekhomu, Nausia Woolfork and Valencia Myers chipped in with 15 points apiece, while Kate Walker led the way for Bucknell with 18 points.
Up next for Florida State is South Carolina.
Michigan def. Kansas State 84-54
There are convincing victories, and then there was Michigan's win over Kansas State on Friday.
The Wolverines outscored the Wildcats by at least seven points in every quarter, got 38 points from their bench alone, shot 55.6 percent from the field as a team and out-rebounded Kansas State, 51-19, which included 17 offensive boards.
Calling this win dominant would be an understatement. Up next for the impressive Wolverines is a date with No. 1 seed Louisville.
Marquette def. Rice 58-54
It took overtime, but Marquette held off Rice's upset bid and is advancing in the NCAA women's tournament.
Marquette's defense came up big in the extra session, holding Rice to just two points, while Natisha Hiedeman led the way for the Golden Eagles with 13 points. Rice's Erica Ogwumike did everything she could to knock off Marquette, scoring 22 points, but it wasn't enough to get past the Golden Eagles.
Up next for Marquette is Texas A&M.
Iowa def. Mercer 66-61
Iowa barely survived Mercer on Friday, and they have Megan Gustafson to thank for the win.
The star senior had a monster performance, scoring 30 points and adding 16 boards, and every single point and rebound was needed against a Mercer side that gave Iowa all it could handle. The Bears will lament their struggles from the field (35 percent shooting) and from three (5-of-21, 23.8 percent).
Up next for the Hawkeyes is a matchup with Missouri.
South Carolina def. Belmont 74-52
South Carolina's talent advantage was on full display against Belmont on Friday.
The Gamecocks out-rebounded the Bruins, 38-22. They held Belmont to just 34.6 percent shooting from the field. They forced 17 turnovers and blocked six shots. Four players finished with double-digit points, led by Te'a Cooper's 13 points.
Up next for the Gamecocks is a matchup with Florida State.
Louisville def. Robert Morris 69-34
The Cardinals didn't have to break much of a sweat in their first game of the NCAA tournament.
Louisville raced out to a 21-4 lead by the end of the first quarter and didn't look back, blowing out Robert Morris 69-34. Asia Durr and SamFuehring led the charge for the Cardinals, scoring 19 points apiece.
WATCH | The Cardinals advance into the second round after a 69-34 win over Robert Morris.#ncaaW | @UofLWBB pic.twitter.com/u4ZljFJPex
NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2019: Bracket and Championship Predictions
Mar 19, 2019
After the bracket was revealed on Monday, the NCAA women's basketball tournament begins on Friday with a slate of 16 first-round matchups, followed by 16 more on Saturday.
Much like past years, the bracket is stacked at the top, as none of the four No. 1 seeds have more than three losses this season. Baylor (31-1) is the No. 1 overall seed.
The NCAA tournament concludes with the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, on April 5, followed by the national championship game on April 7.
No. 11 Princeton vs. No. 6 Kentucky, 11 a.m., ESPN2
No. 11 Quinnipiac vs. No. 6 South Dakota State, 11 a.m., ESPN2
No. 14 Maine vs. No. 3 NC State, 1 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 Fordham vs. No. 3 Syracuse, 1 p.m., ESPN2
No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 6 UCLA, 1 p.m., ESPN2
No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Central Michigan, 1 p.m., ESPN2
No. 12 Little Rock vs. No. 5 Gonzaga, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 6 DePaul, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 9 North Carolina vs. No. 8 California, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 10 Auburn vs. No. 7 BYU, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 16 Abilene Christian vs. No. 1 Baylor, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 15 UC Davis vs. No. 2 Stanford, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 13 Boise State vs. No. 4 Oregon State, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 New Mexico State vs. No. 3 Iowa State, 5:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 Radford vs. No. 3 Maryland, 11 p.m., ESPN2
Second Round
March 24-25 at campus sites
Sweet 16
March 29-30 in Albany, N.Y., Chicago, Greensboro, N.C., and Portland, Ore.
Elite Eight
March 31-April 1 in Albany, N.Y., Chicago, Greensboro, N.C., and Portland, Ore.
Final Four
April 5 in Tampa, Fla.
National Championship
April 7 in Tampa, Fla.
