Thomas' 17 points propel No. 3 Duke past No. 6 Baylor 69-46 in 2nd round of women's March Madness

The Blue Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season and 20th time overall. They will play No. 2 LSU, a 101-47 winner over No. 7 Texas Tech, in the Sacramento 2 Regional.

Baylor (25-9) was held to its worst offensive output of the season. The Bears managed just eight points in each of the first two quarters and finished 0-of-14 from beyond the arc, failing to make a 3-pointer for the first time this year. They shot 30.2% overall.

Taliah Scott, who scored 24 points in a season-opening 58-52 win over Duke in Paris, led Baylor with 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting.

FORT WORTH 1 REGIONAL

NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA 74, NO. 5 MARYLAND 66

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Elina Aarnisalo had 21 points, Lanie Grant scored 20 and North Carolina used a strong fourth quarter to beat Maryland and reach the women’s Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

Nyla Harris had 14 points and eight rebounds and Indya Nivar added 11 points to help the fourth-seeded Tar Heels (28-7) advance in the Fort Worth 1 Regional.

Oluchi Okananwa, who helped eliminate North Carolina last March in the Sweet 16 when she played for Duke, scored 21 points for No. 5 seed Maryland (24-9). Addi Mack had 13 points and Mir McLean had 12 points and 14 rebounds. The Terrapins couldn’t overcome 3-for-23 shooting on 3-pointers.

After briefly falling behind, the Tar Heels used a 13-4 run, sparked by six points from Nivar, early in the fourth quarter for a 63-56 lead.

Maryland pulled within three in the final two minutes, but Nyla Brooks drained a 3-pointer from in front of the North Carolina bench. The Terrapins failed to convert as part of 30.6% shooting in the second half.

FORT WORTH 3 REGIONAL

NO. 2 MICHIGAN 92, NO. 7 NC STATE 63

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Olivia Olson had all 27 of her points in the second half and Syla Swords bounced back from a slow start to score 26 and help Michigan rout short-handed N.C. State and earn a spot in the women’s Sweet 16.

The Wolverines (27-6) will play the winner of third-seeded Louisville vs. sixth-seeded Alabama in the NCAA Tournament Fort Worth Regional semifinals.

The seventh-seeded Wolfpack (21-11) were without All-ACC guard Zoe Brooks, who had a protective boot on her right foot after being injured in Friday night’s win against 10th-seeded Tennessee.

That hurt against Michigan’s swarming and trapping defense that forced 22 turnovers, including 10 in the third quarter that helped the Wolverines take a 16-point lead into the fourth after a closely contested first half.

Zamareya Jones, who had a career-high 30 points against the Lady Vols, scored 16 and Khamil Pierre had 15 points and nine rebounds.

No. 1 TEXAS 100, No. 8 OREGON 58

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Madison Booker scored a career-high 40 points in a dazzling display of shot making and No. 1 Texas rolled past No. 8 Oregon in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament, sending the Longhorns back to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year.

The Longhorns’ three-time All-American was dominant from the opening tip as she created shots from all over the floor. She scored 19 in the first half, and her 3-point play early in the third quarter, when she muscled through and over three defenders for a layup, sparked a 19-4 run that turned the game into a rout.

Booker’s previous high was 31, set just a few weeks ago against Mississippi in the Southeastern Conference tournament.

Texas (33-3) ran its home win streak to 44. A No. 1 seed for the third year in a row, the Longhorns now head to Fort Worth in a bid to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. They will play the winner of Monday’s matchup between No. 4 West Virginia (28-6) and No. 5 Kentucky (24-10).

Katie Fiso scored 16 points to lead Oregon (23-13), which last made the Sweet 16 in 2021.

SACRAMENTO 2 REGIONAL

NO. 4 MINNESOTA 64, NO. 5 MISSISSIPPI 63

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Amaya Battle hit a tiebreaking jump shot with 0.7 seconds left, lifting Minnesota past Mississippi to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in 21 years.

Battle, who finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, took the inbound pass near the paint and dribbled out along the baseline for more space before swishing the winner and landing on her back.

The No. 4 seed Gophers (24-8) swarmed their senior point guard in a frenzied celebration, before regrouping for the final possession. Tianna Thompson’s 3-point try for the No. 5 seed Rebels (24-12) from the top of the key on the other end hit the front of the rim and fell short.

Mara Braun scored 17 points for the Gophers, including the tying 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining before helping force a shot-clock violation by the Rebels on the ensuing possession. Sophie Hart, who added 10 points, gave the Gophers their first lead since early in the third quarter with a determined drop-step to the basket for a short bank shot with 18 seconds left.

Latasha Lattimore answered Hart with the tying layup with 3 seconds remaining, before Battle sent the Gophers to Sacramento, California, to face the winner of the game on Monday between No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 seed Oklahoma State.

NO. 2 LSU 101, NO. 7 TEXAS TECH 47

BATON ROUGE, La (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 24 points and LSU set an NCAA record for 100-point games in a season with a victory over Texas Tech.

Amiya Joyner added 11 points and 11 rebounds for LSU, which shot 56% against a Lady Raiders squad that hangs its hat on its pressing defense and had allowed just 52 points to Villanova in the first round.

Jada Richard’s 3 in the final minute pushed LSU (29-5) across the 100-point mark for the 16th time this season, a Division I record, eclipsing the mark Long Beach State had owned since the 1986-87 season.

The Tigers, who came in averaging a nation’s best 95.1 points per game, advanced to a fourth straight Sweet 16 under coach Kim Mulkey in style.

SACRAMENTO 4 REGIONAL

No. 4 OKLAHOMA 77, No. 5 MICHIGAN ST. 71

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help No. 4 seed Oklahoma beat fifth-seeded Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Aaliyah Chavez added 18 points and six assists for the Sooners (27-7), who advanced to play in the Sweet 16 of March Madness for the second straight year. They’ll play the winner of Monday’s matchup between No. 1 seed South Carolina and No. 9 seed Southern California. Oklahoma defeated South Carolina in overtime during the regular season.

Rashunda Jones scored 20 points, Kennedy Blair had 14 points and nine rebounds and Grace VanSlooten added 13 points and seven rebounds for Michigan State (23-9). The Spartans were trying to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.

Michigan State led 42-37 at halftime behind 47.1% shooting. The Spartans held Oklahoma to 38.9% shooting and forced the Sooners into 14 turnovers.

No. 3 TCU 62, No. 6 WASHINGTON 59, OT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while adding some big assists late as third-seeded TCU finally overcame Washington for an overtime victory to send the Horned Frogs to the women’s NCAA Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

Clara Silva had 16 points, with the go-ahead layup to start overtime after game-tying and tiebreaking baskets late in regulation on passes from Miles. Taylor Bigby scored 15 for TCU (31-5).

The Horned Frogs had never been to the Sweet 16 before last season, when they got to the Elite Eight. They are now headed to Sacramento, where the Big 12 regular-season champions will play Saturday night against second-seeded Iowa or 10th-seeded Virginia, who play their second-round game Monday night in Iowa City.

TCU won its 44th consecutive home game since February 2024, matching top seed Texas for the NCAA’s longest active streak.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness