River Walk Region

Syracuse 72, South Dakota State 55

Two years ago, Syracuse got bounced out of the NCAA Tournament off its home court.

Fast forward to Sunday against the same opponent and a matchup 1,700 miles south, the Orange served up some payback.

Emily Engstler scored 18 points and made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and No. 8-seed Syracuse pulled away from No. 9 South Dakota State for a first-round win that had a sweet taste of revenge.

“It was definitely ammunition for us,” Engstler said, "and it looks like we answered very well.”

Syracuse advanced to the second round to play the top-seeded UConn in San Antonio.

Syracuse led 50-48 to open the fourth quarter before Engstler struck from long range on consecutive baskets for the Orange and Syracuse slowly pulled away from there. Her third from long range took two bounces on the rim before falling in to put Syracuse ahead 66-52 with 3:19 to play.

The Orange (15-8) had five players score in double figures in a methodical offense that produced points from everywhere, including 12 3-pointers. Senior guard Tiana Mangakahia had 11 points and seven assists.

Paiton Burckhard had 17 points for South Dakota State (21-4).

Syracuse started quickly behind Mangakahia and freshman center Kamilla Cardoso only to see the Jackrabbits mount a steady comeback and take a 28-25 lead early in the second quarter.

The Orange closed the period with a 10-3 run that included 3-pointers from Digna Strautmane and Engstler for a 37-31 lead at halftime.

Syracuse stretched the lead to nine when Mangakahia made a 3-pointer from the right wing. The Jackrabbits immediately responded behind Burckhard, who scored 11 points in the quarter and cut it to 43-42 with a short jumper.

Defensive pressure by the Orange unsettled the Jackrabbits in the backcourt in the fourth. A floater by Mangakahia off a steal pushed the Syracuse lead to 61-52 with 5:46 to play and the Orange were in control.

“Our pressure was just a factor. We were able to speed the game up,” Syracuse coach Quinton Hillsman said. ”I thought tonight we did a great job of knocking down 3s. When they doubled the post, we made 12 3s in this game, and that was huge."

Mangakahia sat out last season after being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer, which led to chemotherapy and a double mastectomy to remove fast-growing tumors. The Australian returned to lead the NCAA with 7.5 assists per game coming into the tournament.

South Dakota State was missing the star of its 2019 upset. Myah Selland, the Summit League player of the year, has been out since a Feb. 19 injury.

“That’s definitely a thought in the back of all our minds, but we had a really good season with Myah, and we continued to play well without Myah," Burckhard said. “I’m not going to sit on it and dwell on it."

The Jackrabbits don't start a player taller than 6-foot-2 yet controlled the rebounding for much of the game and finished with a 48-36 advantage over much-bigger Syracuse. They couldn't capitalize. The Jackrabbit grabbed 13 offensive rebounds but turned them into just six second-chance points.

“They definitely had a lot more size than we’re normally used to playing in the Summit League,” Burckhard said. “Just having to utilize our strength and just kind of having a different mentality when it comes to guarding 6-7 girls and guards that are 6-feet tall."

Baylor 101, Jackson State 52

Moon Ursin scored a career-high 24 points and second-seeded Baylor routed Jackson State.

All-American NaLyssa Smith added 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and had 10 rebounds for the Bears (26-2). They will face Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

Keshuna Luckett led the 15th-seeded Tigers (19-6) with 15 points.

Virginia Tech 70, Marquette 63

Elizabeth Kitley had 23 points and seventh-seeded Virginia Tech built a big lead and held off 10th-seeded Marquette.

Kitley also had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks for Virginia Tech (15-9).

Van Kleunen led Marquette (19-7) with 18 points.

Tennessee 87, Middle Tennessee 62

Rennia Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds and No. 3 seed Tennessee used a dominant second half to beat 14th-seeded Middle Tennessee.

Rae Burrell scored 22 points and Jordan Walker had nine points and 14 rebounds for Tennessee (17-7). The Vols outrebounded the Blue Raiders (17-8) 56-21.

Tennessee will face Michigan in the second round.

Anastasia Hayes scored 26 points for Middle Tennessee.

Michigan 87, Florida Gulf Coast 66

Leigha Brown scored 28 points, including 17 straight for sixth-seeded Michigan, and the Wolverines beat 11th-seed Florida Gulf Coast.

Big Ten player of the year Naz Hillmon finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Wolverines (15-5).