Predictions
Last year's NCAA women's Final Four featured the four No. 1 seeds. It's certainly possible that could be the case again this season.
However, one team that may prevent that from happening is UConn.
The Huskies are the No. 2 seed in the Albany region, marking the first time since 2006 that they didn't earn a No. 1 seed. But they still are having a strong season, as they enter the NCAA tournament with a 31-2 record after winning the AAC tournament championship.
UConn's only two losses came against Baylor, the No. 1 overall seed, and Louisville, the No. 1 seed in the Albany region. Not getting a No. 1 seed, paired with that earlier loss to the Cardinals, could have the Huskies extra motivated to make it to the Final Four for the 12th consecutive year.
Although UConn won four straight national championships from 2013-16, it has lost in the national semifinals the past two years to Mississippi State and Notre Dame, respectively.
The Huskies will be in the Final Four again this year, along with three No. 1 seeds—Baylor, Notre Dame and Mississippi State.
Once the tournament reaches that point, all the games should be highly competitive as the clear top class of women's college basketball teams battle it out for the national title.
However, Baylor has only one loss, and that came against Stanford back on Dec. 15. So, expect the Bears to continue to roll and win their first national championship since 2012.
Pick: Baylor over UConn in the national championship game
Twitter in Disbelief as UConn Gets a 2nd Seed in NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket
Mar 18, 2019
SOUTH BEND, IN - DECEMBER 02: Napheesa Collier #24 of the Connecticut Huskies is seen during the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Purcell Pavilion on December 2, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
The Connecticut Huskies will have to approach the 2019 NCAA women's tournament with a somewhat different mindset. For the first time since 2006, the Huskies didn't receive a No. 1 seed.
Instead, UConn is the No. 2 seed in the Albany Regional, with the Louisville Cardinals sitting first.
The selection committee's decision came as a surprise to many. Leaving aside the Huskies' historical track record, they finished the regular season 31-2, with their defeats coming on the road against Louisville and the Baylor Lady Bears—another No. 1 seed.
UConn resume.. -played three #1 seeds on the road. -Beat ND by 19, lost to Baylor by 11 & Louisville by 9. -Went 30-2 overall. -Only 1 win was by less than 10 points.
Louisville doesn't exactly benefit from the perceived slight toward the Huskies. The Cardinals might be the No. 1 seed, but they'll have a farther journey to Albany, New York, than UConn. Were Louisville and UConn to play in the Elite Eight, the Huskies would potentially have a partisan crowd cheering them on.
Really proud of my team @UofLWBB earning a Number 1 seed. But I hate that they put us in Albany with UConn. The committee hates us. But that’s fine, I believe in @CoachJeffWalz and @villehoopcoach having our team ready to go for any opponent.
Connecticut's slip to the second seed was likely more of an indictment of the American Athletic Conference as a whole.
Seven of the conference's 12 teams finished with an even or losing record, and the Huskies are the only ranked team in the AAC. The UCF Knights are the AAC's second-best team in RPI (15th). Then you have to go all the way down to No. 77 to find the third-best team (the Cincinnati Bearcats).
Not shocked UConn a 2 seed or in Albany. When committee revealed UCF as bubble team yday & UCF was 3 of the 6 quality wins UCONN had this yr, UCONN should be a 2 seed & UCF was in the field. @ncaawbb @ESPN_WomenHoop Why Louisville in Albany is question for me? S Curve? G Curve?
Initial thoughts for the WCBB bracket: 1) The committee overall got it right with putting Tenn in the field 2)UConn in the AAC is hurting the Huskies more than it’s helping them 3) There is at least 5 programs that can win the Natl title
Selection Monday could be a blessing in disguise for UConn head coach Geno Auriemma.
His players will already be looking to atone for back-to-back exits in the national semifinals. Now they can add the tournament seeding to their list of motivators ahead of the Big Dance.
NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket 2019: Results, Seeds, Reaction and Analysis
Mar 18, 2019
RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 18: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish high-fives Arike Ogunbowale #24 during in the second half of their game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Reynolds Coliseum on February 18, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Notre Dame won 95-72. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
The 64-team field for the 2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament was unveiled Monday.
