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No. 1 UConn moves to 35-0 with win in NCAA tournament opener

auriemma

One day after fellow No. 1 seed Notre Dame improved its unblemished record to 33-0, No. 1 UConn moved to 35-0 with an 87-44 win over No. 16 Prairie View A&M in its NCAA tournament opener Sunday. Geno Auriemma’s Huskies, the top seed in the Lincoln Region, have won all 35 of their games by double digits with their 11-point win over Baylor on January 13 being the closest result.

Against the SWAC champion Lady Panthers, UConn would lead by as much as 50 in the second half with Breanna Stewart scoring 19 points and grabbing ten rebounds to lead the way offensively. All five starters scored in double figures for the Huskies, who led 44-12 at the half.

Next up for UConn is No. 9 Saint Joseph’s, which beat No. 8 Georgia 67-57 in the first game of the doubleheader in Storrs. The men’s programs met Thursday night in Buffalo, with the Huskies beating the Hawks in overtime.

Saint Joseph’s was one of five lower-seeded teams to win Sunday, with just three such teams were able to pull off the feat Saturday. Two 11-seeds were among the five, with Stanford Region No. 11 Florida beating Dayton 83-69 and Lincoln Region No. 11 James Madison knocking off No. 6 Gonzaga 72-63. CAA Player of the Year Kirby Burkholder put together quite the line for JMU, finishing the game with 28 points, 18 rebounds and four assists.

Both teams will have challenging road tests Tuesday, with the Gators taking on No. 3 Penn State and the CAA champion Dukes playing No. 3 Texas A&M.

The other one-seed in action Sunday was Stanford Region No. 1 South Carolina, which won the SEC regular season title. Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks held off Cal-State Northridge 73-58 in their NCAA tournament opener, with guard Tiffany Mitchell scoring 24 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists and center Alaina Coates providing 13 points and 16 rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

Louisville Region No. 2 West Virginia and No. 3 Louisville were also winners Sunday, with the Mountaineers beating No. 15 Albany 76-61 and the Cardinals throttling No. 14 Idaho, 88-42. And in the game that provided the most suspense, Stanford Region No. 4 North Carolina came back from 18 down to beat UT-Martin, 60-58. Diamond DeShields scored 15 points and dished out four assists for the Tar Heels, and Xylina McDaniel’s putback with 56 seconds remaining proved to be the difference.

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