AUSTIN — Madison Booker scored 20 points and No. 1-seed Texas used a smothering defense to earn a 65-48 victory over No. 8 Illinois on Monday, sending the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda added 19 points for Texas (33-3), which will meet Southeastern Conference rival No. 5 Tennessee (24-9) in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday.

Texas outscored Illinois 18-6 in the second quarter, then broke the game open at the start of the third when the Longhorns stretched the lead to 24 after steals by Booker and Rori Harmon led to quick baskets.

Texas’ relentless ball pressure harassed Illinois (22-10) the entire game, and the Longhorns scored 23 points off 20 Illini turnovers. All of it was keyed by Harmon, who had four steals and locked down Illinois guard Genesis Bryant, who had six turnovers.

OKLAHOMA 96, IOWA 62

NORMAN, Okla.  — Skylar Vann scored 17 points, Payton Verhulst added 16 and No. 3 seed Oklahoma cruised into the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament, dispatching No. 6 seed Iowa.

Raegan Beers had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 18 minutes for the Sooners.

Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk beat her alma mater and advanced past the second round for the first time in her four years with the Sooners. Oklahoma (27-7) will play UConn or South Dakota State on Saturday in Spokane, Washington.

LSU 101, FLORIDA STATE 71

BATON ROUGE, La. — Mikaylah Williams scored 28 points and Aneesah Morrow added 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading Flau’Jae Johnson and LSU to a runaway 101-71 victory over Florida State in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Monday night.

Sa'Myah Smith had a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds for LSU (30-5), which blew open what had been a 50-49 game at halftime by outscoring the Seminoles 31-6 in the third quarter.

Johnson, who played just seven minutes in the first half after apparently reaggravating a right shin injury, returned to start the second half and stirred the home crowd into a frenzy with a series of electrifying plays.

MARYLAND 111, ALABAMA 108

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Sarah Te-Biasu made a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, then scored eight of her 26 points in the second overtime to help fourth-seeded Maryland outlast fifth-seeded Alabama 111-108 on Monday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA Tournament.

The Terrapins (25-7) advance to play top-seeded South Carolina, but to get there they had to overcome a career-high 45 points by Alabama's Sarah Ashlee Barker — and a 17-point Crimson Tide lead in the third quarter.

After Te-Biasu forced the first overtime with her 3-pointer, Barker was fouled shooting a 3 with 0.7 seconds left in OT. She calmly swished all three attempts to tie it at 96 and send the game to a second extra session.

NORTH CAROLINA 68, WEST VIRGINIA 47

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Alyssa Ustby scored 16 of her 21 points after halftime to help North Carolina beat West Virginia 58-47 on Monday night in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

The fifth-year senior's big night included 10 third-quarter points for the third-seeded Tar Heels (29-7), who reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. North Carolina will face Duke in a regional semifinal in Birmingham, Alabama — the first meeting between the rivals in the women's March Madness bracket.

Lexi Donarski and Reniya Kelly each scored 11 points for UNC, which shot just 37.9% but locked down defensively while scoring 23 points off turnovers in the Tar Heels' first hosting opportunity since 2015.

UCONN 91, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 57

STORRS, Conn. — Paige Bueckers matched her career high with 34 points in her home finale, and second-seeded UConn reached its 31st straight Sweet 16 in the women's NCAA Tournament, beating No. 10 seed South Dakota State 91-57 on Monday night.

Having said goodbye to her adoring fans at Gampel Pavilion, Bueckers, a senior who is expected to be the top overall pick in the WNBA draft, turns her attention toward trying to bring UConn its 12th national title and first since 2016.

Azzi Fudd scored 17 points and Sarah Strong finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks for the Huskies (33-3), who will face Oklahoma in a regional semifinal in Spokane, Washington.

First Published March 25, 2025, 3:12 a.m.