The defending champion Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Louisville Cardinals, Baylor Lady Bears and Mississippi State Bulldogs occupy the four No. 1 seeds. Notre Dame, Louisville and Mississippi State are all looking to return to the Final Four in Tampa, Florida.
Here are each of the four regions in the tournament bracket.
Monday's selection show was originally scheduled to air at 7 p.m. ET. However, ESPN bumped up the broadcast after High Post Hoops' Blake DuDonis discovered ESPNU began airing the full bracket well before the official reveal:
In what can only be described as remarkable, the #NCAAW bracket was just on ESPNU by mistaken. I’ve managed to grab three sections of it if anyone else wants to help fill it out.
The mistake revealed one of the biggest surprises in this year's bracket: the Connecticut Huskies fell to the second seed in the Albany Regional. It's the first time since 2006 the Huskies aren't a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.
Despite UConn being in the AAC and Mississippi State in the SEC, UConn still finished with a better RPI. A 2 seed makes no sense.
Not shocked UConn a 2 seed or in Albany. When committee revealed UCF as bubble team yday & UCF was 3 of the 6 quality wins UCONN had this yr, UCONN should be a 2 seed & UCF was in the field. @ncaawbb @ESPN_WomenHoop Why Louisville in Albany is question for me? S Curve? G Curve?
UConn sits second in the Associated PressTop 25 poll, while ESPN.com'sCharlie Cremeprojected the team to be the top seed in Albany.
The Albany Regional sets up a potential rematch between UConn and the Louisville Cardinals. The two teams have split their regular-season meetings the last two years, with the Cardinals most recently winning 78-69 at home in January.
Notre Dame received a relatively favorable draw. In the Chicago Regional, the Fighting Irish will stay close to home assuming they advance beyond the second round. They also avoided the two most dangerous No. 2 seeds: UConn and the Oregon Ducks.
Stanford reeled off a 28-4 record in the regular season and earned wins over Oregon, Baylor and the Arizona State Sun Devils. With only three seniors—of whom Alanna Smith is the only key contributor—the Cardinal might come unraveled against a team with the experience Notre Dame boasts.
The Fighting Irish are effectively the same squad that defeated Mississippi State in the 2018 title game.
Whether Sabrina Ionescu can lead Oregon to its first-ever Final Four is one of the bigger stories in the 2019 tournament. The Ducks reached the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2018, and this might be their best chance to get to the semifinals over the next few years.
Ionescu is eligible for the 2019 WNBA draft, and she'd almost certainly be the first player selected were she to enter the professional ranks this spring.
The Ducks can't complain with their tournament draw. They have a head-to-head win over Mississippi State—the No. 1 seed in their region—and they'll potentially have the luxury of playing the Bulldogs in Portland, Oregon.
The Tennessee Lady Volunteers found themselves in the somewhat unfamiliar position of being on the bubble heading into selection Monday.
Tennessee ranks60thin RPI, so extending its tournament streak to 38 years wasn't a foregone conclusion. The NCAAannouncedSunday the Lady Vols were among the "debatable eight," leaving them as one of the "Last Four In" or "First Four Out."
Holly Warlick's seatmight be the hottestin women's college basketball. A quick exit by the Lady Vols could be the final straw, whereas Warlick might be able to buy herself another year on the sideline with a deep tournament run.
NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket 2019: Selection Show TV, Live-Stream Schedule
Mar 17, 2019
Notre Dame players Marina Mabrey (3), Jackie Young (5), Arike Ogunbowale (24), Brianna Turner (11) and Jessica Shepard (32) pose for a photo after their team defeated Louisville in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Atlantic Coast Conference women's tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Sunday, March 10, 2019. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
The road to Tampa, Florida, begins when the 2019 NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket is unveiled on Monday.
It's going to be hard for this year's competition to top the dramatic ending from a year ago, when Notre Dame knocked off Mississippi State on a buzzer-beater to win the title.
Notre Dame is once again in the mix to win a championship in 2019 alongside the normal cast of programs such as UConn, Mississippi State and Louisville.
The tournament begins Friday and concludes at Amalie Arena with the national championship April 7.
Notre Dame's magical run to the championship a year ago was powered by Arike Ogunbowale, who is one of a few key players back and ready to earn a repeat title.
