Fudd leads No. 2 UConn to 103-34 win

STORRS, Conn. — The second-seeded UConn women’s basketball team wasted little time in dashing any hopes of an upset by No. 15 seed Arkansas State.

After the Red Wolves’ Crislyn Rose scored the game’s first basket in the NCAA Tournament first-round game, UConn ripped off the next 22 points en route to a convincing 103-34 victory on Saturday.

Azzi Fudd had 21 of her 27 points in the first half as the Huskies led 66-16 at halftime to win their 31st consecutive tournament opener.

Fudd also had six steals and seven assists in 22 minutes. Sarah Strong finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots in her first March Madness game. Ashlynn Shade came off the bench to add 20 points.

“Coach (Geno Auriemma) kind of challenged me to take more risks,” Fudd said. “I tried to get in the passing lane more, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do, and I’ve gotten more comfortable with it. So just being aggressive today, trying to get in the passing lane. He said it before, You’ll be surprised how many times they just throw it right in your hand.”

Rose led Arkansas State with seven points. The Red Wolves shot 17.1% from the floor and were 6 of 40 on 3-pointers.

All-American Paige Bueckers didn’t need to be the focus of the offense with Fudd and Strong dominating in the early going. She finished with 11 points and four assists in 22 minutes to guarantee her one last game at Gampel Pavilion in Monday’s second round game.

UConn finished with 41 fast-break points and 34 points off 20 Arkansas State turnovers.

“This is the only time in a year where you have two weeks off, right?,” Auriemma said. “Last time we played was two weeks ago. Well, Monday night’s game will be two weeks since we played that game. You never have that much time off, and you have no idea how much it’s going to (go) believe me, there were some God-awful practices during those two weeks. I mean, awful.

“I think that’s their way of saying, Coach, we just want to play. So when game time does roll around, there’s been a lot of pent-up frustration and waiting. You know it’s going to come out. I could see it yesterday at practice, shoot-around today. There’s a different look, a different vibe when game time is right here right now.”

Caroline Ducharme received a huge roar from the crowd as she came into game with 3:17 left in the second quarter. After missing the NCAA tournament and most of the 2023-24 season as a result of a concussion, Ducharme was thrilled to get a warm reception in her first home NCAA tournament game since 2023.

It took all of 37 seconds for Ducharme to make her first basket. Azzi Fudd passed up an open 3-pointer to give Ducharme the ball.

“It is definitely nice when I checked in, she said, if you touch it, you better shoot it,” Ducharme said. “At times, I don’t always want to take the first shot. I am not used to being in this role where people say shoot it, shoot it, shoot it.”

Jana El Alfy’s free throw with 3:01 left put UConn at 100 points. It was the 12th time in program history that the Huskies hit triple digits in its NCAA opener.

The Huskies face South Dakota State on Monday.

USC 71, UNC GREENSBORO 25

LOS ANGELES — JuJu Watkins scored 22 points and top-seeded Southern California led all the way in routing 16th-seeded UNC Greensboro 71-25 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

The Trojans (29-3) advanced to the second round to play either eighth-seeded California or ninth-seeded Mississippi State on Monday at Galen Center.

Watkins appeared to hurt her left hand early in the second quarter, occasionally shaking out her fingers. Then in the third, the star sophomore came up limping on her left leg and winced. She hit a 3-pointer and sat for the final 3:39 before returning briefly in the fourth.

The Spartans came out confidently, holding the Trojans to 12 points in the first quarter after missing their first five shots and trailing 8-0.

UNCG closed within two early in the second quarter before USC blew the game open. The Trojans outscored the Spartans 16-3 while limiting them to three free throws. The Trojans’ pressure defense forced eight turnovers and the Spartans were 0 of 11 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range. USC led 28-11 at halftime.

MISSISSIPPI ST. 59, CALIFORNIA 46

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Madina Okot had 14 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out late and ninth-seeded Mississippi State beat California 59-46 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Eniya Russell added 14 points for the Bulldogs (22-11), who are back in March Madness for the first time in two years. They lost in the national title game in 2017 and 2018.

