The first NCAA Women's Tournament First Four is in the books and and we now know the 64 teams in line to compete for the 2022 championship.
Missouri State topped Florida State 61-50 in the final First Four game. It was a seesaw affair early, as Missouri State and Florida State traded big runs in the first half, but the Lady Bears took control in the third quarter. Missouri State outscored the Seminoles 21-10 in the third to take an 11-point lead into the final frame, and it won by that exact margin. Mya Bhinhar led the Lady Bears with 12 points, six rebounds and a block while teammate Ifunanya Nwachukwu recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. With the win, Missouri State will play Spokane No. 6 seed Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament's first round.
Longwood opened the night with a 74-70 win over Mount St. Mary's, staving off a furious comeback from the Mountaineers.
The Lancers, playing in their first ever NCAA Tournament, led by as much as 22 points, but The Mount cut the deficit to five points late in the fourth quarter. The Mountaineers wound up running out of steam, having just seven players for this game. 2020-21 NEC Player of the Year Kendall Bresee led the way with 20 points in a losing effort. Longwood forward Akila Smith tied a career high with 32 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Longwood moves on to play No. 1 seed NC State in the Bridgeport region.
First Four play began Wednesday with one close matchup and another that was anything but. Howard won its first ever Women's NCAA Tournament game with a 55-51 victory over Incarnate Word while Dayton crushed DePaul 88-57. Those wins mean Howard plays overall No. 1 seed South Carolina and Dayton will play No. 6 seed Georgia, both on Friday.
All of the 2022 Women's NCAA Tournament games will air on the ESPN family of networks, and you can stream every game on fuboTV (try for free)
Both teams scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bears' strong third quarter gave them enough of a push to win, even with three starters in foul trouble. Four Missouri State players ended the night scoring in double digits. The Lady Bears will take on No. 6 seed Ohio State on Saturday.
Missouri State finds a 10-point lead as Mariah White hits a jumper to reach 10 points and become the third Lady Bear in double figures tonight. Missouri State leads 56-46 with 3:06 remaining.
Missouri State is holding on to a 52-44 lead with five minutes left in the game. Brice Calip's jumper as the clock read 5:42 is the only field goal for the Lady Bears in the fourth quarter so far.
Florida State starts the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run. Abigayle Jackson just fouled out for Missouri State. Two other Lady Bear starters are also in foul trouble: Jennifer Ezeh has four fouls and Mya Bhinhar has three.
The Lady Bears came out strong after the break and outscored the Seminoles 21-10 in the third quarter.
Senior forward Abigayle Jackson has four fouls and only six points tonight. She typically averages 13.0 points per game for Missouri State.
Missouri State is off to an 11-2 run in the third quarter. The Lady Bears lead 40-31 at the 4:33 (3Q) media timeout, with Mariah White scoring the last six points.
Florida State started the second period with a 14-0 run, but the Seminoles fought back. Missouri State's Mya Bhinhar hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to tie the game. Bhinhar led all scorers with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
Missouri State has not scored in the second quarter. Florida State is beating the Lady Bears 14-0 in the second period, holding a 25-18 lead with 3:30 left until halftime.
Florida State takes a one-point lead with two free throws by Sara Bejedi. The Seminoles are up 19-18 with 5:45 left in the second quarter. This is their first lead of the game.
Florida State's leading scorer Morgan Jones went scoreless in the first quarter but finally got a layup with 7:30 left in the second period. The Seminoles have cut the deficit to three points with Missouri State leading 18-15.
The Seminoles went 3-of-13 from the field in the first quarter while the Lady Bears shot at 46.7%. Missouri State's Sydney Wilson led all scorers with seven points. No player in the Florida State roster scored more than two points in the first period.
Missouri State is up 14-7 with two minutes left in the first quarter. Florida State started the game shooting 2-of-10 from the field.
Missouri State is off to a 7-0 start against Florida State. Five of those points come from senior guard Mya Bhinhar.
The battle of 11 seeds Florida State and Missouri State is underway. This is the last of the First Four games. The winner of tonight's game takes on No. 6 seed Ohio State on Saturday.
Even though this season has been a roller coaster for the Seminoles, Florida State earned its ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. Head coach Sue Semrau is 15-0 in first round tournament games, but this is the inaugural First Four. Senior guard Morgan Jones leads the team with 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
This is Missouri State's third straight NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bears' games tend to be low scoring as they score an average of 65.2 points per game while limiting opponents to 53.7 points per game. Senior forward Jasmine Franklin leads the team with 14.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting at 53.8 % from the field.
The Mountaineers climbed back from a 22-point deficit but couldn't quite finish the comeback. Longwood's NCAA Tournament debut saw a dominating double-double performance of 32 points and 13 rebounds from Akila Smith. The Lancers will take on No. 1 seed NC State on Saturday.
The Mountaineers came out from the locker room with a lot of energy. It's a seven-point game at 57-50 with 6:18 remaining as Mount St. Mary's is on its way to a comeback.
Mount St. Mary's was down by 22 points, the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 57-48 with 8:30 left in the game.
Mount St. Mary's is fighting to get within single digits. Kendall Bresee came out strong after the break with 15 points for the Mountaineers in the third period.
