Dunk delights in 1-seed Stanford's big 1st-round NCAA win

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Francesca Belibi blocked a shot at the 3-point line then drove the length of the floor and slammed the ball home with one hand for her third career dunk, thrilling her teammates in the second quarter of top-seeded Stanford’s 78-37 win against 16th-seeded Montana State on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Belibi’s dunk was the first by a woman in the NCAA Tournament since Brittney Griner did it in 2013 and just the third overall along with Candace Parker’s feat in 2006. A 6-foot-1 junior who routinely dunks in warmups and practice, Belibi had a pair of slams last season – on Dec. 13, 2020, at rival California in Berkeley and a week later at UCLA. Belibi finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks, while Lexie Hull had 13 points and five assists, Hannah Jump scored 15 and Cameron Brink had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Stanford (29-3). It was Stanford’s 21st straight victory and it’ll play No. 8 seed Kansas (21-9). Taylor Janssen scored 12 for the Bobcats (22-13). SPOKANE REGION KANSAS 77, GEORGIA TECH 58 STANFORD, Calif. (AP) – Ioanna Chatzileonti had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Holly Kersgieter scored 19 points and eighth-seeded Kansas beat ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Six-foot-6 junior center Taiyanna Jackson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for Kansas (21-9). She also swatted away a pair of shots to extend her a single-season school record to 92 blocks. Digna Strautmane scored 18 points to lead the Yellow Jackets (21-11). Georgia Tech’s Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, who averaged 11 points this season, was held to seven points on 3-for-12 shooting, and just 1 of 6 on 3s. FLORIDA GULF COAST 84, VIRGINIA TECH 81 COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) – Karli Seay made a 3-pointer from the corner with 26 seconds remaining as 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast ousted fifth-seeded Virginia Tech despite a career-high 42 points by Elizabeth Kitley. Kierstan Bell scored 22 points for FGCU, which was ranked in the AP Top 25 this week but received a double-digit seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles (30-2) showed exactly how dangerous they can be, overcoming a huge matchup problem against the 6-foot-6 Kitley, who scored Virginia Tech’s first 14 points of the fourth quarter. FGCU leads the nation in 3-point attempts by a wide margin, so this game was quite a contrast in styles. The Eagles went 15 of 38 from beyond the arc while Kitley dominated inside. They play Maryland on Sunday. UTAH 92, ARKANSAS 69 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Kennady McQueen scored 20 points and Utah unloaded a barrage of 3-pointers to bolt to a big early lead and coast to a win over Arkansas. The seventh-seeded Utes built a 20-point lead in the first half, then used another burst of 3s to squelch an Arkansas rally in which the Razorbacks fought to get within 12 with six minutes left. The Utes were long-range specialists all season as the Pac-12’²s highest-scoring team, and had made at least nine 3-pointers in 19 games this season. On Friday, they were 15 of 31 from 3. Gianna Kneepkens added 16 points for the Utes (21-11), who advance to play No. 2 seed Texas in Sunday’s second round. Amber Ramirez scored 24 points to lead Arkansas (18-14). TEXAS 70, FAIRFIELD 52 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Aaliyah Moore scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Texas overcame a gritty effort from Fairfield to open the NCAA Tournament with a 70-52 win. Texas, a No. 2 seed, smothered No. 15-seed Fairfield early, holding the Stags under 10 points in each of the first two quarters as the Longhorns built a 39-18 lead by halftime and looked to be on cruise control. The Stags cut the lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter, but Texas extended their lead to 15 points.