March Madness Day 4: Live updates, analysis as women's Sweet 16 is set

March Madness Day 4: Live updates, analysis as women’s Sweet 16 is set


Half of the women’s Sweet 16 is set, with Notre Dame, TCU and Tennessee among the teams to seal their spots on Sunday. Now, it’s time to complete the field, with eight more games Monday. After dominant performances in the first round, will the Texas Longhorns and the USC Trojans join fellow No. 1 seeds UCLA and South Carolina for the second weekend? Will the UConn Huskies roll to their fifth straight Sweet 16 appearance? Will we get any drama that matched the end of KentuckyKansas State? We’ll have all that and more.

With updates from writers on site and analysis of every game, this is your one-stop shop for coverage of the conclusion of the women’s tournament opening weekend.

Jump to: Schedule | Follow live | Full results and analysis

(5) Alabama Crimson Tide vs. (4) Maryland Terrapins, 5 p.m., ESPN2
(6) Florida State Seminoles vs. (3) LSU Tigers, 6 p.m., ESPN
(6) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (3) North Carolina Tar Heels, 7 p.m., ESPN2
(10) South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs. (2) UConn Huskies, 8 p.m., ESPN
(9) Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. (1) USC Trojans, 10 p.m., ESPN


Monday’s full results and analysis


Final: Texas 65, Illinois 48

How did Texas dominate Illinois?: It took them a quarter to settle in and put the clamps down, but once they did, the Longhorns ran away from Illinois on Monday. Texas contested 75% of the Illini’s field goal attempts, including 20 of their 21 attempts inside the paint. Illinois usually thrives on the boards, which then fuels its offense, but Illinois was outrebounded 32-27, and Kate Bostic was limited to eight boards. Illinois had no luck slowing the Longhorns, especially inside as the Longhorns scored half of their points in the paint. The Longhorns went 0-of-5 from downtown, becoming the first team since 2023 to win a tournament game without a made 3-pointer. However, Texas has proved it doesn’t need the 3-ball to be successful; the Longhorns went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in their win over South Carolina last month. Madison Booker recorded her second consecutive 20-point game, and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda scored a career-high 18 points.

What’s next for Texas: The Longhorns advance to the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in the past 10 years and 19th overall in program history. They will face Tennessee for a spot in the Elite Eight. The Longhorns beat the Lady Vols by four during a regular-season matchup in January. Texas’ defense propelled it to the No. 1 seed in the tournament and to 33 wins this season, and that’s what the Longhorns will depend on to power them as they move forward. They forced Illinois to commit 20 turnovers and scored 23 points off them. — Kendra Andrews


Final: NC State 83, Michigan State 49

How dominant was NC State?: The only thing the Wolfpack failed to do Monday was allow for any sense of suspense. NC State came out of the gate flying and never let the Spartans have hope. The Wolfpack led 27-9 after the first quarter and continued to pour it on. The 34-point winning margin is NC State’s largest in an NCAA tournament game.

NC State entered averaging 6.8 3-pointers but made 15 of 30 on Monday, NC State’s most in an NCAA tournament game and one off its single-game school record. The Wolfpack shot 50% from the floor and from 3-point range. The only concern: They were 50% from the free throw line, which could be a problem going forward in close games.

Aziaha James led NC State (28-6) with 26 points, and Saniya Rivers had 17 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds. It was James’ third game of 25-plus points in the NCAA tournament; the other two were last year in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. James and Rivers combined to score or assist on 63 of NC State’s 83 points (76%) as the Wolfpack finished 18-0 in home games this season at Reynolds Coliseum.

What’s next for NC State: The Wolfpack have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the past seven NCAA tournaments. They next will face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 3 seed LSU and No. 6 seed Florida State. The Wolfpack have played both teams this season. They fell to LSU 82-65 in a tournament in the Bahamas on Nov. 27, then defeated FSU 97-74 in an ACC game on Feb. 9. Last season, NC State advanced to the Final Four as a No. 3 seed. — Michael Voepel

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Saniya Rivers’ 17 points, 11 assists fuels NC State to Sweet 16

Saniya Rivers stuffs the stat sheet with 17 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds in the Wolfpack’s takedown of Michigan State.



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