Canada's Yvonne Ejim scores 14 as Gonzaga beats Nebraska
Record-setting defence powers South Carolina past Howard
Kayleigh Truong scored a career-high 20 points to lead Gonzaga to a 68-55 victory over Nebraska in the first round of women's NCAA basketball tournament on Friday.
Melody Kempton and Calgary's Yvonne Ejim added 14 each for Gonzaga, which shot 46.4%. Ejim also collected six rebounds and an assist.
She made up for it in good time, though, as she scored the first two baskets of the second half.
Gonzaga (27-6) never looked back from there. The Bulldogs, in winning their sixth straight, led by as much as 68-52 in the waning minutes of the contest.
Gonzaga will face the winner of top-seed Louisville and Albany on Sunday.
South Carolina shuts down Howard
South Carolina figured out one way to solve its fourth quarter woes is to hold the opponent to the fewest points ever in a women's NCAA tournament game.
Aliyah Boston scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Gamecocks to a 79-21 victory over Howard on Friday. Laeticia Amihere of Mississauga, Ont., added four points, four rebounds and a pair of assists for South Carolina.
The 21 points for the Bison broke the record held by Kansas State which scored 26 in a loss to UConn in 2012. The Gamecocks (30-2) held Howard (21-10) to a NCAA Tournament record low four points in the first half as they took a 44-4 lead.
It was a total mismatch, even for a No. 1 versus No. 16 seed. The Gamecocks had 30 offensive rebounds to just six for Howard. The Bison turned the ball over 20 times and were outscored 38 to 8 in the paint.
Thirteen of the fourteen South Carolina players who got in the game scored
But there still are things for Staley to worry about. The defense helped mask an off shooting night for the tournament's overall top seed. The Gamecocks shot 35% from the field and just 8-fo-38 on 3-pointers.
Texas defeats Fairfield
Freshman Aaliyah Moore scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Texas overcame a gritty effort from Fairfield to open the tournament with a 70-52 win Friday night on the Longhorns' home court.
Toronto native Latasha Lattimore scored five points while also collecting six rebounds for the Longhorns.
Texas, a No. 2 seed, smothered No. 15-seed Fairfield early, holding the Stags under 10 points in each of the first two quarters as the Longhorns built a 39-18 lead by halftime and looked to be on cruise control.
Then they had to fight off a scrappy, experienced Fairfield lineup that refused to wilt. The Stags cut the Texas lead to 56-46 early in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns were looking tired and sloppy before Aliyah Matharu hit a much-needed 3-pointer. She then fed Moore for a layup over two defenders that created a 15-point cushion that Texas could manage the rest of the way.
Moore's two free throws with 3:48 left pushed the Texas lead to 20 and put the game finally out of reach. Moore went 10 of 10 from the free-throw line.
