NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2017: Saturday Scores, Subregionals Bracket

The 2017 NCAA women's basketball tournament continued first-round play Saturday, with the top-seeded Connecticut Huskies headlining the action.

The Huskies are the four-time defending champions, and they haven't lost a game since Nov. 17, 2014. Anything less than a fifth straight national championship for Connecticut will be a shock.

Saturday also features arguably the best individual star in college basketball: Kelsey Plum. The Washington Huskies senior guard leads the country in scoring (31.7 points per game), and she's the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball history.

Helping the Huskies get back to the Final Four would be a great way for Plum to cap off a historic college career. In order to do that, Washington will first need to beat the Montana State Bobcats in the first round.

Below is an overview for how Saturday's 16 games unfolded.

First-Round Results

Region	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)
Bridgeport	No. 16 Albany vs. No. 1 Connecticut	116-55, Connecticut
Bridgeport	No. 9 Iowa State vs. No. 8 Syracuse	85-65, Syracuse
Stockton	No. 12 Quinnipiac vs. No. 5 Marquette	68-65, Quinnipiac
Lexington	No. 15 New Mexico State vs. No. 2 Stanford	72-64, Stanford
Oklahoma City	No. 13 Chattanooga vs. No. 4 Louisville	82-62, Louisville
Oklahoma City	No. 12 Dayton vs. No. 5 Tennessee	66-57, Tennessee
Stockton	No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 4 Miami	62-60, Miami
Lexington	No. 10 Drake vs. No. 7 Kansas State	67-54, Kansas State
Bridgeport	No. 10 Oregon vs. No. 7 Temple	71-70, Oregon
Oklahoma City	No. 16 Texas Southern vs. No. 1 Baylor	119-30, Baylor
Bridgeport	No. 13 Boise State vs. No. 4 UCLA	83-56, UCLA
Oklahoma City	No. 11 Gonzaga vs. No. 6 Oklahoma	75-62, Oklahoma
Bridgeport	No. 12 Penn vs. No. 5 Texas A&M	63-61, Texas A&M
Bridgeport	No. 15 Hampton vs. No. 2 Duke	94-31, Duke
Oklahoma City	No. 14 Montana State vs. No. 3 Washington	91-63, Washington
Oklahoma City	No. 9 California vs. No. 8 LSU	55-52, Cal

Saturday Recap

Connecticut 116, Albany 55

The reigning champions encountered few problems as they beat the Albany Great Danes, 116-55. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's the sixth time the Huskies have won by 60-plus points in the NCAA tournament.

Napheesa Collier (24 points, 10 rebounds) and Gabby Williams (20 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles, while Kia Nurse tied Collier for the team lead with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.

The Huskies were firing on all cylinders, shooting 62.3 percent from the floor and forcing 19 turnovers.

Connecticut did a good job of limiting Imani Tate's effectiveness on the offensive end. The senior guard scored 19 points but shot a pedestrian 6-of-24 from the field and missed all four of her three-point attempts.

Syracuse 85, Iowa State 65

Last year's national runners-up, the Syracuse Orange, cruised in their opening-round game, beating the Iowa State Cyclones, 85-65.

The trio of Alexis Peterson, Brittney Sykes and Gabrielle Cooper was unstoppable for Syracuse. They scored 25, 28 and 24 points apiece. Briana Day didn't have a great offensive game, going 1-of-7, but was a beast on the boards (13 rebounds).

The Orange's reward for Saturday's win is a second-round matchup with the Huskies. Syracuse lost by 31 points to Connecticut in the national title game, so the team will have a tall mountain to climb to avenge last year's defeat.

Quinnipiac 68, Marquette 65

The Quinnipiac Bobcats won their first-ever NCAA tournament game after toppling the Marquette Golden Eagles, 68-65.

The win didn't come easily. Paula Strautmane's missed free throw gave Marquette one last chance to tie the game, and the Bobcats watched as Natisha Hiedeman's three-pointer rimmed out as time expired.

Quinnipiac never trailed and led by as many as 19 points in the second half before the Golden Eagles mounted their comeback.

A layup by Danielle King got Marquette to within two points, 65-63, with a minute, 54 seconds left in the game, but the team couldn't get over the hump. The Golden Eagles missed three shots before Strautmane gave the Bobcats a three-point cushion with 18 seconds remaining. Quinnipiac did just enough at the foul line to seal the victory.

