Upset Win for Arizona State

When Arizona State honored its seniors last month, Kylan Loney knew there would be more to celebrate later.

Arizona State’s aggressive defense, timely shooting and gritty determination earned the Sun Devils that coveted trip home for the Tempe Regional.

Loney scored eight points in the final 1:29 and finished with 20, and the fifth-seeded Sun Devils erased an early 13-point deficit to shock No. 4 Notre Dame, 70-61, on Monday night at Fresno.

“We said on senior night that this really isn’t senior night because we’re going to be back,” Loney said. “This confirms it.”

Aubree Johnson had 12 points and nine rebounds and Amy Denson had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Sun Devils (24-9), who gained the momentum on Betsy Boardman’s buzzer-beating three-pointer at halftime.

The Fighting Irish (27-6), ranked 11th in the nation and trying to advance past the second round for the third year in a row, didn’t exhibit the kind of fight the Sun Devils showed in the second half.

Georgia 70, Texas 68 -- Tasha Humphrey scored 26 points and Cori Chambers contributed 15 to lead sixth-seeded Georgia at Dallas.

Georgia (24-9) advanced to the round of 16 for the third year in a row and the 15th time in 21 appearances.

The Bulldogs denied Texas (22-9) -- a preseason Final Four favorite -- entrance into the tournament’s third round for the first time in four years.

Stanford 88, Utah 62 -- Brooke Smith scored 20 points to lead five Cardinal players in double figures at Fresno.

Stanford won its 22nd in a row in Tara VanDerveer’s 600th game coaching the Cardinal (31-2).

Utah (26-8) never got closer than 11 points in the second half.

Minnesota 73, Virginia 58 -- While Janel McCarville made only three field goals, Jamie Broback had 23 points and five rebounds to help Minnesota win at Minneapolis.

In her final home game, McCarville was three for seven from the field and finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds -- blowing a kiss and waving to the roaring Williams Arena crowd of 10,043 as she left.

Shannon Schonrock added 11 points for the Gophers (26-7).

Freshman Sharnee Zoll led Virginia (21-11) with 20 points.

Vanderbilt 63, Kansas State 60 -- Kendra Wecker scored 29 points in a losing effort at Seattle. Vanderbilt (24-7) led, 59-43, with 3:18 left in the game before holding off a late rally by Kansas State (24-8).

Baylor 69, Oregon 46 -- The Lady Bears held Oregon to two points over the final eight minutes of the first half at Seattle.

Baylor improved to 29-3, its most victories since winning 29 games in 1980-81.

Sophia Young led the Lady Bears with 25 points. She scored Baylor’s first seven points of the second half, extending its lead to 41-20 and Oregon (21-10) never got closer than 14.

Texas Tech 80, Middle Tennessee 69 -- Alesha Robertson had 25 points and Cisti Greenwalt 19 and Texas Tech led throughout at Dallas.

After pulling off a first-round upset for the second year in a row, Middle Tennessee (24-9) missed becoming just the second No. 12-seeded team to win twice in the tournament.

Greenwalt started the second half with two putback baskets to give Texas Tech a 50-29 lead. Middle Tennessee then scored 12 points in a row, only for Robertson to make a three-pointer.

Texas Tech (24-7) makes its 11th appearance in the Sweet 16 next weekend in Philadelphia against the winner of tonight’s Tennessee-Purdue game.