Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes, middle, cheers on her teammates during Saturday’s first-round win over Tennessee Tech in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Holmes was resting a sore knee and did not play. Darron Cummings/Associated Press
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — All-American center Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham started Indiana’s NCAA title quest on the bench.
She doesn’t intend to stay there long.
After watching Sydney Parrish score 19 points and grab eight rebounds and her replacement, Lilly Meister, add seven points and three blocks in the top-seeded Hoosiers’ 77-47 rout of 16th-seeded Tennessee Tech, Holmes said she plans to return for Monday night’s second-round game.
“It’s something we had planned for a while. We’re trying to be cautious after I got banged up in the Big Ten Tournament,” Holmes said. “I’m being evaluated day by day, and so we’ve got today, tomorrow, and then we’ll see Monday.”
Holmes missed eight games last season because of an injured left knee and still wasn’t 100% when the Hoosiers’ postseason run ended in the Sweet 16. While she acknowledged it was frustrating to watch again Saturday, the Hoosiers really didn’t need her to advance through the first round.
With Parrish playing Holmes’ role, Grace Berger adding 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and Meister and Alyssa Geary splitting minutes in place of Holmes, Indiana (28-3) looked the part of a No. 1 seed over the final three quarters.
But the Hoosiers may need Holmes against ninth-seeded Miami, which beat eight-seeded Oklahoma State, 62-61.
“I thought Berger was exceptional. She led in every way,” Tennessee Tech Coach Kim Rosamond said. “She was just tremendous, especially in the first half.”
Maaliya Owens had 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (23-10), who had won their previous eight. They just couldn’t hold up against the bigger, stronger, deeper Hoosiers – especially in front of a boisterous crowd that topped the 14,000 mark.
After finishing the first quarter tied at 18, the Golden Eagles grabbed a 22-20 lead on Anna Walker’s layup with 6:53 to go.
Then the Hoosiers took off. Meister tied the score with a layup, Lexus Bargesser followed with back-to-back layups on fast breaks, and when Berger made two free throws with 2:55 left in the first half, Indiana led 37-22.
Tennessee Tech never got within single digits again.
“We’ve always called it sharing the sugar around here and this is a team that’s unselfish, that’s balanced,” Indiana Coach Teri Moren said after picking up her 200th career win. “This is a team that realizes it could be Grace’s night, it could be Syd’s night, it just doesn’t matter as long as we get the win.”
MIAMI 62, OKLAHOMA STATE 61: Haley Cavinder scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and made the decisive free throw with 8.9 seconds left as ninth-seeded Miami (20-12) rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat eighth-seeded Oklahoma State (21-12) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Cavinder also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Anna Gret Asi led Oklahoma State with 16 points and four 3-pointers.
FLORIDA GULF COAST 74, WASHINGTON STATE 63: Maddie Antenucci’s 3-pointer bounced four times before going through the net as part of her game-changing spree from beyond the arc that sent 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast (33-3) into the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a win over No. 5 seed Washington State (23-11) at Villanova, Pennsylvania.
Sha Carter scored 24 points and Tishara Moorehouse had 16 for the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament champion Golden Eagles.
Antenucci, who finished with 11 points, made three 3-pointers in a span of 1:12 in the third quarter to turn a 40-38 lead into a 49-40 advantage.
VILLANOVA 76, CLEVELAND STATE 59: Maddy Siegrist became the fifth women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in a season, finishing with 35 points to lead fourth-seeded Villanova (29-6) into the second round with a 76-59 win over 13th-seeded Cleveland State (30-5) in Villanova, Pennsylvania.
The Wildcats will play No. 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast on Monday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
SEATTLE REGIONAL
UCONN 95, VERMONT 52: Aaliyah Edwards scored a career-high 28 points, Dorka Juhasz added a double-double and No. 2 seed UConn (30-5) routed 15th-seeded Vermont (25-7), giving the host Huskies a 29th straight win in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Juhasz scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Caroline Ducharme added 12 points, helping Connecticut reach 30 wins for the 26th time during Geno Auriemma’s 38 years as coach.
Catherine Gilwee scored 14 points, while Emma Utterback and Maria Myklebust each had 13 for Vermont, which had its 17-game winning streak snapped.
BAYLOR 78, ALABAMA 74: Ja’Mee Asberry scored 26 points, including three key foul shots in the final minute, and No. 7 seed Baylor (20-12) overcame an early 18-point deficit to beat 10th-seeded Alabama (20-11) in Storrs, Connecticut.
Baylor closed the game on a 7-0 run, all from the free-throw line.
The Bears will face No. 2 seed UConn in the second round Monday night.
TENNESSEE 95, SAINT LOUIS 50: Jordan Horston scored 21 points and Rickea Jackson added 18 as fourth-seeded Tennessee (24-11) remained perfect when opening the NCAA Tournament on its home court, routing No. 13 seed Saint Louis (17-18).
The Vols improved to 25-0 in first-round games at home.
TOLEDO 80, IOWA STATE 73: Quinesha Lockett scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as 12th-seeded Toledo (29-4) knocked off No. 5 seed Iowa State (22-10) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Toledo now will play No. 4 seed Tennessee on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16.
The Rockets won a school-record 17th straight game and posted their first NCAA Tournament victory since 1996.
OHIO STATE 80, JAMES MADISON 66: Cotie McMahon scored 18 points to help No. 3 seed Ohio State (26-7) pull away from No. 14 seed James Madison (26-8) in Columbus, Ohio.
McMahon made her team’s first 3-pointer with 5:18 left in the third quarter to give Ohio State a 44-43 lead, and the Buckeyes didn’t give up the advantage. Earlier, they trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half before going on a 12-0 run.
NORTH CAROLINA 61, ST. JOHN’S 59: Deja Kelly made a go-ahead three-point play with 2 seconds left and No. 6 seed North Carolina (22-10) held on for a win over 11th-seeded St. John’s (23-9) in Columbus, Ohio.
COLORADO 82, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 60: Frida Formann scored 21 points and sixth-seeded Colorado (24-8) unleashed a torrid 3-point shooting display to roll past No. 11 Middle Tennessee in Durham, North Carolina.
Jaylyn Sherrod added 13 points and Aaronette Vonleh had 11 points for the Buffaloes, who made 13 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Seven Colorado players made at least one 3, led by Formann’s 5-for-8 effort.
LOUISVILLE 83, DRAKE 81: Hailey Van Lith scored 13 points over the final five minutes, including five in a row in the final 16 seconds, and No. 5 Louisville (24-11) held off No. 12 Drake’s frantic March Madness upset bid in Austin, Texas.
Van Lith’s three-point play off a layup out of timeout put Louisville up by four before Drake (22-10) answered with a 3-pointer by Sarah Beth Gueldner. Van Lith then made two more free throws to all but seal the win for the Cardinals.
Van Lith finished with 26 points and Mykasa Robison scored 14 for Louisville.
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