Friday kicked off the women’s NCAA Tournament, and it was unfortunately a day that was not full of very many surprises.
Outside of a few games on the slate, everything pretty much went the way that it was expected to go. With that being said, here are three winners and three losers from Friday’s game.
Winners
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina kicked off its quest for back-to-back national championships in style. It played 16-seed Tennessee Tech, and it got out of hand rather quickly.
South Carolina scored 108 points, good for most of the day by any team that was in action, barely edging out Notre Dame’s 106 points. The Gamecocks scored 60 of those in the first half and cruised to an easy first-round win.
Oregon Ducks
The first major upset of the tournament came from Oregon as the 10-seed Ducks knocked off seventh-seed Vanderbilt in an overtime nailbiter.
Oregon led by as many as 19 points before letting that lead slip away, but a big defensive performance in overtime helped the Ducks advance to the second round.
Michigan Wolverines
The Wolverines matched up with 11-seed Iowa State, and it was a back-and-forth battle throughout.
Michigan trailed by as many as 10 in the game but was able to outscore Iowa State 27-18 in the fourth quarter to secure an 80-74 win and move on to the second round for the second time in three seasons.
