Women's NCAA Tournament Raleigh Region Sweet Sixteen Breakdown
The smoke has cleared on the first two rounds, and it is time for four teams to take that next step in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. Only one team can leave Raleigh as a winner and head to Denver as part of the Final Four.
Here is a look at the two semifinal games coming up later this week. Starting times for the games were not determined as of Tuesday night.
No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 St. Bonaventure (Sunday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina)
One of the nation’s top basketball teams and the leader of the Big East faces off against the upstart Atlantic-10 champion in the first of two semifinal games. Notre Dame (32-3) leaves the cozy confines of the Joyce Center in South Bend, Indiana, where the Fighting Irish played the first two tournament games, and heads to neutral territory.
Notre Dame began the tournament with a 74-43 trouncing of Liberty in a game where the Irish shot 48.5 percent from the field and forced 23 turnovers to win behind Kayla McBride’s 15 points. Notre Dame then knocked off eighth-seeded California 73-62 as Natalie Novosel was nearly perfect at the free-throw line. Novosel hit 18 of her 20 attempts and finished with 28 points in the victory. Skylar Diggins finished with 21 points, and Devereaux Peters’ double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds was also key.
St. Bonaventure (31-3) began the tournament as Megan Van Tatenhove and Armelia Horton scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, in a 72-65 overtime victory over Florida Gulf Coast. FGCU played St. Bonaventure quite tough, leading many to wonder if Marist, the team that upset Georgia in the first round, could pull off the double shocker. It almost happened. The Bonnies survived a holy scare from Marist to win 66-63 and advance to the round of 16. CeCe Dixon’s two free throws with 23 seconds remaining helped secure the victory as Jessica Jenkins hit for 22 points and Doris Ortega added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Although St. Bonaventure comes into the sweet 16 for the first time in school history, in its first-ever trip to the tournament, the Bonnies’ sweet season should turn sour here. It’s not that St. Bonaventure isn’t any good; the Bonnies didn’t win 31 games this season by playing creampuff competition. It’s just that Notre Dame is 100 times better and has the battle scars to prove it. Look for Notre Dame to reach the Elite Eight and face off against the winner of…
No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (Sunday at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina)
The Atlantic Coast Conference faces off against the Big 12 in a battle of two established basketball powerhouses. Like with Notre Dame, Maryland and Texas A&M won their trips to the sweet 16 by going past opponents on their home courts.
Maryland (30-4) started off the tournament with a relatively easy 59-44 win over Navy as Alyssa Thomas led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Terrapins then had a much tougher time against Louisville, a team coached by former Maryland assistant Jeff Walz, as Walz went up against former boss Brenda Frese. Boss beat assistant and Maryland topped Louisville 72-68. Laurin Mincy scored 24 points and Tianna Hawkins had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds. Maryland extended its winning streak to nine games with the victory.
Texas A&M (24-10) began the tournament with an easy 69-47 victory over 14th-seed Albany, as the defending champions held their America East Conference foes to 19 field goals. Tyra White led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Aggies then endured a much tougher than expected battle with Arkansas. White was held to just two shots, but Adaora Elonu picked up the slack and scored 23 points as Texas A&M scored the 61-59 victory over the Razorbacks. It was the first meeting between the schools since Gary Blair, formerly an assistant at Arkansas, left for the head-coaching job at Texas A&M in 2003. The teams hadn’t met on court since 1991.
The Aggies had a lot of trouble scoring against Arkansas. That could spell disaster, especially if Maryland gets off to a strong start like it had against Louisville. Still, Texas A&M has played the tougher schedule, although Maryland hasn’t played creampuff opponents at all. Look for the Aggies to advance in a very close contest. This game is going to be a dandy.
See All Women's Tournament Sweet Sixteen Game Breakdowns
