We are halfway through the opening day of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and there have been no upsets so far, while stars have shown out.
In the early going, we saw Iowa take care of Central Michigan 87-72 behind 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from the Hawkeye freshman phenom Caitlin Clark. Senior Micaela Kelly was also terrific for Central Michigan, finishing with a team-high 23 points.
Elsewhere in the River Walk Region, Elizabeth Kelly led the No. 7 seed Virginia Tech Hokies to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2006, as they topped Marquette 70-63. In the Alamo Region, No. 8 seed Oklahoma State defeated No. 9 seed Wake Forest 84-61 in a game that it dominated for 40 minutes. Natasha Mack had the performance of the afternoon in the tournament, finishing with 27 points to go along with 15 rebounds.
Back to the River Walk Region, both No. 3 seed Tennessee and No. 4 seed Kentucky overcame some slow starts to take care of Middle Tennessee State and Idaho State, respectively. The Lady Vols, which was tied with the Blue Raiders at the half, won the second half and the game by 25, led by Rennia Davis and her 24-point, 14-rebound performance. No. 6 seed Michigan, which many had as a team that could be upset by No. 11 seed Florida Gulf Coast, rode a 49-point second half to an easy 21-point win over FGCU. Leigha Brown dropped 28 points in the win for the Wolverines.
The No. 5 seed in the Hemisfair Region Georgia Tech, just narrowly escaped an upset bid from No. 12 seed SF Austin, as it took overtime for the Yellow Jackets to prevail 54-52.
2021 NCAA Tournament schedule, scores
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First round
Sunday, March 21 — Alamodome, Bill Greehey Arena, Frank Erwin Center, University Events Center, UTSA Convocation Center
Scores
- (5) Iowa 87, (12) Central Michigan 72
- (7) Virginia Tech 70, (10) Marquette 63
- (8) Oklahoma State 84 (9) Wake Forest 61
- (4) Kentucky 71, (13) Idaho State 63
- (3) Tennessee 87, (14) Middle Tennessee 62
- (6) Michigan 87, (11) Florida Gulf Coast 66
- (1) NC State 79, (16) North Carolina A&T 58
- (5) Georgia Tech 54, (12) Stephen F. Austin 52 (OT)
Schedule
| 5:30 p.m. | No. 9 South Dakota State vs. No. 8 Syracuse | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 6 p.m. | No. 16 Mercer vs. No. 1 South Carolina | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 9 Florida State vs. No. 8 Oregon State | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 8 p.m. | No. 16 High Point vs. No. 1 UConn | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 8 p.m. | No. 13 Lehigh vs. No. 4 West Virginia | ESPNU | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 9:30 p.m. | No. 9 Washington State vs. No. 8 South Florida | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 10 p.m. | No. 16 Utah Valley vs. No. 1 Stanford | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
Monday, March 22 — Alamodome, Bill Greehey Arena, Frank Erwin Center, University Events Center, UTSA Convocation Center
| Noon | No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Alabama | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| Noon | No. 14 Drexel vs. No. 3 Georgia | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| Noon | No. 11 BYU vs. No. 6 Rutgers | ESPNU | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 2 p.m. | No. 13 Wright State vs. No. 4 Arkansas | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 2 p.m. | No. 14 Stony Brook vs. No. 3 Arizona | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 2 p.m. | No. 13 VCU vs. No. 4 Indiana | ESPNU | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 4 p.m. | No. 15 Mount St. Mary’s vs. No. 2 Maryland | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 4 p.m. | No. 12 Belmont vs. No. 5 Gonzaga | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 4 p.m. | No 10. UCF vs. No. 7 Northwestern | ESPNU | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 6 p.m. | No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 7 Iowa State | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 6 p.m. | No. 15 Troy vs. No. 2 Texas A&M | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 12 UC Davis vs. No. 5 Missouri State | ESPNU | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 8 p.m. | No. 15 Marist vs. No. 2 Louisville | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 8 p.m. | No. 11 Bradley vs. No. 6 Texas | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 10 p.m. | No. 14 Wyoming vs. No. 3 UCLA | ESPN | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
| 10 p.m. | No. 11 South Dakota vs. No. 6 Oregon | ESPN2 | Live streaming on fuboTV (Try for free) |
Second round
Tuesday, March 23 — 3 p.m. start (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU)
- No. 4 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Iowa
- No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Michigan
Wednesday, March 24 — 1 p.m. start (ESPN2, ESPNU)
Alamodome, Bill Greehey Arena, UTSA Convocation Center
Sweet 16
Saturday, March 27 — 2 p.m. start (ABC, ESPN2)
Sunday, March 28 — 1 p.m. start (ABC, ESPN)
Alamodome, San Antonio
Elite Eight
Monday, March 29 — 7 p.m. start (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 30 — 6 p.m. start (ESPN)
Alamodome, San Antonio
Final Four
Friday, April 2 — 6 p.m. start (ESPN)
Alamodome, San Antonio
National Championship
Sunday, April 4 — 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Alamodome, San Antonio
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