March Madness is finally part of the women's NCAA Tournament vernacular and the first round has so far aptly fit that phrase.
Six double-digit seeds have already advanced to the round of 32 — just short of the record seven set in 1998. That doesn't include the two near-upsets by two 14 seeds.
Belmont became the sixth double-digit seed to win when the No. 12 Bruins topped Oregon in double OT. It was the first game to go that long since 2013.
“There’s a lot of mid-major teams that are good enough to compete with the big guys. There are,” Belmont coach Bart Brooks said. “And doing it on a neutral floor I think was a really big deal for us, that we weren’t — if we were in Oregon’s gym today, I’m not sure it would have turned out the way it did. But being on a neutral floor, that’s a big deal."
It's the second consecutive year that Belmont has pulled off an upset in the opening round as a double-digit seed.
South Carolina, Stanford and UConn also made history on the defensive end. The Gamecocks shattered the previous marks for points allowed in a game and in a half in their rout of Howard. The Cardinal and the Huskies became the second and third teams to not allow a point in a quarter in their easy victories.
Stanford added another piece of history: Fran Belibi's dunk on the break. She became the third women's basketball player to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game, joining Candace Parker and Brittney Griner.
Notre Dame's Olivia Miles became the 18th player to have a triple-double in a women's NCAA Tournament game when she had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Irish's win over UMass. There have been 37 triple-doubles this season — the second most ever in Division I history.
And earlier in the week, the women's
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