Daybreak Staley, Virginia Tech amongst NCAA girls’s event Day 3 winners

March 19, 2023 admin

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s a workforce sport. It was particular person performances, nonetheless, that stole the present on the primary day of the second spherical within the NCAA girls’s event.

There was an entire lot of chalk within the air Sunday, and many of the favorites gained handily, too. Not that routs or anticipated wins aren’t thrilling – OK, they normally aren’t. However when that is the case, it permits spectacular particular person efforts to actually stand out.

With South Florida hanging round for solely too lengthy, Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke took over the sport within the third quarter and put defending champion South Carolina firmly in management. Caitlin Clark scored or assisted on all however two of Iowa’s 33 factors within the second half. Elizabeth Kitley already had a double-double – the fifty fifth of her profession, tied for many in Virginia Tech historical past, for these protecting observe – one possession into the third quarter. Alissa Pili stole Princeton’s soul.

The video games will get tighter from right here on out, so admire the spectacular singular efforts when you can.

Right here’s a take a look at the winners and losers from Day 3 of the NCAA girls’s event:

Comply with the insanity: Latest Women’s NCAA Tournament College Basketball Scores and Schedules

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WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT: Scores and schedules of all the games

Winners

Energy forwards

It was an enormous day for the bigs.

There would possibly as nicely have been a “This area belongs to” label on the paint for as monstrous because the performances by LSU’s Angel Reese, Utah’s Alissa Pili and Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Kitley had been.

LSU had a 32-20 benefit within the paint over Michigan, and it was largely due to Reese. She had a whopping 24 rebounds, 14 of which had been on the offensive glass, and 6 blocked photographs. She scored a team-high 25 factors, too within the Tigers’ 66-42 romp.

Of Pili’s 10 rebounds, none had been greater than those she had on Princeton’s subsequent two possessions after paring what had been a 13-point Utah result in two. With Pili prowling within the paint, the Tigers couldn’t get attractiveness to tie or take the lead, permitting the Utes to carry of for a 63-56 win.

Kitley had a double-double – the fifty fifth of her profession, matching Virginia Tech’s all-time report. Although South Dakota State had an 8-point benefit within the paint, 38-26, it had solely eight second-chance factors. Of Kitley’s 14 boards, 9 had been on the defensive glass, serving to the Hokies surge to a 72-60 win.

Lauren Ebo

Regardless of taking part in at residence for the primary two rounds, many thought Notre Dame could be ripe for an upset given the lack of level guard Olivia Miles. Senior middle Lauren Ebo had different concepts.

Ebo turned in a spectacular efficiency within the Irish’s 53-48 win over Eleventh-seeded Mississippi State, ending with 10 factors, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks in 31 minutes. 5 of her 18 rebounds had been offensive, none greater than her board and puttback with 4:38 to go that gave Notre Dame the lead once more. And her free throw with 35 seconds to play gave the Irish a 49-45 lead and made it a two possession sport.

Virginia Tech

Welcome again to the Candy 16, Hokies. It’s been some time.

Virginia Tech reached the second weekend of the NCAA event for simply the second time in program historical past, and first since 1999, with its victory over South Dakota State.

“To have the ability to get this group, this program to this degree may be very, very particular,” Hokies coach Kenny Brooks mentioned. “It’s very gratifying to have the ability to get up to now.”

It’s already been a historic season for the Hokies. The win over South Dakota State was Virginia Tech’s twenty ninth this yr, most in workforce historical past. The Hokies gained their first ACC event title – of their first look within the sport, no much less – and had been rewarded with a No. 1 seed, their finest ever within the NCAA event.

“It means so much to be part of it as a result of Hokie Nation may be very particular,” Brooks mentioned. “Great folks have come by right here in all completely different sports activities and to have the ability to contribute to it means so much.

“Now we have so many great applications,” he added. “After we can come out and do our half, it’s very gratifying.”

Cheyney State

Daybreak Staley by no means misses a possibility to teach.

The South Carolina coach wore a Cheyney State jersey Sunday, a sartorial shoutout to the one HBCU workforce to make a Division I Remaining 4. Regardless of being Division II on the time, Cheyney State performed within the inaugural NCAA girls’s event in 1982 and made all of it the best way to the championship sport earlier than shedding to Louisiana Tech.

That workforce was coached by Corridor of Famer C. Vivian Stringer, who Staley has usually praised for each her affect on the sport and for opening the door for different Black coaches.

“Cheyney State was the one HBCU to make it to a Remaining 4 and for them to be led by Coach Stringer, who opened doorways that now I stroll by, it was really an honor to put on this jersey and to symbolize them,” Staley mentioned after the sport.

The No. 44 jersey belonged to Yolanda Laney – “not this jersey,” Staley clarified – who can be from Philadelphia. The truth is, one of many basketball league’s Staley performed in rising up was began by Laney.

A pal despatched Staley the jersey, she mentioned.

“I just like the jersey, I like what it stands for, I like that it is Coach Stringer,” Staley mentioned.

Cheyney State has further which means for Staley as a result of it’s the place John Chaney started his school teaching profession. Chaney was Temple’s males’s coach when Staley was employed by the Owls and he served as a mentor.

Losers

Georgia ball dealing with

For those who come on the queen, you finest not throw away the ball.

Georgia gave Caitlin Clark and Iowa all it might deal with on the Hawkeyes’ residence ground, and had Iowa teetering on the brink with 2:17 to play after UGA hit a 3 to get inside two, 68-66. Iowa missed its subsequent shot and UGA had an opportunity to tie or take the lead — however then the Bulldogs turned it over on back-to-back-to-back possessions.

4 turnovers within the closing 3:38, together with these three in a row, instantly correlated to UGA’s scoring drought the final 2:17 of the sport and in the end, Iowa’s 74-66 win. The second turnover in that string was the worst, as Clark turned it into two factors for the Hawkeyes. Georgia completed with 18 turnovers, which Iowa was 17 factors.

Residence-court benefit

It is comprehensible why the NCAA continues taking part in the primary two rounds at campus websites. The gang at Cassell Coliseum was so raucous, Virginia Tech gamers mentioned they might really feel the constructing shake. The decibel degree at Carver-Hawkeye Area needed to have registered on a seismograph machine. The arenas at LSU and South Carolina had been packed.

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