It’s finally here.
The 2023 women’s NCAA Tournament kicked off Friday with a tight, overtime finish between a No. 8 and No. 9 seed. The Athletic has you covered with takeaways from the biggest games of the day:
On a day in which the Bulls couldn’t buy a bucket from range, had trouble connecting on passes and didn’t lead until 1:21 to go in the fourth quarter, it was USF’s defense that came up huge in their first-round overtime win over Marquette. Over the final 15 minutes of the game, USF held the Eagles to just three made field goals and 16 percent shooting from the floor.
Double-double machine Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu steadied the Bulls as the team as a whole struggled offensively. She finished with 13 rebounds and 22 points on 89 percent shooting.
It wasn’t the kind of team performance that inspires a ton of confidence in terms of a potential upset over No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, especially if the Bulls can’t get their 3-point shooting back on track. — Chantel Jennings
First-quarter explosion sets tone in Arizona’s win
More than two weeks had passed since the Wildcats’ last game, a 73–59 loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament. A long layoff for some teams, but for Arizona, “this year, in particular, it was good,” coach Adia Barnes said Thursday,…
