Women's March Madness 2024: First-round tournament updates - ESPN

Let the games begin. The 2024 women's NCAA tournament is underway with 16 first-round games Friday on ESPN networks and the ESPN App.

Stay here all day as we track all the action, from Blacksburg, Virginia, to Stanford, California.

Taylor Thierry's block leads to an easy Rebeka Mikulasikova bucket on Ohio State.

Is Ohio State's press ready for prime time? The Buckeyes' full-court press is its signature. The press got them to the Elite Eight last season and was especially effective in a Sweet 16 upset of UConn.

It delivered again against the Black Bears, forcing 22 turnovers. Ohio State scored 24 points off Maine turnovers and was never seriously threatened by the America East champs.

Six of the Buckeyes' 11 steals came from Big Ten defensive player of the year Celeste Taylor, who also had six rebounds and five assists to go with 12 points. Taylor's 3-pointer late in the first quarter gave Ohio State the lead it never relinquished.

What it means for Ohio State: This had to feel good after losses in the regular-season finale at Iowa and in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament to Maryland cost the Buckeyes a No. 1 seed.

It's a good sign that its press worked like it should, creating opportunities. Ohio State's defense was ineffective against the Hawkeyes and Terps, allowing a combined 175 points in those two games.

Maine shooting 52% and scoring 28 points in the paint should be a slight concern, but this was also a game in which Ohio State built a double-figure lead with 6:24 left in the second quarter. The margin never got below 10 points again. Nine players scored and four hit double figures, led by Jacy Sheldon's 19 points, another good sign with solid defensive teams in Duke and UConn potentially on the horizon.