Ole Miss gets March Madness redemption with 69-63 win over Baylor

WACO, Texas>> Madison Scott scored 14 points, including a tiebreaking jumper in the final minute, and Mississippi advanced to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament with a 69-63 victory over Baylor on the Bears’ home court Sunday.

Sira Thienou, playing with gauze stuffed into one of her nostrils, scored 16 points as the Rebels (22-10) won twice in Waco three years after a first-round loss that was the first tournament victory for South Dakota.

Aaronette Vonleh scored 16 points for the Bears (28-8), who failed to advance to the Sweet 16 from their arena for the second time in four seasons under coach Nicki Collen. They had done so eight consecutive times under Kim Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor.

Ole Miss, which had the resume to be an early-round host, settled for the No. 5 seed, its highest since 1994, and moved on to the Spokane 1 Regional.

It’s the second Sweet 16 in the past three seasons under coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 Richmond>> Late game.

NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 64, NO. 9 INDIANA 53>> Bree Hall had 11 points and Chloe Kitts scored all her 10 points in the second half as South Carolina pulled away after trailing at halftime to beat Indiana in Columbial, S.C., reach the Sweet 16 for the 11th straight time.

Kitts added 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks (32-3), who will take on either fourth-seeded Maryland or fifth-seeded Alabama in the Birmingham 2 Regional next week. Those teams play Monday night.

Not that anyone at Colonial Life Arena was locking South Carolina into that game after a dreadful first-half performance where they shot just 10 of 29 and trailed the Hoosiers 26-25 at the break.

But the Gamecocks came out on fire in the third quarter, hitting nine of their first 10 shots for a 20-7 run to take control.

When Hall’s third 3-pointer closed the surge, the Gamecocks had the game in hand and improved to 18-1 in their past four NCAA Tournaments.

Indiana couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Shay Ciezki had 12 points to lead Indiana.

Sania Feagin added 10 points for South Carolina, which improved to 18-0 in home NCAA Tournament games.

no. 2 Duke 59, no. 10 Oregon 53>> Ashlon Jackson scored 14 of her 20 points in the third quarter to power Duke to a victory over Oregon in Durham, N.C.

Duke (28-7) played without leading scorer Toby Fournier, the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year who averages 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 Canadian forward was dealing with an illness, ESPN reported.

Jackson shot 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and had four rebounds. Reigan Richardson added 13 points while Delaney Thomas scored 12.

In her eighth game against Duke, former North Carolina guard Deja Kelly finished with 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting for the Ducks (20-12). Phillipina Kyei had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

No. 2 TCU 85, No. 7 Louisville 70>> Agnes Emma-Nnopu scored 23 points with four 3-pointers, Hailey Van Lith had a double-double against her former team and TCU advanced to its first NCAA Sweet 16 with an win over Louisville in Forth Worth, Texas.

Van Lith had 16 points and 10 assists after going to a Final Four and two other Elite Eight games with Louisville from 2021-23. She played in her 19th tourney game, the most among active players, after going to another Elite Eight with LSU last season.

Sedona Prince had 19 points and Donovyn Hunter 18, including three 3-pointers in a 17-0 run that put the Horned Frogs (33-3) ahead to stay.

Jayda Curry had a career-high 41 points for the Cardinals (22-11). She already had 15 of those when when she made a jumper that put them up 17-13 with 2:57 left in the first quarter. before TCU’s game-turning run when Van Lith made the go-ahead basket.

They are now headed to Birmingham, Alabama, and a rematch with third-seeded Notre Dame (28-5). TCU beat the Fighting Irish 76-68 in the Cayman Islands on Nov. 29, an early indication of what could be a special season for the Frogs.

No. 3 Notre Dame 76, No. 6 Michigan 55>> Hannah Hidalgo scored 21 points and Notre Dame routed Michigan in South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive season. The Horned Frogs defeated Notre Dame in the Cayman Islands in November.

Olivia Miles, who suffered an ankle injury in Notre Dame’s 106-54 victory against Stephen F. Austin in the first round, started for the Fighting Irish. She had eight points, five assists and four rebounds.

Liatu King turned in a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Sonia Citron scored 16 points for Notre Dame.