Stanford 72, New Mexico State 64

The Stanford Cardinal staved off a massive upset, outscoring the New Mexico State Aggies, 24-15, in the final quarter en route to a 72-64 win.

Alanna Smith came off the bench to post a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), and she blocked six shots. Whereas Smith dominated inside, Karlie Samuelson provided the outside shooting, making five of her nine three-point attempts and scoring 17 points.

It's a game Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer won't want to see repeated again in the tournament after Stanford turned the ball over 16 times and allowed the Aggies to shoot 50 percent from three-point range.

Louisville 82, Chattanooga 62

Asia Durr played a starring role for the Louisville Cardinals as they opened their NCAA tournament with an 82-62 win over the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. Durr was 10-of-16 from the field for a game-high 27 points.

Myisha Hines-Allen registered a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) in support of Durr, and Mariya Moore expertly orchestrated the Cardinals offense, dishing out 10 assists.

Chattanooga struggled to match Louisville's depth, with the Cardinals' bench combining to score 23 points and grab 14 of the team's 35 rebounds.

Tennessee 66, Dayton 57

Diamond DeShields showed why she's considered a top pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, scoring 24 points, grabbing five rebound and dishing out five assists to help the Tennessee Lady Vols beat the Dayton Flyers, 66-57.

SEC Network's Courtney Lyle praised DeShields' distribution:

Foul shooting also played a large role in the result. The Lady Vols didn't make a single three-pointer, but they went to the charity stripe 33 times. Twenty-two of those attempts went down, giving Tennessee a 22-11 advantage at the foul line.

The Lady Vols also got a nice game from Schaquilla Nunn, who finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

Miami 62, Florida Gulf Coast 60

Coral Gables, Florida, was the place to watch heart-stopping basketball Saturday. First, Quinnipiac advances after Hiedeman's buzzer-beater can't find the mark. Then, the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gulf Coast Eagles go down to the wire to determine a winner.

Taylor Gradinjan's three-pointer for FGCU tied the game with 7.8 seconds left in the game. After Miami called a timeout, Keyona Hayes drove to the basket and gave the Hurricanes the lead with a second remaining. The Eagles used a timeout but didn't have enough time on the clock to attempt a game-winning heave.

Hayes was a fitting hero for Miami as she lead the team in points (16) and rebounds (10).

The Hurricanes survived and advanced, and with Marquette out of the picture, their road to the Sweet 16 undoubtedly got easier.

Kansas State 67, Drake 54

The Drake Bulldogs couldn't find a breakthrough as they mounted a late comeback against the Kansas State Wildcats. The Bulldogs climbed to within six points in the fourth quarter but were unable to get any closer as the Wildcats won, 67-54.

Kansas State had a big advantage inside, out-rebounding Drake, 41-26. The Bulldogs didn't have an answer for Breanna Lewis, either. The senior center scored 23 points on 11-of-17 shooting and collected 11 rebounds.

The Wildcats will need Lewis to step up again in the second round to counter Stanford's Erica McCall, who's averaging 14.4 points and 8.8 rebounds a game but had a quiet game in the Cardinal's first-round win.

With its opponents holding home-court advantage, Stanford won't be able to take Kansas State lightly Monday.

Oregon 71, Temple 70

The dramatic finishes continued as the Oregon Ducks and Temple Owls exchanged the lead three times in the final 27 seconds.

Sabrina Ionescu scored to put the Ducks ahead, 69-68, but Feyonda Fitzgerald canceled out the bucket with 17 seconds remaining to give the Owls a slim advantage.

Ruthy Hebard was the hero for Oregon. Not only did she score to put her team back into the lead, but she also got a fingertip on Feyonda Fitzgerald's potential game-winner to preserve the victory. The NCAA shared a replay of Hebard's game-clinching shot:

Hebard finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and teammate Mallory McGwire posted a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and blocked three shots.

Baylor 119, Texas Southern 30

The Baylor Lady Bears jumped out to a 34-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back, as they nearly quadrupled the Texas Southern Lady Tigers' offensive output in a 119-30 win. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the largest winning margin in NCAA tournament history.

