Top Seeds Dominate
Top-seeded teams continued to dominate the competition in the second round. The Texas Longhorns, led by Madison Booker’s 20 points and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda’s 19 points off the bench, secured a 65-48 victory over Illinois. Texas dominated the paint with a 36-18 scoring advantage and will face fifth-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen.
Notre Dame is heading to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year with a 76-55 win over the Michigan Wolverines. Hannah Hidalgo led with 21 points, and Liatu King added 18 points and 15 rebounds. The Fighting Irish defense held the Wolverines to their lowest-scoring game of the season. The Fighting Irish will face off against the TCU Horned Frogs in Birmingham on March 29, in the first match between the teams. In November, TCU was able to win over the Irish 76-68.
“TCU isn’t gonna beat them twice, they got lucky the first time, there’s no chance they do it again,” senior Taylor Yeatts said.
Historic Advances
TCU was able to make history in the second round by advancing to its first Sweet Sixteen. No. 2 seed TCU defeated the 7th-seeded Louisville Cardinals 85-70. Agnes Emma-Nnopu led the Horned Frogs with a season-high 23 points, while Sedona Prince contributed 19 points and 3 blocks.
Thrilling Finishes
Several games came down to the wire in the second round. No. 4 seed Maryland edged out the 5. Seed Alabama Crimson Tide in a double-overtime thriller, thanks to clutch free throws from Shyanne Sellars, who had 28 points for the Terrapins 111-108. Additionally, the No. 5 seed Kansas State Wildcats secured an 80-79 overtime victory over the 4th seed Kentucky Wildcats.
The Duke Blue Devils, without their leading scorer Toby Fournier, were still able to hold off the Oregon Ducks. Ashlon Jackson led Duke to a 59-53 victory, scoring 2o points, and 14 of her 20 points coming in the late in the 3rd quarter.
“Duke has been doing well,” said sophomore Harlee Lowe. “They beat Notre Dame in the ACC tournament and have been [playing well] ballin’ ever since.”
