Skip to content
Home
March Madness live updates, scores, bracket: UConn, Paige Bueckers roll; USC, JuJu Watkins in action in NCAA tournament
- JuJu Watkins seems to be in pain, but continues to play in the third quarter after appearing to injure her left hand in the first half. It hasn’t limited her production or playing time as she leads USC in scoring and has played all but two minutes in the game.
- There’s seven minutes left in the game, and Florida Gulf Coast has pulled within eight points of the Sooners. But if the Eagles want to play spoiler, they need to make a move soon. Oklahoma keeps answering FGCU’s points with shots of their own; the Eagles will need to make an offensive and defense push in order to pull this off.
- FGCU’s Lauryn Taylor hasn’t impacted this game offensively (0-6), but she’s doing a great job making things difficult for Oklahoma center Raegan Beers. The Sooners have gone as Beers has this year, and Taylor is forcing her into tough contested looks. She has three points in the second half.
- Beers ranked fifth in DI in field goal percentage (66%), but is 6-of-16 today. The 36% mark would rank as one of her five worst games of the season. FGCU is within 10 in the final seven minutes.
- Oklahoma State has a slight 23-22 lead over South Dakota State in a Spokane 4 regional matchup at Storrs, Connecticut.
- As that score indicates, neither team is shooting well. The Cowgirls are 37% from the floor, while the Jackrabbits are making 33% of their shots. Both teams went four minutes without scoring
- Haleigh Timmer leads all scorers with nine for SDSU, while Stailee Heard has eight for OSU.
- JuJu Watkins appears to be playing through an injury to her left hand. She grabbed her hand throughout the first half, but it didn’t limit her as she led USC with 11 points while playing 18 of 20 first-half minutes. Something to monitor in the second half.
- West Virginia held strong for a 19-point win over Columbia, as the Lions could never quite get a comeback going. Mountaineers guards JJ Quinerly and Jordan Harrison led both teams with 27 and 23 points, respectively.
- Both teams had a number of turnovers, but it was the Mountaineers’ 17 steals that made a difference in this matchup, with the Lions turning the ball over 23 times in total.
- West Virginia will now face the winner of North Carolina-Oregon State, which takes place later today. If North Carolina, who is favored, pulls off the win, the Mountaineers will have to face the Tar Heels on their home turf.
- Florida Gulf Coast continues to chip away at Oklahoma’s lead, with the Sooners up 55-48 at the end of the third quarter. Things are still within reach for the Eagles, who have improved their shooting to 24.5% and have forced Oklahoma to make 10 turnovers throughout the game. Can the Sooners pull away, or will FGCU find the momentum for an upset?
- Vermont put an early scare into NC State and Wolfpack fans in the first half at Reynolds Coliseum. But the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 1 region pulled away in the second half with its athleticism and sharpshooting, leading to a 75-55 win.
- Zoe Brooks led NC State with 19 points, followed by 15 each from Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers. Rivers also had 12 rebounds, as did Madison Hayes. The Wolfpack shot only 20% on 3-pointers.
- The Catamounts got a game-high 21 points off the bench from Keira Hanson, who helped Vermont take that early lead. But NC State eventually began to outrun their opponents on both ends of the floor. Catherine Gilwee added 13 for Vermont, followed by 11 from Nikola Priede.
- NC State will face the winner of Harvard-Michigan State on Monday.
- Even with her early exit in Murray State’s loss to Iowa, Racers forward Katelyn Young had time to make some history. The senior forward reached 3,029 total points with her performance on Saturday, passing former forward Chamique Holdsclaw to take the 14th spot on the NCAA all-time scoring list.
- Young left the game early in the third quarter after a seemingly injuring her foot, leaving the court in crutches. Prior to the injury, Young had scored six points in the matchup — just enough to pass Holdsclaw before Murray State’s season came to an end.
- USC’s offense wasn’t very good in the first half of its NCAA tournament opener. It hasn’t much mattered. USC has smothered No. 16 seed UNCG and holds a 28-11 lead at the break.