“I think what everyone just witnessed was our best defensive effort of the season,” Bulldogs coach Sam Purcell said.

The Bulldogs improved their shooting to 50% in the second half when they outscored the Bears 15-10 in the third and 18-17 in the fourth. They had 15 steals.

“Physicality and rebounding wins us games. I don’t think they were used to that,” Russell said. “I definitely think our defense disrupted them.”

SPOKANE REGIONAL 1

IOWA 92, MURRAY STATE 57

NORMAN — Freshman Ava Heiden scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and sixth-seeded Iowa rolled past No. 11 seed Murray State.

Lucy Olsen had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Hawkeyes (23-10). They scored a season high in points in the first tournament win for first-year Iowa coach Jan Jensen, a longtime assistant who was promoted after Lisa Bluder retired.

Murray State’s Katelyn Young, who averaged 22.2 points heading into the NCAA Tournament, left the game early in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. She finished with six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

Halli Poock scored 15 points and Ava Learn added eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for Murray State (25-8). The Racers, who entered the game averaging a nation-leading 87.8 points per game, shot just 30.6% from the field and posted their lowest point total of the season.

NC STATE 75, VERMONT 55

RALEIGH, N.C. —Zoe Brooks scored 19 points and N.C. State finally took control in the second half to beat Vermont.

Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James added 15 points apiece for the second-seeded Wolfpack, who reached the Final Four last year.

Keira Hanson scored 21 points off the bench, Catherine Gilwee had 13 and Nikola Priede added 11 for No. 15 seed Vermont (21-13).

Vermont pulled ahead 27-24 midway through the second quarter on Hanson’s 3-pointer. The Wolfpack scored the last six points of the half for a 35-33 edge.

MICHIGAN ST. 64, HARVARD 50

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Grace VanSlooten had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Michigan State beat Harvard 64-50 in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Jocelyn Tate had 13 points as the seventh-seeded Spartans (22-9) advanced to the second round for the first time since 2019. Theryn Hallock added 10 points.

“The thing we’ve been talking about a lot is real confidence comes from toughness, not whether or not the ball goes in or not,” Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick said. “I thought we had that.”

Michigan State meets second-seeded N.C. State (27-6), a 75-55 winner against Vermont, in the second round on Monday.

Harmoni Turner had 24 points for 10th-seeded Harvard (24-5), which topped two Big Ten teams in November but couldn’t pull off another victory against a power conference opponent.

The Spartans scored the game’s first 11 points. Harvard closed to 26-25 in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3s from Ines Soltelo and Tate helped the Spartans bounce out to a 37-25 lead.

BIRMINGHAM REGIONAL 2

ALABAMA 81, GREEN BAY 67

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Aaliyah Nye scored 23 points and Zaay Green added 22 to lead fifth-seeded Alabama to a victory over 12th-seeded Green Bay.

The Crimson Tide (24-8) ended Green Bay’s 22-game winning streak and now advances to the second round to face either Maryland or Norfolk State on Monday. Maddy Schreiber scored 14 points for the Phoenix (29-6).

Green Bay kept the game close through most of the first half, but the Horizon League champion allowed six straight points to end the second quarter and trailed 38-29. The Crimson Tide — who earned their highest seed since 1999 — now have a chance to achieve another March Madness breakthrough. They haven’t made the Sweet 16 since 1998.

Alabama pushed its lead to 13 in the third quarter. The margin was down to five early in the fourth, but Nye connected from 3-point range to help repel that Green Bay push.

WEST VIRGINIA 78, COLUMBIA 59

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — JJ Quinerly scored 27 points, Jordan Harrison matched a career-high with 23 and sixth-seeded West Virginia led wire-to-wire in a victory over 11th-seeded Columbia.

Quinerly also had seven of the Mountaineers’ 17 steals.

The Mountaineers (25-7) advance to face the winner of No. 3 North Carolina and No. 14 Oregon State on Monday. West Virginia will be looking for its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1992.

West Virginia’s full-court press was a constant source of frustration for Columbia, which was coming off its first tournament win in program history. The Lions committed 11 turnovers in the first quarter, more than they had in all of Thursday’s First Four win over Washington, and 25 overall.