Here’s Part 3 of our roundup of Saturday’s action:
No. 5 seed Louisville Cardinals over No. 12 seed Drake Bulldogs, 83-81
Drake kept up with Lousiville in one of the tournament’s most balanced and competitive games, but failed to pull off the upset, falling 83-81 in the first-round matchup. Louisville could never pull away and victory was only secured when Drake’s Grace Berg missed a potential game-tying three in the closing seconds of the fourth. Hailey Van Lith was a big reason Lousiville keeps dancing: she had 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Guard Mykasa Robinson also had a big game with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
No. 5 seed Oklahoma Sooners over No. 12 seed Portland Pilots, 85-63
The 5 vs. 12 matchups are notorious for upsets. Usually, an overrated middle-of-the-pack team from a big conference against a top team from a smaller conference. That recipe was there for Oklahoma vs. Portland, but Oklahoma proved they are legit. They dominated Portland from the jump and never took their foot off the gas, blowing them out by 18 points and, at one point, being up by as many as 27.
The Pilots struggled to get going offensively, shooting 15 percent from three on 19 attempts, while Oklahoma shot 36 percent from deep and 41 percent from the field. The…
