Vann, Oklahoma easily dispatch Iowa

NORMAN — Skylar Vann scored 17 points, Payton Verhulst added 16 and No. 3 seed Oklahoma cruised into the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament, dispatching No. 6 seed Iowa 96-62 on Monday.

Raegan Beers had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 18 minutes for the Sooners.

Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk beat her alma mater and advanced past the second round for the first time in her four years with the Sooners. Oklahoma (27-7) will play UConn Saturday in Spokane, Washington.

Caitlin Clark had led Iowa to the previous two national championship games before she became the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s WNBA draft. Without her, the Hawkeyes shot 36.4% from the field. Lucy Olsen scored 20 points and Kylie Feuerbach added 14 for Iowa (23-11).

Iowa ran out to a 10-4 lead, but the Sooners closed the first quarter on a 16-1 run. The Sooners led 38-27 at halftime, despite Beers sitting out most of the half with two fouls.

Oklahoma, which went 2-for-17 on 3-pointers in the first half, hit three in a 55-second span early in the second half to go up 49-32.

MARYLAND 111, ALABAMA 108, 2OT

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Sarah Te-Biasu made a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, then scored eight of her 26 points in the second overtime to help fourth-seeded Maryland outlast fifth-seeded Alabama 111-108 on Monday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The Terrapins (25-7) advance to play top-seeded South Carolina, but to get there they had to overcome a career-high 45 points by Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker — and a 17-point Crimson Tide lead in the third quarter.

After Te-Biasu forced the first overtime with her 3-pointer, Barker was fouled shooting a 3 with 0.7 seconds left in OT. She calmly swished all three attempts to tie it at 96 and send the game to a second extra session.

It was surely the game of the tournament so far, and the only time in four second-round matchups that a No. 4 seed was able to take advantage of home court and beat the No. 5 seed. There has never been a Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA Tournament without at least one No. 4 seed.

It almost happened this year, but with Maryland up three, Diana Collins missed a 3-pointer for the Crimson Tide (24-9). The ball went out of bounds to Alabama with 1.8 seconds left, but Te-Biasu broke up the inbound pass — which was headed in Barker’s direction — to seal the game.

Only three players in tournament history have scored more points than Barker’s 45: Drake’s Lorri Bauman had 50 against Maryland in a 1982 regional final, Texas Tech’s Sheryl Swoopes scored 47 in the 1993 title game against Ohio State, and Stanford’s Jayne Appel had 46 in a 2009 regional final against Iowa State.

After coming alive offensively in the fourth, the Terps finally tied it at 80 on two free throws by Shyanne Sellers with 1:01 to play. Barker put Alabama back ahead with a 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds left, and then Barker blocked a 3 by Kaylene Smikle at the other end.

But the Terps came up with the ball, and Te-Biasu’s 3 tied it with 12 seconds left. Karly Weathers missed a midrange shot for Alabama, and the Crimson Tide had to go to overtime with two of their top players — Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye — having already fouled out.

UCONN 91, SD STATE 57

STORRS, Conn.—Paige Bueckers scored 34 points in her final game in UConn’s friendly confines to lead the Huskies to a 91-57 victory over South Dakota State.

Another sellout crowd cheered on the Huskies who lost just one game at home during Bueckers’ time in the program.

The win sets up a regional semifinal matchup against Oklahoma Saturday in Spokane, Washington. The Sooners coasted past Iowa, 96-62, in an earlier game Monday afternoon in Norman.