Kierstan Bell had 25 points for Florida Gulf Coast (26-3). The Eagles has won 15 in a row.

Kentucky 71, Idaho State 63

Rhyne Howard and Chasity Patterson scored 14 points apiece and fourth-seeded Kentucky beat 13th-seeded Idaho State.

Blair Green added 10 points for the Wildcats (18-8). They will Iowa in the second round.

Diaba Konate led the Big Sky champion Bengals (22-4) with 16 points.

Iowa 87, Central Michigan 72

Freshman Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, had 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and fifth-seeded Iowa beat 12th-seeded Central Michigan.

Monika Czinano also scored 23 points for Iowa (19-9).

Micaela Kelly had 23 points for Central Michigan (18-9).

Hemisfair Region

South Carolina 79, Mercer 53

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley got her 500th career victory when Aliyah Boston and the top-seeded Gamecocks beat Mercer.

Staley is 328-102 in 13 seasons at South Carolina, after going 172-80 in eight seasons at Temple.

Boston had 20 points and 18 rebounds for South Carolina (23-4). Victaria Saxton also scored 20 points.

The Gamecocks were national champs in 2017, when the Final Four was last played in Texas. They finished 32-1 last season, spent the final 10 weeks at No. 1 and Staley was the AP coach of the year, but didn’t get a chance to win another title because the NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

The Gamecocks will play Oregon State in the second round.

Amoria Neal-Tysor had 15 points for Mercer (19-7).

Oregon State 83, Florida State 59

Aleah Goodman had 24 points, five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers, and eighth-seeded Oregon State beat ninth-seeded Florida State.

Taylor Jones added 18 points and eight rebounds for Oregon State (12-7).

Bianca Jackson had 17 points for Florida State (10-9).

Georgia Tech 54, Stephen F. Austin 52 (OT)

Lorela Cubaj recovered from a scary fall to score 14 points, including the go-ahead free throws in overtime, and fifth-seeded Georgia Tech overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to beat 12th-seeded Stephen F. Austin.

The Yellow Jackets (16-8) will face West Virginia in the second round.

Avery Brittingham had 16 points with 13 rebounds for the Ladyjacks (24-3).

West Virginia 77, Lehigh 53

Kysre Gondrezick scored 26 points and fourth-seeded West Virginia beat 13th-seeded Lehigh.

Kirsten Deans had 19 point, eight rebounds and five assists for West Virginia (22-6).

Emma Grothaus scored 14 points for Lehigh (11-5).

Mercado Region

N.C. State 79, North Carolina A&T 58

Jada Boyd scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half and top-seeded North Carolina State overcame a slow start to beat 16th-seeded North Carolina.

N.C. State (21-2) was making its fourth straight tournament appearance and 26th overall but earned a No. 1 seed for the first time. N.C. State will face South Florida in the second round.

Chanin Scott led NC A&T (14-3) with 23 points.

South Florida 57, Washington State 53

Elena Tsineke scored 18 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:32 remaining, to help South Florida beat Washington State.

Tsineke's driving shot, which came soon after a 3-pointer by Washington State's Charlisse Leger-Walker, gave the eighth-seeded Bulls (19-3) a 54-53 lead.

Leger-Walker had 19 points for the ninth-seeded Cougars (12-12).

Alamo Region

Stanford 87, Utah Valley 44

Kiana Williams scored 20 points while becoming Stanford's career leader in 3-pointers and the top-seeded Cardinal overwhelmed Utah Valley.

Stanford never trailed after Williams, who made 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, hit a 3 for the first basket in the opening minute and tied the school mark of 295 held by Candice Wiggins. Playing in her hometown and with her parents in the stands, Williams set the record with her second 3 midway through the first quarter to put the Cardinal up 18-3.

Lacie Hull added 12 points for Pac-12 champion Stanford (26-2), the No. 1 overall seed for the first time since 1996. The Cardinals will face Oklahoma State in the second round.

Josie Williams had 18 points for Utah Valley (13-7).

Oklahoma State 84, Wake Forest 61

Natasha Mack had 27 points and 15 rebounds in eighth-seeded Oklahoma State’s victory over ninth-seeded Wake Forest.

Mack was 13 of 22 from the field for Oklahoma State (19-8). Ja’Mee Asberry added 18 points with four 3-pointers.

Oklahoma State will face the Stanford-Utah Valley winner.

Christina Morra led Wake Forest (12-13) with 18 points.