The Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, March 22, 2008 11:00 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- West Virginia couldn't take the partisan Pit crowd out of the game. The Mountaineers still managed to knock the hometown New Mexico Lobos out of the NCAA tournament.
Chakhia Cole scored 22 points, including the game-winning jumper with 17.5 seconds left as the No. 5 seeded Mountaineers (25-7) eked out a 61-60 win over the Lobos in the first round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night.
Cole got off the biggest shot of the game despite nearly losing the ball in the lane. She hinted she wasn't necessarily looking at herself as the first scoring option.
"I knew I had to get the shot up," Cole said. "What was really going through my mind was the attack and then trying to see if someone would break open."
New Mexico (20-13), seeded 12th, had a last-second chance to spring the upset, but a bank shot by Brandi Kimble was too hard and Dionne Marsh's offensive rebound putback came up short.
"I think I shot it a little too hard, but I got a good look," Kimble said.
West Virginia coach Mike Carey said: "I think I was holding my breath because I was dizzy by the time the buzzer went off."
Except for the outcome, the final play went just like New Mexico coach Don Flanagan drew it up during a timeout.
"I got exactly what I wanted," Flanagan said. "We ran Brandi off a stagger and she made a great move to get past the first player. Just a little too much adrenaline on that shot. Dionne had a second opportunity and that's all you can ask for. We had other opportunities."
• Pittsburgh 63, Wyoming 58: At Albuquerque, Pitt survived in The Pit.
Shavonte Zellous scored 21 points, Sophronia Sallard had 15 and Mallorie Winn hit a huge 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining to help Pittsburgh beat Wyoming in the NCAA's first round.
Winn's shot put Pittsburgh (23-10) ahead for good in a seesaw contest that featured 12 ties and 10 lead changes.
"I was rushing my shots," said Winn, who missed her first four 3-point tries. "I felt that was the first good one I got off. I think people know I'm a 3-point shooter, so they know not to leave me open."
The No. 6 seeded Panthers (23-10) held on despite a sluggish performance by standout center Marcedes Walker, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half but was slowed by foul trouble.
"I was pretty frustrated," Walker said. "But I knew my team was playing well, so I didn't show any emotion. It's not just about me."
Pitt will meet No. 3 Baylor in the second round.
Justyna Podziemska led the No. 11 seeded Cowgirls (24-7) with a season-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting while Jodi Bolerjack and Hanna Zavecz each scored 10. But Wyoming, making its first NCAA tournament appearance, just couldn't take over.
• Rutgers 85, Robert Morris 42: At Des Moines, Iowa, Rutgers got the fresh start it was looking for, thanks in part to an overmatched opponent.
Kia Vaughn led four players in double figures with 22 points and second-seeded Rutgers routed 15th-seeded Robert Morris in the first round of the Greensboro Regional.
The Scarlet Knights (25-6), who stumbled into the NCAA tournament on a two-game losing streak, will play seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round Monday night. The Cyclones held off Georgia Tech, 58-55, in Saturday's opener in Des Moines.
The lone bright spot for Robert Morris (23-10) came when Logan tied the Division I record for 3s in a season, 126, set by Alabama State's Lisa McMullen in 1991. But Logan was just 3-of-15 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3-point range.
• Iowa State 58, Georgia Tech 55: At Des Moines, Iowa, Alison Lacey hit a running shot in the lane with 47.4 seconds left and added two free throws to lift Iowa State past Georgia Tech.
The seventh-seeded Cyclones (21-12) built a 13-point lead in the second half behind freshman Kelsey Bolte's long-range shooting, then hung on at the end.
Jill Ingram led Georgia Tech with 21 points, 17 in the second half. Jacqua Williams had 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
• California 77, San Diego 60: At Stanford, Calif., Ashley Walker dominated the inside with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Devanei Hampton scored 22 points and the third-seeded Golden Bears won their first NCAA tournament game in 15 years, beating San Diego.
Cal (27-6) took advantage of the opportunity to play close to home on Stanford's campus after losing in the first round the past two years in Pennsylvania.
Cal advanced to play sixth-seeded George Washington (26-6) in Monday's second round.
