Saturday gave fans everything they could ask for from the NCAA Tournament. There were some minor upsets, big performances from star players, dominance from the top teams and one school got a good scare from a Cinderella candidate.
Here are the most memorable moments of madness that occurred on the second full day of play.
Jazzy Davidson has arrived, and USC advances
On Friday, freshman Aaliyah Chavez had a solid game in Oklahoma’s win over Idaho. On Saturday, Jazzy Davidson raised the standard for freshman everywhere with her 31-point, six-rebound,
five-assist performance in No. 9-seed USC’s 71-66 overtime win over No. 8-seed Clemson.
Her stat line has not been accomplished by a freshman in the tourney in 25 years. Given the tightness of this game the Trojans needed all of her production to beat the Tigers.
It looked like Davidson’s excellence for USC would not be enough, as Clemson’s Mia Moore appeared to have hit an incredible buzzer beater. But, it was waved off, and the contest headed to overtime, even at 61.
The Tigers started the quarter on a brief 3-0 run thanks to a free throw make by Moore and a layup from Rachael Rose. Davidson then responded with back-to-back 3s to give USC back the lead. Kara Dunn converted on a pair of free throws, and Kennedy Smith scored from the charity stripe as well to put USC up by six with 16 seconds to play. Clemson didn’t quit as Morgan Lee hit a three, but they couldn’t close the gap, and USC will keep on dancing.
Besides Davidson, Dunn also had a great game. She ended the night with 22 points and four rebounds. Kennedy Smith had 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the win.
While the victory for the Trojans was sweet, things will be even harder for them next as they take on the No. 1-seed South Carolina Gamecocks. During her interview with the ESPN broadcast, Davidson mentioned why she’s confident they can pull off the upset:
Our coaches do a great job. They work their butts off, giving us great scouting reports. If we execute that, I think anything can happen.
In the tournament, in a single-elimination setting, a player like Davidson gives you a puncher’s chance.
She can overwhelm a team more talented than hers and bust a bracket. Davidson undoubtedly did that by getting USC past Clemson, and while her team will be an underdog against the other SC, as long as she’s on the floor, they are going to have a chance to make it an interesting second-round contest.
South Carolina, UConn and Vanderbilt played like contenders
Speaking of South Carolina, they certainly played like national title contenders on Saturday. No. 16-seed Southern never stood a chance, losing 103-34.
The Gamecocks had five players in double figures, but Joyce Edwards had the strongest game. She had 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting along with eight rebounds. Tessa Johnson had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Ta’Niya Latson ended the game with 17.
Not much went well for Southern. Jocelyn Tate was the only player in double figures for the Jaguars. She scored 10 points.
No. 1-overall UConn remained perfect on the season, beating No. 16-seed UTSA, 90-52. Sarah Strong dominated with 18 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Blanca Quiñonez had a great game off the bench. She scored 14, and Azzi Fudd had a quiet night, scoring just seven points.
As a No. 2 seed, Vanderbilt left no doubt that they were multiple levels better than the No. 15-seed High Point Panthers, beating them 102-61.
Mikayla Blakes was spectacular, scoring 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Aubrey Galvan scored 17. Vandy led the entire time, never trailed and even won the rebounding battle 56-26.
Macy Spencer did everything she could to try to get the Panthers the win. She had over half of her team’s points, scoring 27, but the talent gap was just too big to overcome.
It wasn’t be pretty, but Iowa survived and advanced
The No. 2-seed Iowa may have beaten No. 15-seed FDU, but it wasn’t pretty. They came out on top 58-48, but Fairleigh Dickinson certainly mucked the game up. The Knights were physical and slowed the game down to a pace they could manage. The third quarter featured little to no offense as neither team cracked double digits.
It may have been ugly basketball, but the victory is worth the same as a pretty one would be for Iowa.
In the fourth, the Hawkeyes scored 23 points and pulled away from the Knights to avoid disaster and advance to the second round. Ava Heiden led Iowa with 29 points, and Hannah Stuelke had a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Moving forward, Iowa will need more production from their backcourt if they want to have a long tournament run, but that’s a tomorrow problem; they won the game that was in front of them, and that’s all that matters.
We even had a few (minor) upsets!
Besides USC beating Clemson, there were a couple of other upsets.
No. 10-seed Virginia beat No. 7-seed Georgia 82-73. This game was tight throughout, even going into overtime, but once we reached the extra period, Virginia dominated, outscoring Georgia 11-2. UVA became just the second First Four team to win their first-round game.
Sa’Myah Smith scored five of her 23 points in overtime. She also had 11 rebounds. Kymora Johnson led the Cavaliers in the win with 27 points. For Georgia, Mia Woolfolk had 27 points in the loss, and Rylie Theuerkauf scored 22.
No. 9-seed Syracuse beat No. 8-seed Iowa State 72-63. Uche Izoje scored 23 for Syracuse in the win. Olivia Schmitt shot 50 percent from the field off the bench scoring 15 points.
In what turned out to be the final game of her season, Audi Crooks did everything she could to keep her team competing, scoring a game-high 37 points. The junior finished second in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game.
