NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2016: Sunday Scores and Updated Bracket
Spots in the Sweet 16 were up for grabs Sunday at the NCAA women's tournament, with a pair of top seeds headlining the action.
The No. 1-seeded Baylor Bears and South Carolina Gamecocks entered Sunday coming off wins of at least 30 points in first-round play, and both squads were heavy favorites to advance to their respective regional semifinals.
But before they could tip off, all eyes were on the No. 12-seeded Great Danes of Albany, who looked to snag another upset over the fourth-seeded Syracuse Orange after shocking the No. 5-seeded Florida Gators on Friday.
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A complete list of Round 2 scores, which will be updated throughout the day, can be viewed below. Head to NCAA.com for a complete overview of the updated bracket as the tournament progresses.
Sunday's Schedule and Scores
| Sioux Falls | No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Ohio State | OSU 88, WVU 81 |
| Sioux Falls | No. 12 Albany vs. No. 4 Syracuse | Syracuse 76, Albany 59 |
| Dallas | No. 6 DePaul vs. No. 3 Louisville | DePaul 73, Louisville 72 |
| Bridgeport | No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 4 Michigan State | Mississippi State 74, Michigan State 72 |
| Sioux Falls | No. 9 Kansas State vs. No. 1 South Carolina | South Carolina 73, Kansas State 47 |
| Dallas | No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 1 Baylor | Baylor 84, Auburn 52 |
| Dallas | No. 10 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 2 Oregon State | Oregon State 69, St. Bonaventure 40 |
| Sioux Falls | No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Arizona State | Tennessee 75, Arizona State 64 |
Ohio State 88, West Virginia 81
Fans of defense likely shuddered at the sharpshooting display that No. 3-seeded Ohio State and No. 6-seeded West Virginia put on Sunday afternoon, with the Buckeyes emerging with an 88-81 win to clinch a spot in the Sweet 16.
With threes falling at high rates on both ends of the floor, Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell asserted herself as the game's most dominant scorer. The sophomore, who was coming off a 27-point performance in the first round against Buffalo, poured in an Ohio State single-game NCAA tournament record of 45 points on 11-of-31 shooting, including 5-of-12 from three, to join some elite company, per ESPN Stats & Info:
NCAA Women's Basketball on Twitter broke things down further:
Eleven Warriors' Kevin Harrish put Mitchell's tremendous display into perspective by drawing a fitting comparison:
Mitchell was so dominant, in fact, that she made history before the fourth quarter even started, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
"She [Mitchell] handles the ball and has got speed and quickness like nobody else in college basketball," Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "West Virginia's a great team. They're a really good defensive team, but think we were able to play in transition and just play with enough spacing to give her opportunities to drive the ball."
Since defense was largely optional, the Buckeyes and Mountaineers played at a fast, back-and-forth pace, as lead changes and ties defined an entertaining first half. After WVU took a six-point lead following the first quarter, Ohio State posted a 24-18 edge in the second frame thanks to a 17-3 run.
Things were knotted at 39 entering halftime, but Ohio State used a 28-point third quarter to enter the final period with a seven-point cushion before slamming the door shut on the Mountaineers.
The Buckeyes will now meet the winner of Sunday night's showdown between No. 2 Arizona State and No. 7 Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
Syracuse 76, Albany 59
No. 12 Albany looked like a scary foe for Syracuse after the Great Danes took down Florida in a first-round upset, but the fourth-seeded Orange kept their composure and advanced to the Sioux Falls regional semifinal with a 76-59 win at the Carrier Dome Sunday afternoon.
Brittney Sykes led Syracuse with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting, and Alexis Peterson added 22 points as the backcourt duo paced the Orange offense.
A strong defensive performance also aided Syracuse. The Orange forced Albany into a whopping 24 turnovers, and those giveaways put the Great Danes in a hole that was too large to climb out of.
Compared to the Orange, who hit eight shots from beyond the arc, Albany managed to convert just two three-point attempts. Shereesha Richards led the Great Danes with 23 points, but she was just one of two Albany players to finish in double digits.
According to Time Warner Cable News' Ted Goldberg, Syracuse will make its first Sweet 16 appearance in school history next week when it squares off against either South Carolina or Kansas State.
