Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron (11) drives for a bucket in Saturday’s NCAA tournament win in the first round.
Michael Caterina | AP photo
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sonia Citron scored 29 points and Hannah Hidalgo added a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists to help No. 2-seed Notre Dame beat 15th-seeded Kent State 81-67 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Citron was 13 of 20 from the field while Hidalgo added six steals for the Irish (27-6), who play Monday in the second round.
Katie Shumate led Kent State (21-11) with 20 points while Janae Tyler scored 18.
A relentless defensive effort in the first quarter set a dominating tone for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish used an 18-0 run on the way to building a 22-5 lead, harassing Kent State into a stretch of 0-for-13 shooting.
No. 2 IOWA 91, HOLY CROSS 65
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Caitlin Clark struggled to make shots early, but finished with 27 points and 10 assists as Iowa defeated Holy Cross in a NCAA tournament first-round game.
Kate Martin also had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (30-4), the top seed in the Albany 2 Regional. Iowa advanced to Monday’s second round to face either eighth seed West Virginia or ninth seed Princeton.
Clark, a unanimous Associated Press All-American selection, was just 8 of 19 from the field, 3 of 9 in 3-pointers, showing her frustration with missed shots multiple times during the game.
Clark finished with her 65th career double-double, and added eight rebounds.
She got off to a slow start and didn’t make her first field goal until 22 seconds were left in the first quarter. She committed five turnovers in the first eight minutes.
No. 14 INDIANA 89, No. 25 FAIRFIELD 56
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sara Scalia scored 27 points to lead fourth-seeded Indiana to a victory over No. 13 Fairfield on in the first round of the women’s NCAA tournament.
Scalia sank five of the Hoosiers’ 10 3-pointers. Yarden Garzon, Chloe Moore-McNeil and Mackenzie Holmes each scored 13 points for the Hoosiers.
The Hoosiers (25-5) will face No. 5 seed Oklahoma on Monday night.
Fairfield (31-2) saw its 29-game winning streak come to an end. Janelle Brown led the Stags, who earned the first Top 25 ranking in school history earlier this month, with 19 points.
No. 18 OKLAHOMA 73, FLORIDA GULF COAST 70
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Skylar Vann scored 24 points and fifth-seeded Oklahoma held off No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast.
Oklahoma (23-9) will face No. 4 seed Indiana (25-5) in the second round on Monday night.
Payton Verhulst gave the Sooners a 72-70 lead on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 48 seconds left. After a Eagles’ turnover, Vann hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to push the Sooners’ lead to 73-70.
Dolly Cairns 3-point shot was blocked by Vann with 3 seconds left. The Eagles got the rebound with a second left. Uju Ezeudu missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.
MISSISSIPPI 67, MARQUETTE 55
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Madison Scott scored 20 points and No. 7 Mississippi used a late run to beat 10th-seeded Marquette in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Ole Miss (24-8) takes on the host No. 2 Seed Fighting Irish (27-6) on Monday.
Kennedy Todd-Williams added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Rebels. Tyia Singleton had 12 points and Kharyssa Richardson scored 10.
No. 3 USC 87, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 55
LOS ANGELES — JuJu Watkins scored 23 points in her NCAA Tournament debut, leading No. 1 seed Southern California to a blowout victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Trojans (27-5) also got 23 points from McKenzie Forbes in a first-round game they dominated from the opening tip.
No. 10 UCONN 86, JACKSON STATE 64
STORRS, Conn. — Paige Bueckers scored 28 points and freshman Ashlynn Shade added 26 as No. 3 seed UConn celebrated coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday with a win over Jackson State.
Aaliyah Edwards, wearing a mask after missing two games with a broken nose, had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (30-5), who won in the opening round of the tournament for a 30th straight time.
No. 22 SYRACUSE 74, ARIZONA 69
STORRS, Conn. — Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair scored 32 points, including 13 after she returned from a second-half injury, to lead the Orange to a come-from behind win over No. 11 seed Arizona in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The third team All-American scored all of her team’s points during a game-winning run that began with the Orange trailing 66-61 with 3:16 left. Alyssa Latham added 10 points for Syracuse (24-7).
KANSAS 81, MICHIGAN 72, OT
LOS ANGELES — Zakiyah Franklin scored 22 points, including a tying 3-pointer that bounced on the rim and dropped with 12 seconds left in regulation, and Kansas beat Michigan in overtime in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Wyvette Mayberry and S’Mya Nichols added 15 points each and Taiyanna Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds for the eighth-seeded Jayhawks (20-12).
The Jayhawks rallied in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Wolverines 23-14. Then Kansas stepped up its defense and controlled the five-minute extra session, 14-5.
Lauren Hansen’s 3-pointer pulled the Wolverines within 75-72. Franklin missed, but the 6-foot-6 Jackson grabbed the rebound. Nichols scored and drew the foul, extending the Jayhawks’ lead to 78-72.
Franklin stole the ball with 22 seconds left and Nichols got fouled and made both.
No. 11 NC STATE 64 CHATTANOOGA 45
RALEIGH, N.C. — Aziaha James scored each of her 19 points in the second half, and North Carolina State pulled away from Chattanooga for a victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Saniya Rivers scored 16 points and River Baldwin had 10 points and 11 rebounds, boosting N.C. State coach Wes Moore to a victory against his former team.
TENNESSEE 92, GREEN BAY 63
RALEIGH, N.C. — Rickea Jackson scored 26 points and Tennessee rolled past Green Bay.
Sarah Puckett added 14 points and Jewel Spear had 13 for the sixth-seeded Lady Vols, who are the only team to participate in all 42 women’s NCAA Tournaments. It was the first game in Raleigh for Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, who coached North Carolina State for four seasons from 2009-13.