Notre Dame's starting five is as good as any in the nation, and that was reinforced in the ACC tournament final when all five starters reached double digits.
With so many weapons on offense, Muffet McGraw's team is going to be tough to knock out, but because the parity in women's basketball continues to rise, a handful of other programs are capable of winning it all.
As always, UConn is going to be a major player in the NCAA tournament and is looking for its 12th consecutive Final Four appearance.
Unlike previous seasons, the Huskies aren't the overwhelming favorite to win the title, but Geno Auriemma's team carries plenty of motivation into the competition, as it hasn't made the championship game in the past two years.
Baylor and back-to-back runner-up Mississippi State are the other two projected No. 1 seeds, according to Charlie Creme of ESPN.com.
Oregon and Iowa are two other programs to keep an eye on because they both possess players who can take over the game by themselves.
Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu is a triple-double machine who averages 19.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.1 assists.
Iowa's Megan Gustafson is ready to star on the national stage, as she enters the tournament as the espnW National Player of the Year for leading the nation in scoring with 28 points per game.
All six of the aforementioned programs are capable of winning a title, which is why this season's tournament feels more open than in past years.
But it's never a bad idea to pick your bracket based off title-winning experience, and Notre Dame has that and the star power you need to take over a tournament for six games.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com and official team websites.
Sabrina Ionescu Is Always On
Jan 25, 2019
Sabrina Ionescu gets nervous. Too nervous to sleep. Lying in her bed, wrapped in her gray blankets, she'll try to meditate. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
Doesn't work.
She'll turn over right, then turn over left. Right, left. Right, left.
Still nothing.
She hardly sleeps during the season. Especially nights before games.
The thoughts will just get louder in her head. What if we don't win? We have to win. What if my shot's off? How are they going to guard me?
2 a.m. …
She'll replay mistakes she can't let go of, losses she's still ticked off about. She'll try praying, try reading one of her favorite books, Mamba Mentality: How I Play or Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Stephen Curry or Tim Tebow: Through My Eyes.
3 a.m. …
She'll turn on some nonsports TV but end up on SportsCenter.
But then, somehow, in the morning, she'll join her team at shootaround, looking like she slept 10 hours. She'll be energetic and confident. Ready. Every time. She has to be. She is The Woman Who Does Not Miss. The Triple-Double Queen. Her teammates need her. Follow her. Copy her. If she flinches, they flinch. If she doubts, they doubt.
So she can't show weakness, even when she feels like vomiting in the hours before tipoff and can't eat anything.
"I'm just super nervous before games," Ionescu says, sitting in the lobby of the Courtyard Marriott in Culver City, California, before a team film session in mid-January.
The Ducks are in town to play USC and UCLA. A mini silver-cross necklace pokes out from her navy Golden State Warriors sweatshirt.
Naturally reserved, the 5'11" Ionescu doesn't really let people see her anxious. So all people see are her accomplishments. They see she is in the midst of a magical season in which she's led the fifth-ranked Ducks to a 17-1 record and set the all-time NCAA triple-double record—for both men and women—in December.
Her mark has since grown to 16 triple-doubles—four more than the next player on the list, BYU's Kyle Collinsworth.
Collinsworth had his 12 in four seasons. Ionescu is midway through her third.
It looks effortless, easy, beautiful, the way Ionescu beams crisp passes right to her teammates' hands with the perfect amount of oomph as she glides up the court.
But it isn't easy.
Deep down, fear isn't what causes Ionescu's nervousness. No. She's not afraid of anyone, anything. Except for maybe one thing: not living up to the expectations she set for herself, for her team. That is why she tosses in her bed, eyes open, mind wild.
"People ask me, like, 'Why are you nervous?' They think it comes naturally, like, 'Oh, you're just gonna go out there and play.' No," Ionescu says. "There's a lot of other stuff that comes before what people actually see."
The next day, moments after Oregon beat UCLA 72-52, Ionescu takes a deep breath. She looks happy but reserved. Quiet, like something is eating at her.
The Ducks swept the weekend by a combined 60 points. Ionescu broke Oregon's career assist record against the Trojans and finished with 14 points, five boards and six assists against the Bruins.
