UConn begins quest for 12th title, overwhelms Mercer 83-38

STORRS, Conn. (AP) – Paige Bueckers started and scored 12 points as UConn began its run toward a 12th NCAA Tournament title with an 83-38 first-round rout of No. 15 seed Mercer. Last season’s national player of the year played 25 minutes, the most in six games since coming back from a left knee injury that kept her out for more than two months. She also had five assists and four rebounds. Christyn Williams had 13 points to lead the Huskies (26-5), who opened the tournament with a win for the 28th straight year. Dorka Juhasz added 10 points and nine rebounds. Shannon Titus had 12 points to lead Mercer (23-7), which was making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Southern Conference champion Bears have never won an NCAA Tournament game. The Huskies held Mercer to just 13 baskets on 56 shots (23%). Mercer played much of the game without leading scorer Amoria Neal-Tysor (17 points per game), who went down hard on her left elbow while driving to the basket in the second quarter and had to be helped to the locker room. She finished with four points and came out for the second half with her arm in a sling. BRIDGEPORT REGION NORTH CAROLINA STATE 96, LONGWOOD 68 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Raina Perez scored 16 points to lead five North Carolina State players in double digits as the No. 1 Wolfpack pulled away from No. 16 Longwood. Perez made seven of her eight shots for N.C. State, which won a program-record 30th game this season. Jakia Brown-Turner had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Elissa Cunane tallied 13 points and seven boards. Diamond Johnson and Jada Boyd added 12 points apiece. Longwood (22-12) got 25 points from Akila Smith and 19 from Kyla McMakin. KANSAS STATE 50, WASHINGTON STATE 40 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Ayoka Lee had 20 points and 15 rebounds as No. 9 Kansas State overcame a frustrating defensive scheme to outlast No. 8 Washington State Lee, a second-team AP All-America selection, made just one shot from the floor in the first half but rallied in the second to lead the Wildcats (20-11) to their first tournament victory since 2017. Brylee Glenn added 14 points for Kansas State. Washington State (19-11) was powered by Charlisse Leger-Walker’s 20 points on offense. Ula Motuga grabbed 14 rebounds and scored five points. The Wildcats didn’t allow the Cougars to make a field goal in the final five minutes of the game. INDIANA 85, CHARLOTTE 51 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – Mackenzie Holmes scored 19 points to lead Indiana past Charlotte on the Hoosiers’ home court. Serving as hosts for the first time in the women’s tournament, the third-seeded Hoosiers (23-8) used a 22-2 run across a nearly six-minute, first-half stretch to blow the game open. The 6-foot-3 junior forward and second-team All-Big Ten selection made 9 of 15 shots to help IU shoot 54.7%. She also grabbed eight rebounds. Grace Berger added 18 points. Octavia Jett-Wilson’s 19 points led the 49ers (22-9), who shot 37%. WICHITA REGION VILLANOVA 61, BYU 57 ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Maddy Siegrist scored 25 points as 11th-seeded Villanova rallied to beat No. 6 seed BYU. Kaitlyn Oriehl added 10 points and Lucy Olsen had nine for the Wildcats, who finished second in the Big East. Paisley Harding scored 21 points for BYU with Teagan Graham adding 11. Shaylee Gonzales was held to eight points, missing 11 of her 14 shots. ___ More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25