The Women’s NCAA Tournament has taken a dominant start with top seeds showing exactly why they are ranked at the top. The six top teams, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Tennessee, UConn, Texas and LSU, have all contributed to setting the record for most points scored in a single round of the tournament. These programs all scored more than 100 points in first round blowouts.
The title for the biggest blowout in the first round of the tournament belongs to No. 2 UConn, who defeated Arkansas State by 69 points with a final score of 103-34; 35 points came off turnovers. This large margin of victory has tied the team for the seventh-largest margin of victory in women’s March Madness history. The record was set in 2017 when No. 1 Baylor defeated No. 16 Texas Southern by 89 points with a final score of 119-30. Graduate student Azzi Fudd had a prominent start in her return to the tournament, scoring 27 points for Connecticut. Freshman Sarah Strong had a dominant debut to the tournament, scoring 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
The Duke Blue Devils also started the tournament off with intensity, defeating Lehigh by 61 points with a final score of 86-25. Lehigh’s 25 points is the second-lowest point total in NCAA Women’s Tournament history and is 44 points below Lehigh’s scoring average. Three players scored in double digits for the Blue Devils: sophomore Oluchi Okananwa, freshman Toby Fournier and sophomore Delaney Thomas. Okananwa led with 15 points, followed by Fournier and Thomas each with 11 points. Thomas also dominated in rebounds, finishing with eight.
No. 1 South Carolina came in third for the largest margin of victory, winning by 60 points to Tennessee Tech with a final score of 108-48. The Gamecocks came into the tournament with motivation after not being given the overall number one seed despite having a tough schedule throughout the season. The depth of the team was proven by 66 of the 108 points being scored by bench players, which is the most in NCAA Tournament history.
No. 3 LSU ended with an impressive 55-point lead against No. 14 San Diego State. LSU ended with 103 points, while San Diego State ended with 48 points. This was San Diego State’s first tournament appearance in 13 years, but they proved to be no match for LSU, who set a new program record for points scored in an NCAA tournament game. Junior guard Flau’Jae Johnson returned from injury and led the Tigers, scoring 22 points.
Next up was No. 3 Notre Dame, who finished 52 points ahead of Stephen F. Austin. The Fighting Irish entered the tournament in the midst of a slump, losing three of their last five games; however, this blowout showed they are still a dominant force. Senior Olivia Miles led in assists with eight but left towards the end suffering an ankle injury. The injury has not stopped Miles as she returned in the tournament’s second round.
No. 1 USC came up next with a win margin of 46 points against UNC Greensboro, led by Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins. Watkins has been a dominant force, scoring double digits in every game this season. No. 5 Kansas State and No. 1 Texas tied for the next spot, both winning by 44 points with Texas finishing with 105 points. No. 1 UCLA took the next spot, beating Southern by 38 points.
The top seeds have mostly come out on top in the tournament so far; however, there have been a few surprises and upsets. In the second round, several No. 5 seeds dominated, upsetting No. 4 seeds in matchups. However, No. 5 Alabama was not one of the five seeds that came out on top, falling to Maryland in double overtime in the second round. In the first round, an upset occurred when No. 10 Oregon upset No. 7 Vanderbilt.
The tournament is just getting started, with the Sweet Sixteen coming up as teams fight to survive and move on to the next round for a chance to play for a national championship.