DePaul 73, Louisville 72
The No. 6-seeded DePaul Blue Demons are headed to the Sweet 16 after Jessica January hit a free throw with 14 seconds remaining to pull off an upset of the No. 3-seeded Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center Sunday afternoon.
January finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Chanise Jenkins and Ashton Millender dropped 12 points apiece.
As a team, DePaul shot 44.4 percent (8-of-18) from three to stave off a furious second-half run by the Cardinals.
"I get a kick out of the people that say we play like Golden State," DePaul head coach Doug Bruno said of his team's sharpshooting, per ESPN.com's Graham Hays. "Golden State plays like us. We don’t have Steph Curry."
Louisville trailed by eight points at halftime and nearly pulled off a major comeback after holding DePaul to just 11 fourth-quarter points. However, a costly foul that sent January to the line for the win proved to be the difference.
Now the Blue Demons are moving on the the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years.
Mississippi State 74, Michigan State 72
No. 5 Mississippi State and No. 4 Michigan State were knotted at 69 with 36 seconds to play, but Breanna Richardson broke the deadlock with a clutch three-pointer to send the Bulldogs to the Sweet 16.
Richardson poured in 12 key points off the bench, while Victoria Vivians dropped a team-high 24 points on 8-of-22 shooting and played the role of offensive fulcrum for Mississippi State.
Michigan State owned a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter after tailing by six at halftime, but the Bulldogs found a rhythm when it counted most and dropped 23 points in the final frame.
Michigan State's offense was arguably the better attack throughout considering it featured four double-figure scorers, but with just four bench points and 21 turnovers, the Spartans ultimately fell short.
By virtue of the win, Mississippi State is now headed to its first Sweet 16 since 2010, according to ESPN Women's Hoops on Twitter.
South Carolina 73, Kansas State 47
Tiffany Mitchell scored a team-high 20 points and Alaina Coates had a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the No. 1 seed Gamecocks into the Sweet 16.
Mitchell made 7-of-13 from the floor while also chipping in 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.
It was a wire-to-wire victory for South Carolina, who pulled away for good after a 27-point second quarter. South Carolina held Kansas State to 32.1 percent shooting and the Wildcats missed 12 of their 14 three-point attempts.
Breanna Lewis led Kansas State with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting. No other Kansas State player made more than two shots.
The Gamecocks will meet Syracuse for a right to go to the Elite Eight. It's their fourth Sweet 16 appearance under head coach Dawn Staley, per ESPN Stats & Info. South Carolina reached only three Sweet 16s before Staley.
Baylor 84, Auburn 52
Nina Davis scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with seven rebounds as Baylor easily disposed of the Tigers by 32 in Waco.
Three players scored in double figures for the Lady Bears. Kalani Brown and Alexis Jones scored 16 points apiece and Baylor shot almost 47 percent from the floor.
Brandy Montgomery led Auburn with 14 points, but only made 5-of-15 shots. Montgomery also made 1-of-7 three-point attempts, culminating in a 3-of-19 shooting performance from long range for Auburn.
Baylor is heading to the Sweet 16 for the eighth straight year, where the Bears will play the winner of Texas A&M and Florida State.
Oregon State 69, St. Bonaventure 40
Jamie Weisner scored a game-high 23 points as the Beavers advanced to the Sweet 16 after a 29-point win over the Bonnies.
Oregon State pulled away after outscoring St. Bonaventure 21-4 in the third quarter. The Bonnies were held to 25.5 percent shooting and only got a team-high 12 points from Miranda Drummond.
The Beavers only got one more player in double figures, that being Deven Hunter's 11 points and five rebounds. The celebration was well underway after the game expired, per Oregon State WBB:
Oregon State will meet sixth-seeded DePaul in Dallas.
Tennessee 75, Arizona State 64
Four players scored in double figures, led by Diamond Deshields' 22 points as the Lady Vols pulled off the upset over the Sun Devils by 11 points on Sunday.
Jordan Reynolds and Mercedes Russell both scored 12 points for Tennessee as the Lady Vols make it to the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight season.
Elisha Davis led the Sun Devils with 18 points. ASU shot 39 percent while Tennessee eclipsed 51.8 percent and pulled away in the second half after a 33-33 tie.
Ohio State awaits Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
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