Oregon assistant director of athletic communications Joe Waltasti stops her as she heads toward the postgame press conference, hoping to deliver good news. "We're not gonna need you tonight," he says. "You can get a little rest from media."
"Yeah," Ionescu says, tucking her head down. "Because I sucked."
She means it. Truly thinks she sucked. Each of her misses infuriated her. Sometimes it can seem like Ionescu carries a portable mirror in her gym bag—a mirror that only shows her misses. Her mistakes. Her flaws.
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, and Ionescu doesn't buy into her own hype. Even though she is the most productive, most creative player in women's college basketball. Even though she's projected to be the top pick in the WNBA draft if she turns pro after this season.
"She reminds me a lot of Sue Bird," says Connecticut Sun star and 2014 No. 1 overall pick Chiney Ogwumike. "Excellent feel for the game, plays her own tempo, and as a passer she has the That's So Raven ability to see the future."
Even though, as Oregon associate head coach Mark Campbell says: "She's doing stuff that has never been done in college basketball. It truly feels like every night she's breaking a new record."
Ionescu doesn't like talking about her records. She wants to talk about hoop. About what the hardwood does to her, means to her. How she tries to create order out of a space of disorder—predictability in a game of unpredictable runs and stops, and good and bad calls.
"On the court, everything has to be perfect," Ionescu says.
If she makes a shot in a drill but it doesn't feel good to her (not enough backspin, not enough legs, not enough arc), she'll shoot it again. And again and again and again. Sometimes, after missing a shot during a live game, she'll apologize to her teammates—I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have missed it.
She expects herself to make every single one. This is what propels her to make so many. "But that hurts you," Ionescu says. "Sometimes it can drive you a little crazy."
Her coaches know it. That's why they try to put her on something like a pitch count—limit the number of times per day she does something that would potentially get her injured—but she defies it. Sometimes they literally have to pull her off the court. Otherwise she has to be there. All the time. All-out. No matter the wear and tear on her body. Her dad, Dan Ionescu, calls her attack mode "Bazooka Mode."
"Sabrina's wired differently," Oregon head coach Kelly Graves says. "She's always on."
"[Diana] Taurasi, [Michael] Jordan—they have that same mentality," Graves added later. "That's what makes those people special. That competitive greatness."
There's a difference between a ballplayer and someone who plays basketball. Ionescu is a ballplayer. And ballplayers do not recognize out of bounds. So if the ball rolls out during a drill and the rest of her teammates stop, she screams, "What are you stopping for?!" And if they pass up an open look, she screams, "Shoot the ball when you're open!"
"Sab has no room in her life for people that are OK with losing—for people that are OK with mediocrity," says Lexi Bando, a former teammate at Oregon.
That's how she's transformed Oregon from a WNIT team to a national-title contender, reaching the Elite Eight the past two seasons. And, she hopes, going further this season. "About the time you think she might be running on empty," says Vic Schaefer, coach of rival No. 7 Mississippi State, "that's when she's just halfway full."
But she can't turn Bazooka Mode off. And it gnaws at her.
Graves likens her to the drummer in the 2014 movie Whiplash. The drummer is so obsessed with greatness that he bloodies his palms, his fingers, drumming and drumming and agonizing and agonizing, spending every waking moment chasing perfection. He breaks up with his girlfriend for one reason: "I want to be great," he tells her. "I want to be one of the greats."
"My God," Graves remembers thinking when he saw it. "That's Sabrina."
Campbell sat in the stands—some creaky, some without backs—for about 200 of Ionescu's high school games for Miramonte High in Orinda, California. He even followed her to Pilsen in the Czech Republic for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Cup, where she helped the U.S. team to gold. And now he's watched her play 89 games for Oregon.
"For all of those games," Campbell says. "I've never seen her have an off game."
He had to get her to sign. Just had to. She could pass and score and rebound and defend—not because she was athletic but because she was the total opposite: patient, cerebral, instinctual. The best part? She had no backdown in her bones.
In seventh grade, while playing on an all-boys team, Ionescu tucked the ball to her chest and drove in for a layup. Wham! A boy on the opposing team pushed her so hard, intentionally, that she crashed onto the cold hardwood. She still made the layup.
