This year’s NCAA women’s tournament was packed with various surprises and epic moments. In case you missed it, there were some unexpected plot twists at the tournament’s beginning. With the event almost finished, let’s take a moment to appreciate some of the early moments that brought fans to a frenzy. Below, you’ll find a recap of the first few days of the tournament.
NCAA Seeds’ Performance
Okay, we know it’s hardly a surprise that many of the top seeds in the NCAA women’s tournament are on a roll. In fact, all eight No. 1 and No. 2 won their games by 20+ points. Taking a look at the beginning of the tournament, we can’t help but notice the biggest victory margin went to Iowa, No. 2, who had the entire game with Southeastern Louisiana under control, winning with a whopping 52 points.
In an unlikely twist, several double-digit seeds made quite a performance during the first couple of days of the tournament. Those are Princeton, Georgia, Florida Gulf Coast, Toledo, and Mississippi State. In fact, Toledo did the biggest table turn by overcoming the No. 5 seed and its dynamic scorer, Ashley Joens.
Of all five second-digit seeds advancing to the second round, Florida Gulf Coasts’ victory was the least surprising. The team won last year, despite being a No. 12 seed. So, while there were undoubtedly some interesting twists in some of the early games, the NCAA tournament started pretty much as expected.
Coming Back Big
Several seeds came back big time in the first few days of the NCAA women’s tournament. For example, the No. 3 Ohio State was down 16 points, while No. 7 Baylor was a whopping 18 points behind. Interestingly enough, both teams came back big, winning their games. A similar thing happened to Miami, No. 9, who was down 17 but won.
Three comebacks as big as these hadn’t happened in the NCAA women’s tournament until that time, so the day – as all three comebacks happened the same day – was something fans will remember for sure.
Ohio State sealed their comeback in the second half by shooting 50% from the field. The basketballers that facilitated No. 3’s win were none other than freshman of the year Cotie McMahon and Jacy Sheldon. Sheldon made her first appearance at the game, following more than five weeks off to recuperate from a leg injury.
In addition, a couple of names emerged in the early days of the NCAA women’s tournament – Laeticia Amihere, No. 1 South Carolina’s forward, and guard Olivia Miles. It became known that the latter wouldn’t make it to the event, as she suffered a knee injury and will probably miss the rest of the season.