- It took 4:29 for UNCG to get on the scoreboard, and the Spartans haven’t done much since. USC has held UNCG to 12% (3 of 25) shooting from the field and 12.5% (1 of 8) from 3-point distance in the first two quarters. The Spartans scored just thre points in the second quarter.
- As expected, All-American JuJu Watkins is leading the way for the USC offense and has a couple of of nice drives to the basket. She has 11 points and seven rebounds on a 4-of-10 effort from the field.
- NC State has just about finished this in Raleigh. The Wolfpack now have a 75-55 lead after Aziaha James grabs an offensive rebound and feeds Tilda Twygger for a layup.
- Catherine Gilwee hit a 3 for Vermont with 3:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, but two free throws from Devyn Quigley extended NC State’s lead to 71-55. The Catamounts are running out of time with 2:33 left in regulation.
- NC State has its biggest lead of the day, going up 63-50 on a Saniya Rivers tip-in offensive rebound. Anna Olson followed up with a basket for Vermont, but Aziaha James answered with a jumper to restore the 13-point margin with 4:58 remaining in regulation.
- Rivers and James both have 13 for the Wolfpack, with Rivers also grabbing 11 rebounds. Zoe Brooks leads NC State with 19 points
- It’s look pretty locked up for West Virginia at this point, with the Mountaineers up 63-45 at the end of the third quarter.
- Columbia guard Riley Weiss did hit a key three-pointer before the end of the quarter, cutting into the Lions’ deficit slightly — although a tricky buzzer-beating layup from Mountaineers guard Kyah Watson stretched West Virginia’s lead again.
- But Weiss has the capability to change the tide for Columbia: The sophomore guard went off in the Lions’ First Four win over Washington, leading the charge in Columbia’s comeback and nearly single-handedly getting the team into the main field. We’ll see if she can do it again — or if Columbia’s season will end after a quiet fourth quarter.
- Zoe Brooks nails a 3 to put NC State up 59-48 with 8:18 remaining in regulation. Vermont was within six points to begin the fourth quarter, but the Wolfpack have outscored the Catamounts 7-2 to begin the frame and create some distance.
- Plenty of time left, though, and Vermont has stayed close throughout.
- Neither team got much going in the first quarter between No. 1 USC and No. 16 UNCG. The Trojans have a 12-8 edge after the first quarter with six points coming from All-American JuJu Watkins.
- After being outscored 21-12 in the first quarter, FGCU came back to life in the second, cutting Oklahoma’s lead to 10 points after being down by as many as 19. Both teams are struggling a bit on shooting: The Sooners are hitting 33% of their shots, while the Eagles are at a pretty dismal 18.9% on shooting.
- But towards the end of the half, Florida Gulf Coast started making this a tougher fight; can the Eagles ride that momentum in the second half?
- Aaliyah Nye scored 23 (and became Alabama’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made) and Zaay Green added 22 to lead the Crimson Tide to an 81-67 victory.
- JeAnna Cunningham tallied 14 off the bench for Alabama, and Karly Weathers scored 10 with 10 rebounds and four assists. The Tide shot 48% from the floor as they asserted their size up front in the second half.
- For Green Bay, Cassie Schiltz scored 13 points, followed by 12 from Natalie McNeal and 10 by Callie Genke. The Phoenix shot 39% and had a 14-8 advantage at the free throw line, but that wasn’t nearly enough.
- Alabama will play the winner of Norfolk St.-Maryland.
- Eight points from Aaliyah Nye has pushed Alabama out to a 78-61 lead. She just became the Crimson Tide’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 109 during her career.
- Nye has 23 for Alabama.
- NC State begins the third quarter with a 13-2 run after Vermont tied the score at 35-35 on a Bella Vito jump shot. Zoe Brooks scored five points for the Wolfpack during that surge.
- The Wolfpack have a 48-40 lead under four minutes as a timeout is taken.