The boy was ejected from the game, but Ionescu wasn't satisfied with his punishment. She popped right back up, got in his face and started talking smack, like she was about to do something.
"Coming from a girl, everyone was just like, 'What?!'" says Eddy Ionescu, her twin brother.
This is a girl who was never afraid to speak up in huddles, so cognizant of everyone's duties on the floor that toward the end of the McDonald's All-American Game, according to her mother, Liliana Blaj, she snatched the clipboard from one of her coaches and began diagramming a play. Not to be disrespectful—but because her team needed a bucket, and when there is a bucket to be gotten, Ionescu will get it.
Even if that means yelling at teammates. To play with Ionescu, you have to always be on, too.
One game, her club team, Cal Stars, was facing Cy-Fair Shock at the Boo Williams tournament. Kat Tudor, now at Oregon State, was getting open looks but couldn't hit. Just one of those days. Cal Stars trailed by two at halftime when Ionescu walked up to Tudor.
"Make a f--king shot!" she remembers Ionescu saying.
Tudor blinked. Stunned. "I'm trying!" Tudor said. "Do you think I'm f--king trying to miss?!"
"F--k trying!" Ionescu said. "Make it!"
Tudor came out of halftime and drained seven threes.
"That's what I needed that day," Tudor says. "With Sabrina, that's how she shows she respects you. She had the faith that I could hit those shots."
Cal Stars ended up winning—by so much the game finished with a running clock. A member of UConn's staff called Cal Stars coach Kelly Sopak to inquire about Tudor.
"Sabrina has that ability to push kids," says Sopak, who was also Ionescu's coach at Miramonte. He's her mentor, having coached her since she was in the third grade.
"She can grab 'em by the shirt collar, tell them to get their butt in gear, but she'll be the first one there for them when they do something great," Sopak says. "Or when they're down, to say, 'You got this!'"
This is one of the reasons Graves was so excited when Ionescu finally committed to Oregon. She had made him, and every other program in the country, wait for months as the lone uncommitted Top 25 recruit, not telling him she was coming until the day before summer school was supposed to start her freshman year of college. She wanted to focus on her high school season, and she had to know who was really committed to her.
Ionescu and Graves
Graves knew he wasn't just getting a ballplayer; he was getting a leader. A leader who thought differently, moved differently, than any other woman in the country.
"I know, just by staring at the ball, who on my team shot it," Ionescu says.
Yes, Ionescu has memorized the individual backspins of most of her teammates' shots. Which one whirls this way, which one zigs that way. Which one has a high arc, which one sails lower.
It sounds impossible, but it's true: She doesn't have to look at her teammates to know who shot it. She doesn't have time to. Her mind moves faster than her feet. Her basketball IQ cannot be captured by cliches like She sees the play before it happens.
What Ionescu sees is everything. Weird things. Cool things. Different things. She watches the ball when she shoots, which is untraditional. Players are usually taught to stare at the back of the rim, but Ionescu taught herself to shoot.
She knows when a teammate will miss and where the ball will come off. She knows how to time a pass so her teammate can catch and shoot without needing a step to gather.
"She's not a me-first type of person," says Asia Durr, fourth-ranked Louisville's star, who has known Ionescu since high school. "She could be a score-first type of player, but she truly loves passing the ball."
Ionescu's mind is erupting with ideas, but she is completely calm while executing them. She doesn't dominate loudly like the players she is often compared to. People see her triple-doubles and automatically call her "the Female Russell Westbrook," but she isn't like him at all.
She's not lightning-quick. She isn't quick…at all. She's neither athletic nor tall. She racks up double-digit rebounds because she's relentless. A mastermind of angles. A firm believer in outlasting everyone.
She is The Everywoman.
"She's not a huge player. She's just a normal-looking person. She doesn't look like an all-star athlete. I think if you think of someone who has a triple-double record, it's not gonna be her," says Ruthy Hebard, Oregon forward and close friend.
Hebard wasn't prepared for Ionescu's fire the first time the two shared the court. Hebard was a freshman, and it was only open gym, but Ionescu was yelling at her—and everyone else on the floor—for missing easy layups.
"I was kind of scared," Hebard says. "I was like, Wow. This is going to be a crazy four years here."
But then she got to know Ionescu. Really know her.
