NCAA women: No. 12 Albany knocks off No. 5 Florida in closing seconds

Imani Tate scored 28 points and Tiana-Jo Carter’s putback with eight seconds left helped seal No. 12 Albany’s upset of No. 5 Florida, 61-59, Friday in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament at Syracuse, N.Y.

It was the first tournament win for the Great Danes (28-4), who were making their fifth appearance. Albany overcame a 17-point deficit and played most of the game without its top scorer, Shereesha Richards, who was in foul trouble. Richards finished with 14 points in 22 minutes, and fouled out with 6:18 left. The Gators (22-9) unraveled down the stretch in being outscored 19-7 over the final quarter.

Albany faces Syracuse in the second round Sunday. The winner advances to the Sioux Falls Regional.

No. 4 Syracuse 73, No. 13 Army 56: Alexis Peterson scored 24 points to help the host Orange (26-7) coast to a win over the Black Knights (29-3). Kelsey Minato, Army’s all-time leading scorer, finished with 10 points.

No. 1 South Carolina 77, No. 16 Jacksonville 41: Alaina Coates had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Gamecocks (32-1) skated by the Dolphins (22-11) at Columbia, S.C. South Carolina will next plays Kansas State.

No. 9 Kansas State 56, No. 8 George Washington 51: Megan Daines scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half including the go-ahead foul shot as the Wildcats (19-12) used a 14-5 third-quarter burst to rally past the Colonials (26-7) at Columbia.

No. 3 Ohio State 88, No. 14 Buffalo 69: Kelsey Mitchell scored 27 points to help the host Buckeyes (25-7) rout the Bulls (20-14) at Columbus. Ohio State next plays West Virginia.

No. 6 West Virginia 74, No. 11 Princeton 65: Bria Holmes scored 26 points as the Mountaineers (25-9) beat the Tigers (23-6) at Columbus. Annie Tarakchian paced Princeton (23-6) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

No. 7 Tennessee 59, No. 10 Wisconsin Green Bay 53: Te’a Cooper scored 15 points, Diamond DeShields added 14 and the Lady Vols (20-13) pulled away in the final six minutes to beat the Phoenix (28-5) at Tempe, Ariz. The Lady Vols used a 10-0 run to take control in the final minutes after trailing much of the game. Green Bay (28-5) went 6:07 without scoring after taking a 49-48 lead with 6:11 left. Tennessee advanced to Sunday’s second round against the winner of No. 2 Arizona State.

No. 2 Arizona State 74, No. 15 New Mexico State 52: The Sun Devils (26-6) shot 54% overall and made seven of 15 from three-point range to run away from the Aggies (26-5) at Tempe.

DALLAS REGIONAL

No. 10 St. Bonaventure 65, Oklahoma State 54: Katie Healy scored 23 points, including seven straight points after the Cowgirls cut the deficit to 47-44, to lead the Bonnies (21-10) to an upset of the Cowboys (24-7) at Corvallis, Ore. Oregon State will host St. Bonaventure in the second round Sunday.

No. 2 Oregon State 73, Troy 31: Ruth Hamblin had 18 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks as the Beavers (29-4) dominated early and cruised to a win over the Trojans (20-13) at Corvallis.

No. 3 Louisville 87, No. 14 Central Arkansas 60: Myisha Hines-Allen scored 25 points to help the Cardinals (26-7) overcome a slow start with a 17-0 second quarter run that put away the Sugar Bears (28-4) at Louisville, Ky. The loss ended a nine-game winning streak for Central Arkansas (28-4). Louisville next plays DePaul on Sunday.

No. 6 DePaul 97, No. 11 James Madison 67: The Blue Demons (26-8) made 11 three-point field goals to rout the Dukes (27-6) at Louisville. Jessica January led with 18 points on seven-for-11 shooting. Jacqui Grant added 15 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Demons shot 52% from beyond the arc (11 for 21) and 54% from the field (37 of 69).

No. 1 Baylor 89, No. 16 Idaho 59: Alexis Jones scored 23 points in her first NCAA tournament game with the host Bears (34-1), who routed the Vandals (24-10) and will play Auburn on Sunday at Waco, Texas.

No. 9 Auburn 58, No. 8 St. John’s 57: Freshman guard Janiah McKay scored a career-high 24 points and the Tigers (20-12) forced 25 turnovers to slip by the Red Storm (23-10) at Waco.

BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL

No. 4 Michigan State 74, No. 13 Belmont 60: Aerial Powers made nine of 12 shots and scored 27 points, Jasmine Hines added 24 and the Spartans (25-8) pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Belmont (24-9) at Starkville, Miss. Michigan State takes on Mississippi State on Sunday.

No. 5 Mississippi State 60, No. 12 Chattanooga 50: The host Bulldogs (27-7) scored the next seven points after the Mocs (24-8) pulled to within 49-46 midway through the fourth quarter and won at Starkville.