The final two First Four matchups in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament finished out on Thursday, which finalizes the 64-team field. In the Sacramento 4 region from Columbia, South Carolina, Southern U and Samford matched up for the No. 16 seed. And in Iowa City, Virginia and Arizona State faced off for the No. 10 seed.
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Virginia 57, Arizona State 55
Virginia grinded out a 57-55 win over Arizona State in the final game of the night, advancing to face No. 7 Georgia on Saturday.
The Sun Devils tied the score at 51-51 on a 3-pointer by Marley Washenitz with 41 seconds left. But Kymora Johnson answered with a 3 for the Cavaliers. ASU then twice opted for quick 2-point baskets rather than game-tying 3-point tries and Virginia made the free throws it needed to for the win.
Washenitz led all scorers with 19 points and Gabby Elliott added 11 for the Sun Devils. Virginia was topped by Johnson’s 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 steals. Caitlin Weimar followed with 11 points and 12 boards.
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Southern 65, Samford 53
In the first matchup of the evening, Southern U (20-13) defeated Samford (16-19), 65-53. The Jaguars advance to face the No. 1 seed South Carolina (31-3) on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
With the two teams tied at 44-44 entering the fourth quarter, Southern closed the game by outscoring Samford 14-2 over the final seven minutes.
Jaylia Reed and DeMya Porter each led the Jaguars with 15 points. Porter also grabbed 12 rebounds in the win. Briana Rivera scored 16 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 36% from the floor (including 8-of-27 on 3-pointers).
On Wednesday, No. 16 Missouri State and No. 11 Nebraska advanced out of the women’s NCAA tournament’s First Four, claiming their spots in the first-round field of 64 teams. Missouri State will face the No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns, who claimed their first SEC title with a stunner over South Carolina earlier this month. Nebraska will face the No. 6 Baylor Bears.
Follow the action from Yahoo Sports’ live updates from Thursday’s First Four games with Southern U and Virginia seizing the final bids to the 64-team first-round NCAA field.
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Ian Casselberry
Jyah LoVett has her pass picked off by Paris Clark and that will clinch the game for Virginia.
The Cavaliers win, 57-55, and advance to play No. 7 seed Georgia on Saturday.
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Ian Casselberry
Down by three, Arizona State again goes for a quick 2-point basket and Jyah LoVett gets a layup.
Gabby Elliott fouls Kymora Johnson, who makes one of two free throws. That gives the Sun Devils an opportunity to tie with five seconds remaining.
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Ian Casselberry
Jillian Brown turns it over for Virginia with her pass going out of bounds. Arizona State’s Heloisa Carrera opts for a layup, rather than working for a game-tying 3-point try.
Gabby Elliott follows with a quick foul to stop the clock. ASU had a foul to give and Deborah Davenport fouls again on the inbounds, getting Caitlin Weimar. Weimar makes both free throws to give Virginia a 56-53 lead.
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Ian Casselberry
Arizona State called a timeout after Virginia regained the lead. But Gabby Elliott takes a contested 3-pointer off the inbounds pass and misses.
Kymora Johnson grabs the rebound and ASU takes two seconds to foul her, which may have been too long. Sun Devils coach Molly Miller sure seemed to think so.
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Ian Casselberry
Out of a timeout following Marley Washenitz tying the game for Arizona State, Virginia’s Kymora Johnson hits a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
That was the Cavaliers’ first 3 of the second half, giving them a 54-51 lead with 30.6 seconds left.
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Ian Casselberry
After Kymora Johnson made one of two free throws to give Virginia a 51-48 lead, Gabby Elliott missed a 3-point try. But Marley Washenitz then tied the score with her fifth 3 of the game!
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Ian Casselberry
Yet again, the Sun Devils make it a two-point game. Following Tabitha Amanze’s midrange jumper, Gabby Elliott answers with a layup after both teams miss shots.
Virginia leads 50-48 with 1:19 remaining in regulation.
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Ian Casselberry
Arizona State had a chance to tie the score or take the lead after a miss by Kymora Johnson. But Johnson steals Last-Tear Poa’s pass on the other end and the Sun Devils again hit that two-point wall.
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Ian Casselberry
Are the Sun Devils finally making their run? Marley Washenitz and Gabby Elliott hit consecutive 3-pointers for Arizona State and they are down 48-46 with 3:20 remaining in regulation.
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Ian Casselberry
Marley Washenitz hit a jumper to cut Arizona State’s deficit to 44-40. But after Caitlin Weimar missed on the other end for Virginia, Washenitz gets her shot blocked by Paris Clark.
Kymora Johnson follows up with a score to give Virginia a 46-40 lead.
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Ian Casselberry
With a chance to cut Virginia’s lead to two points, Arizona State’s Jyah LoVett gets her shot blocked by Caitlin Weimar.
The Cavaliers convert that into a layup from Romi Levy and restore their lead to six points, 44-38.
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Ian Casselberry
Heloisa Carrera answers a Virginia tip-in with a layup to cut Virginia’s lead to 42-38. Once again, Arizona State gets close. But can the Sun Devils follow up to tie the game or even take the lead?
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Ian Casselberry
Heloisa Carrera scores before the buzzer ends for the third quarter to cut Arizona State’s deficit to 40-36. The Sun Devils are hanging around but each time they get close, Virginia stalls a comeback attempt.
But 10 minutes remain for ASU to finally put a run together.
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Ian Casselberry
Arizona State is down 39-34 after two Gabby Elliott free throws. Two minutes remain in the third quarter, but the Sun Devils haven’t been able to sustain a run.
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Ian Casselberry
Following a tough miss by Heloisa Carrera, McKinna Brackens makes one free throw after getting the offensive rebound. That cut Virginia’s lead to 36-32.
However, Caitlin Weimar bulled her way to the basket on the other end and drew the foul. She made the free throw and Virginia is up 39-32 with 3:06 remaining in the third quarter.
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Ian Casselberry
A foul on Arizona State’s Last-Tear Poa was ruled a flagrant foul after review. Kymora Johnson made both free throws for Virginia and the Cavaliers now have a 36-29 lead.
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Ian Casselberry
Arizona State had a chance to cut Virginia’s lead to one point, but Gabby Elliott’s shot was blocked by Sa’Myah Smith. That led to a fast-break layup from Caitlin Weimar and the Cavaliers are up 34-29.
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Ian Casselberry
Yet again, Virginia was on the verge of taking a double-digit lead Tabitha Amanze scored to put the Cavaliers ahead 32-24.
But Arizona State has cut the deficit to 32-29 after a layup from Heloisa Carrera and 3-pointer by Marley Washenitz, her third of the game.
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Ian Casselberry
Arizona State coach Molly Miller originally didn’t travel with her team to Iowa City for tonight’s First Four game due to illness.
However, she joined the team before game time.
Miller coached the Sun Devils to their first NCAA tournament berth since 2019. She’s in her first season with ASU after five seasons at Grand Canyon, where the Antelopes made it to the NCAA tournament last year.
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Ian Casselberry
Romi Levy leads Virginia with 8 points, followed by Kymora Johnson’s 7 points with 5 rebounds.
McKinna Brackers has a game-high 9 points for Arizona State with 4 boards, and Marley Washenitz has 6 points (but went scoreless in the second quarter).
The Sun Devils shot 28% (8-of-29) from the floor in the first half. Virginia hit 38% (12-for-32) of its shots.