Ionescu and Hebard
She saw how funny Ionescu is. How much of a joke-teller she is. Someone you can tell your secrets to. Someone who understands pain, understands fear. Someone who will battle her in a dance-off or halt practice just to give her a reassurance or a pointer. Stay hours after to help her with her shot. Send her I believe in you text messages.
And she saw how she does this for every woman on the team. She'll specifically set up a teammate for a few quick, easy shots at the start of a game if that teammate struggled the game before, just to get her confidence going. She doesn't sleep. She burns to win. And now, her teammates do, too.
"You feel like, 'I don't want to lose for her,'" says Hebard, who has become the team's third-leading scorer.
Ionescu wasn't always comfortable in a leadership role. She had to earn the right. It didn't take long, though. As a freshman, she hit a buzzer-beating pull-up three with a hand right in her face to defeat No. 20 Cal. By the time she was a sophomore, she dropped 36 against Stanford to win the Pac-12 championship—every few minutes telling Graves: "Don't you worry, coach. I got this."
And this season, Ionescu sent a similar message during the opening week of Pac-12 play. A Washington State player, while boxing out, undercut teammate Satou Sabally as she released her free throw.
Ionescu, sitting on the bench, was furious. She bolted up and jumped onto the court to defend Sabally. She got about five feet out before her coaches stopped her.
"We had to hold her back," Graves says, laughing. "Shoot, I'd love having her as my teammate. She'll back you to the end."
Sometimes Ionescu goes to Oregon's home court, Matthew Knight Arena, and sits in the stands just to think. Not even shoot (though she does launch threes late into the night, mostly to country artists like Chris Young). But many times, she goes to have time to herself.
"Just me and the court," she says. "I don't like going when there's a lot of people."
This is her peace. Her place. Her space to contemplate. A lot of times, she prays. Or thinks of passages from books she's read (she has stacks in her room), like The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. It tells her she's on the path she's supposed to be on. That she should be appreciative of everything she has. Not dwelling on the negative.
But she dwells.
Especially when critics write negative comments to her on social media, like, Oh you didn't get a triple-double against UConn or a Top Five team, so it doesn't count. That motivates her—but it gets under her skin, too. Graves has to tell her to stop reading the comments. Just let it go.
"It's just funny how they'll find anything to try and degrade and downplay the game just because women are playing it," Ionescu says.
Even now, leading the fifth-ranked team in the country, she acutely feels the disparity in respect. Feels that, unlike the NBA, the WNBA gives her no real financial incentive to turn pro. Feels that no matter what she accomplishes, the measuring stick is moved farther and farther away.
"It's crazy how much negativity just goes into the game of women's basketball, regardless of what you're producing," she says. "I could have 30 points, and Zion Williamson could have 30, and his is published and not mine. It's the same thing," Ionescu says. "It's the norm, and now we're breaking norms, and it's gonna take a while for people to get used to it."
Whether they do or not, there is still the weight of competing, of always having to be on. "I really can't have a night off," Ionescu says. "The challenge is everyone expects you to do so much."
Sometimes she thinks of what Sopak used to tell her in high school about what a leader is.
"You make players better because you can make shots and you can pass the ball," he'd say. "The moment you can make players better by just stepping on the floor, that's when you're really an elite player."
She has that presence now—now that she's come out of her shell a bit. Her freshman year at Oregon, if she wasn't playing to the level she thought she should, she'd retreat into herself. Not say much. "I used to keep everything in," she says. She'd be so upset with herself that she wouldn't want to sign autographs or take pictures after the game.
"That's not the person I am," says Ionescu, who now spends hours with fans as little girls flock to her after games. Hoping to just touch her hand. To see some of her magic up close.
But her makes aren't magic. They come from misses. And there are some you can't let go of, no matter how many days, months or years after the leather leaves your fingertips.
Ionescu's was six years ago. Freshman year at Miramonte. State Open Division playoffs. Down one. Ionescu snatched the rebound and went coast to coast. She was fouled right before she started shooting with 2.8 seconds left for a one-and-one opportunity.
The ball rattled out and broke her heart on its way down. "She was devastated," Liliana says. "She felt like the team was counting on her, and she let them down."
But Sopak told her to think of the moment differently.