The joy from Cal's win was overshadowed by a right knee injury to backup center Rama N'diaye, who hurt herself diving for a loose ball midway through the second half. N'diaye was being taken to a hospital.
Sam Child scored 14 points and Morgan Henderson added 13 for San Diego (19-13).
• George Washington 66, Auburn 56: At Stanford, Calif., Jessica Adair had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Antelia Parrish added 15 points and seven boards, leading sixth-seeded George Washington to a hard-fought first-round win over No. 11 Auburn.
Parrish made four 3-pointers and converted a key three-point play with 5:50 remaining after scoring on a fourth attempt in one sequence for the Colonials (26-6), who closed the regular season by winning 10 of 11 games.
DeWanna Bonner led Auburn (20-12) with 16 points.
Oklahoma City Regional
• Texas A&M 91, Texas-San Antonio 52: At Baton Rouge, La., Morenike Atunrase scored 19 points off the bench to lead Texas A&M to a rout of Texas-San Antonio.
The second-seeded Aggies (27-7) had an easy time with the overmatched Roadrunners (23-10), taking a lead to open the game and never relinquishing it.
No. 15 seed Texas-San Antonio, making its first appearance in the tournament, attempted only 15 shots in the first half. The Roadrunners committed 30 turnovers, allowing the Aggies to score 38 points off them.
Monica Gibbs led Texas-San Antonio with 14 points.
• Hartford 59, Syracuse 55: At Baton Rouge, La., MaryLynne Schaefer made a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to put 10th-seeded Hartford ahead and then added a pair of free throws to give the Hawks a victory over Syracuse.
She finished with a career-high 19 points, sending Hartford (28-5) into the second round against Texas A&M Monday night.
Erica Morrow led seventh-seeded Syracuse (22-9) with 17 points, Fantasia Goodwin add 15, and Chandrea Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Orange are winless in four NCAA appearances.
• Stanford 85, Cleveland State 47: At Stanford, Calif., Jayne Appel scored 29 of her career-high 33 points in the first half to help the second-seeded Stanford roll to a victory against Cleveland State.
Appel shot 14-for-19, finished two shy of tying Stanford's NCAA tournament record and also pulled down 12 rebounds in 25 minutes. The Cardinal (31-3) won their 19th straight game without relying on Pac-10 career scoring-leader Candice Wiggins, who added 13 points.
Kailey Klein had 16 points to lead 15th-seeded Cleveland State (19-14).
• Baylor 88, Fresno State 67: At Albuquerque, N.M., Angela Tisdale scored 26 points and her taller teammates dominated on the boards in Baylor's victory over Fresno State.
Baylor (25-6), the 2005 national champion, never trailed against the Bulldogs (22-11), who were first- and short-time visitors to the tournament.
The No. 3-seeded Bears, with Tisdale scoring seven points, took control with a 17-2 run that put Baylor up 27-11 with just under 9 minutes left in the first half. The closest the No. 14 seeded Bulldogs got after that was 27-21 on the heels of a 10-1 run.
Senior guard Tierre Wilson scored 23 points to lead Fresno State, and freshman Emma Andrews added 15.
• Marist 76, DePaul 57: At Baton Rouge, La., Rachele Fitz scored 23 points and Marist closed the game with a 32-2 run to beat DePaul.
Julianne Viani had 16 of her 18 points in the second half for seventh-seeded Marist (32-2), which has won 23 straight games. The Red Foxes last lost a game on Dec. 12, 2007.
Allie Quigley led DePaul with 15 points. Deirdre Naughton added 13.
The 10th-seeded Blue Demons (20-12) were leading 55-44 midway through the second half when Marist took over.
• Oklahoma State 85, East Tennessee State 73: At Des Moines, Iowa, Andrea Riley had 26 points and five assists to help Oklahoma State beat East Tennessee State.
It wasn't the sharpest game Oklahoma State has played this season. The third-seeded Cowgirls (26-7) committed 21 turnovers and never could blow it open. But they'll take it.
Oklahoma State won in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996. Maria Cordero had a season-high 23 points and nine rebounds, Taylor Hardeman scored 13 and Shaunte Smith added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Michele DeVault hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points to lead 14th-seeded East Tennessee State (21-12), which had taken an eight-game winning streak into its first NCAA tournament appearance.