2022 NCAA Women's Tournament Top Moments: Baylor, Iowa upset
Buckle up! The second round of the 2022 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is here with a pair of upsets already on the books.
Tipping things off, No. 2 Iowa fell to No. 10 Creighton in a nail-biter in front of a sell-out crowd in Iowa City.
Then, in the afternoon slate, 10-seed South Dakota took down No. 2 Baylor in another shocker.
Elsewhere, top-seeded South Carolina and Louisville, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Iowa State and No. 4 Maryland cruised to easy victories.
And in the nightcap, defending champion Stanford turned a close game with No. 8 Kansas (33-33 early in the third quarter) into a 91-65 blowout.
Here are the top moments from the Round of 32 games held on Sunday.
No. 1 Stanford 91, No. 8 Kansas 65
The Jayhawks were hanging tough early on and were within a bucket after the first quarter, this despite the Cardinal starting hot from long range.
It was tied early in the second half, which Stanford's Lacie Hull opened with a 3-pointer.
Hull didn't let up, drilling six 3-pointers and scoring 36 points as Stanford cruised to victory.
No. 3 Iowa State 67, No. 6 Georgia 44
Iowa came out of the gate hot, shutting out Georgia early, 11-0. The Cyclones continued to heat up as things continued, and just like that, they were up 16 points on the Lady Bulldogs heading into the second quarter.
Iowa State continued to build on its momentum and was dominating Georgia at the break, 37-18.
The effort was there for Georgia, but the Cyclones were just too much, winning behind the 20 points of Lexi Donarski.
No. 1 Louisville 68, No. 9 Gonzaga 59
Louisville shut out Gonzaga 14-0 to start the first quarter, but the Zags eventually found their footing and came back up to make it a four-point game heading into the second.
After trailing the entire game, Gonzaga managed to knot things up at 22 with 4:39 to play before the half.
It was neck and neck as the second half unfolded. It was tied at 36 early in the third quarter before Louisville pulled away midway through the frame.
The Cardinals held on to advance to their fifth-straight Sweet 16.
No. 10 South Dakota 61, No. 2 Baylor 47
In a twist that many didn't see coming, South Dakota put top-seeded Baylor in an 11-0 hole to open the first quarter after going 4-for-4 shooting — including three shots from distance.
Baylor's first basket came with 2:58 to play in the first, which gave the Bears a must-needed spark.
It wasn't enough to swing the momentum, though, as South Dakota led by double digits at the half.
USD continued to outscore Baylor as the second half got underway, and the Bears were never able to catch up.
No. 2 Texas 78, No. 7 Utah 56
The Longhorns weren't messing around with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Texas opened 5-of-8 shooting with three early jumpers from guard Joanne Allen-Taylor, but Utah had a few tricks up its sleeve, too.
Rori Harmon dropped six dimes in the first quarter, breaking the Texas freshman single-season assist record previously held by Terri Mackey (166 in the 1980-81 season). Harmon now has 169 assists on the season.
With momentum on its side, Texas came up with one big play after another in the second. Aliyah Matharu's tough finish through traffic helped give the Longhorns a healthy lead at the break.
Texas kept up its tempo in the second half, jumping out to a monster 26-point lead over the Utes in the third.
And the rest was history.
No. 1 South Carolina 49, No. 8 Miami (FL) 33
Miami forward Naomi Mbandu made a tough layup early in the first quarter to set the tone for the 'Canes.
Both teams were locked in a defensive battle early. But South Carolina held a 10-7 edge at the end of the first quarter and pulled away in the second with an 8-0 run. The Gamecocks led at halftime and breezed to the victory.
No. 4 Maryland 89, No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast 65
The game opened up with both teams trading 3s, courtesy of Maryland's Ashley Owusu and FGCU's Kendall Spray. The Terrapins hit 5-for-9 to start, while the Eagles were 4-for-12 — but three were triples.
Things were knotted at 23 heading into the second after FGCU went on a 10-2 run late in the first quarter.
The Terrapins returned the favor with an 11-0 run of their own, as Maryland took a 47-39 lead at the break.
It was more of the same in the second half for Maryland, who cruised to a 24-point victory.
No. 10 Creighton 64, No. 2 Iowa 62
The Hawkeyes — led by Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin, Caitlin Clark, McKenna Warnock and Monika Czinano — came out strong in the first.
Clark got things going with this smooth 3-point jumper, while Czinano started 5-for-5 from the field.
Creighton had the edge at the end of the first, 23-17, and extended its lead to double digits midway through the second. Morgan Maly, Emma Ronsiek and Payton Brotzki all drained 3-point jumpers ahead of the break.
After a hard-fought first half, it was 10-seed Creighton with the edge at halftime over No. 2-seeded Iowa.
Clark reached a double-double — her 17th of the season and the 26th of her career — in the second half, as Iowa clawed its way back to pull within one possession of Creighton.
The Hawkeyes took their first lead since the beginning of the first quarter when Gabbie Marshall nailed a shot from distance to give Iowa a 56-54 edge midway through the fourth.
It came down to the wire at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but in the end, Iowa wasn't able to escape Creighton.
Just like that, the Bluejays are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time.
Monika Czinano Payton Brotzki Naomi Mbandu