"That's what great players do. Great players lose games because they put themselves in that position," he told her. "If you can't take missing that shot, you can't take making that shot, either. If you're not ready to lose the game for us, you're never going to be ready to win the game."
That moment changed Ionescu. Not just because she never wanted to miss in that situation again, but also because it taught her that failing didn't ruin her. The ball still bounced the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that…
But no matter how many clutch free throws she has made since, like when she sank two to upset Kelsey Plum and No. 11 Washington 70-69 in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal freshman year, some part of her might still feel like the girl who missed.
"I really believe she still considers herself an underdog," Sopak says. "I hate to say she feels inferior, but, somewhere in her psyche or her subconscious, that's what she feels. I would bet to think that she does not think that she is that good. That is what motivates her."
It's the week after Oregon's L.A. sweep, and the Ducks are preparing for a game against Arizona State by scrimmaging against their male practice squad. The men are supposed to play hard-nosed, aggressive, physical defense. Throw-you-out-of-your-scheme, get-in-your-head kind of defense.
And it works. Oregon keeps turning the ball over. So many times that Ionescu can't take it.
"Enough!" she yells at her teammates, stopping play. "Enough."
Silence.
No one needs to say anything. Everyone knows what that meant: Get in line or get out. Ionescu is about to go Bazooka Mode.
The next few possessions?
She boxes out and rips down a rebound.
She throws an assist.
She dishes another assist—a kick-out three to Sabally.
She hits two straight pull-up jumpers for the win. Of course, on both, she makes damn sure the ball doesn't graze the rim.
Mirin Fader is a Writer-At-Large for B/R Mag. She’s written for the Orange County Register, espnW.com, SI.com and Slam. Her work has been honored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America and the L.A. Press Club. Follow her on Twitter: @MirinFader.
Connecticut guard/forward Megan Walker (3) defends Baylor center Kalani Brown (center) as Christyn Williams, right, looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin)
The eighth-ranked Baylor Lady Bears upset the previously unbeaten No. 1 Connecticut Huskies 68-57 on Thursday night at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Kalani Brown led the way for Baylor, scoring 22 points and grabbing 17 boards. Juicy Landrum's three-point shooting was also key as the junior guard was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc en route to an 11-point night.
UConn hadn't lost a regular-season game since Nov. 17, 2014, when it fell to Stanford in overtime.
Defense has been Baylor's calling card all season. Entering Thursday, the Lady Bears were20thin points allowed (54.9) andfirstin opponent field-goal percentage (29.5).
Because of the 6'7" Brown, Baylor presented UConn with a difficult matchup inside as well. True freshman Olivia Nelson-Ododa is the only player taller than 6'3" on the Huskies.
The final numbers tell the story of the game.
The Lady Bears held UConn to 29.4 percent shooting. The Huskies also shot just 4-of-20 in the fourth quarter, missing 11 of their 13 three-point attempts.
On offense, Baylor relied heavily on its inside game and getting to the basket. The Lady Bears had a 52-10 advantage in paint scoring. The Huskies had no answer for Brown, who shot 10-of-16.
Baylor hasn't reached the Final Four since 2012, falling in the Elite Eight on four occasions. Lady Bears fans know they can't take anything for granted in March, but this squad clearly has the pieces on its best night to advance to the national semifinals.
Kim Mulkey's team showed its mettle by fending off UConn's comeback attempts in the second half.
Back-to-back three-pointers from Christyn Williams trimmed the Lady Bears' lead to four points, 51-47, heading into the fourth quarter, and then, Crystal Dangerfield brought the Huskies to within six points, 61-55, with three minutes, 31 seconds left in the game. On both occasions, Baylor didn't panic and widened the gap on UConn.
Although losing one game isn't a reason for panic in Storrs, this game illustrated two clear issues for the Huskies.
They're going to have a hard time against teams with dominant post players, and a matchup with Baylor or Mississippi State and Teaira McCowan is entirely plausible in the NCAA tournament.
UConn's bench didn't show up either. Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier combined for 28 points, which might have been enough on a different night. Instead, the trio of Nelson-Ododa, Mikayla Coombs and Batouly Camara combined for zero points off the bench. As good as the Huskies' starting five is, their lack of depth could be their undoing.
