Washington upsets Maryland, 74-65, in NCAA women’s tournament

Kelsey Plum scored 32 points and Washington shocked second-seeded Maryland, 74-65, on Monday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years.

Maryland (31-4) came in with a rich history of success in the postseason and a 10-game winning streak. The two-time Big Ten Conference champions were also playing on their home floor. None of that mattered to the seventh-seeded Huskies (24-10) in a Lexington Regional game.

Washington led by eight points after the first quarter, gave the lead away by halftime but outscored Maryland 45-31 in the second half to eliminate a team looking for a third successive trip to the Final Four.

The Huskies will next play Friday in Lexington, Ky., against Kentucky.

Plum went eight for 24 from the floor and 13 of 14 at the foul line. Chantel Osahor had 15 rebounds.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Maryland.

After a long three-pointer by Plum as the shot clock expired put Washington in front 52-44 with nine minutes left, an upset appeared to be a distinct possibility.

Maryland cut the gap to three points, but Osahor answered with a flat-footed three-pointer, Plum sank two free throws and added a three-point play for a 60-49 lead.

Two straight three-pointers by Walker-Kimbrough cut it to 60-55, but Talia Walton drilled a three-pointer with 1:25 remaining to short-circuit the comeback.

Stanford 66, South Dakota State 65: Lili Thompson made a go-ahead three-point play with 8.2 seconds left at Palo Alto, lifting the Cardinal, a No. 4 seed, into their ninth straight Sweet 16. Erica McCall swatted Macy Miller’s shot in the key with one second left to seal it. Stanford (26-7) erased a five-point deficit against the12-seeded Jackrabbits (27-7) over the final three minutes. The Cardinal will face Notre Dame on Friday in the Lexington Regional.

Kentucky 79, Oklahoma 58: Janee Thompson scored 16 points, including nine straight over the third and fourth quarters, to help the No. 3-seeded Wildcats (25-7) beat the sixth-seeded Sooners (22-11) at Lexington, Ky. Kentucky made 29 of 38 free-throw attempts, compared to 16 of 19 for the Sooners.

Notre Dame 87, Indiana 70: Lindsay Allen scored a season-high 22 points, Brianna Turner added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the top-seeded Irish (33-1) broke away from the ninth-seeded Hoosiers (21-12) with a 15-2 run that started late in the third quarter at South Bend, Ind. The Hoosiers (21-12) used a 12-1 run, led by three baskets by Alexis Gassion and a pair by Amanda Cahill, to cut the score to 56-54 on a basket by Lindsay Leikem with 2:47 left in the third quarter. But the Irish quickly regained control with a layup by Arike Ogunbowale and a basket by Allen.

Bridgeport Regional

Connecticut 97, Duquesne 51: Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and Moriah Jefferson each scored 20 points at Storrs, Conn., to lead the Huskies (34-0), who moved into the regional semifinals for the 23rd consecutive year. Connecticut led just 20-17 early in the second quarter before going on a 19-2 run grab control of the game.

Texas 73, Missouri 55: Ariel Atkins scored 22 points and the Longhorns (30-4), a No. 2 seed, offered an impressive display of speed and athleticism at Austin, Texas. Sophie Cunningham scored 23 points for Missouri (22-10). Texas will play UCLA in the Sweet 16.

Dallas Regional

Florida State 74, Texas A&M 56: Adut Bulgak scored 18, Leticia Romero added 17 and the Seminoles (25-7) built a big lead early and held on at College Station, Texas. Florida State will meet Baylor on Saturday. Florida State raced to a 21-point advantage by halftime thanks to six early three-pointers in eliminating the Aggies (22-10) on their home court.