Baylor held Texas Southern to eight made field goals and out-rebounded the Lady Tigers, 60-19. The Lady Bears also passed circles around their opponents, with 35 of their 48 converted field goals coming off assists.

Beatrice Mompremier scored a career-high 22 points off the bench and grabbed 11 rebounds to earn her fifth double-double of the season.

UCLA 83, Boise State 56

Jordin Canada (15 points, 16 assists) and Kennedy Burke (14 points, 10 rebounds) each finished with a double-double as the UCLA Bruins brushed aside the Boise State Broncos, 83-56.

As a team, the Bruins made 10 of their 17 attempts from the perimeter and shot 58.2 percent overall. They also compiled 24 assists—the bulk of which came from Canada, who only turned the ball over three times.

UCLA will play Texas A&M in the second round, but the team would be forgiven for already looking ahead to a potential clash with Connecticut in the Sweet 16.

The Bruins will need to be at the top of their game should they meet the Huskies next Saturday.

Oklahoma 75, Gonzaga 62

Shortly after the men's team sealed passage to the Sweet 16, the Gonzaga Bulldogs women's team exited the NCAA tournament following a 75-62 defeat to the Oklahoma Sooners.

The NCAA shared highlights from the game:

The Zags dug themselves into a 13-point deficit after the first quarter and never recovered. The Sooners held them to 33.8 percent shooting.

Vionise Pierre-Louis was a force inside for Oklahoma. The junior center scored 17 points, collected nine rebounds and blocked nine shots and was a big reason for the Sooners' strong defensive performance.

Duke 94, Hampton 31

The Duke Blue Devils had no problems dispatching the Hampton Lady Pirates in a 94-31 blowout to earn a trip to the second round.

There is no way to spin what happened to Hampton in this game. The Lady Pirates allowed Duke to shoot 61.8 percent overall and were held to 18.2 percent shooting. The Blue Devils made as many three-pointers as Hampton did free throws (four).

Per Dave Johnson of the Daily Press, this was a loss for the Hampton record books:

For Duke, everything went right. Eight of the nine players who got in the game made at least two field goals. Rebecca Greenwell had a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Cal 55, LSU 52

Kristine Anigwe was all over the court in the California Golden Bears' 55-52 victory over the LSU Lady Tigers.

Anigwe finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Asha Thomas was a shooting machine, scoring 18 points by going 6-of-9 from three-point range. The Golden Bears had a total of 15 assists on 20 made field goals.

Cal's defense also frustrated LSU all game. The Lady Tigers were held to 33.3 percent shooting overall, and Rina Hill had their only two three-pointers in defeat.

LSU was unable to overcome its poor shooting performance despite recording 19 offensive rebounds.

Washington 91, Montana State 63

The Washington Huskies put a slow start behind them quickly to breeze past the Montana State Bobcats, 91-63, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

After trailing 17-16 at the end of the first quarter, Washington went on a 22-10 run in the second quarter to take an 11-point lead into the half.

Kelsey Plum led Washington's offensive attack with 29 points, including nailing a three after this terrific crossover move at the end of the second quarter, per NCAA Women's Basketball:

Not to be outdone by her teammate, Chantel Osahor chipped in with a double-double consisting of 16 points and 19 rebounds.

Peyton Ferris did everything in her power to keep Montana State fighting. She scored a game-high 33 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Texas A&M 63, Penn 61

In the best game of the day, the Texas A&M Aggies pulled off a miracle comeback to defeat the Penn Quakers, 63-61.

The Aggies trailed by as many as 21 points in the fourth quarter before closing on a 26-3 run over the final nine minutes.

Per 247Sports, Texas A&M's comeback will go down in NCAA tournament history:

Penn closed the score to 62-61 with less than four seconds remaining, but Texas A&M was able to run the clock down to 0.3 seconds before Anriel Howard was finally fouled. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Penn was unable to get a shot off before time expired.

Khaalia Hillsman led Texas A&M's offensive attack with 27 points. She also made the go-ahead layup with 21 seconds remaining that gave the Aggies their first lead since it was 6-4 in the first quarter.

Penn's Sydney Stipanovich had a team-high 20 points in the loss. The Quakers have never won an NCAA tournament game in five trips.

The full tournament bracket is available to view at NCAA.com.