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March Madness live updates, scores, bracket: Duke outlasts Oregon, Notre Dame vs. Michigan in women’s NCAA tournament
- Notre Dame has come back strong after the half, going up 54-32 on a 8-4 run.
- In the first round against Iowa State, Michigan proved that it was a second-half team. But the Wolverines look just as lost as they did in the first half, struggling to sink shots and unable to find an answer for Hannah Hidalgo.
- Hidalgo is dominating, with 14 points, three assists and two steals. As a whole, Notre Dame is making it look easy on the way to building an insurmountable lead.
- It’s now 11-7 in thematchup between No. 4 Kentucky and No. 5 Kansas State, with the two Wildcats teams trading uncontested runs. Kentucky got off to a hot 7-0 start, but KSU followed it up with a 7-0 run of its own.
- Kentucky has now gotten a lead again with four minutes left in the first quarter.
- Senior guards Georgia Amoore (Kentucky) and Serena Sundell (Kansas State) can light up the scoreboard, but it’s the battle inside that will determine who advances to the Sweet 16. Ayoka Lee, Kansas State’s 6-foot-6 center, will look to control the paint against Kentucky shot-blocker Clara Strack, forward Teonni Key and reserve Clara Silva. Strack and Key fouled out in the first round escape over Liberty. Strack has five points early for Kentucky.
- Duke is going to want to clean up its play from the last few minutes. The passes around the court facing Oregon’s inbound pressure were risky. A lucky bounce helped them avoid a turnover. That missed layup from Okanawa was so wide-open barely any defender was in the frame, and the Blue Devils couldn’t corral the offensive rebound. And finally an offensive foul by Delaney Thomas to foul out in the final 30 seconds of a five-point game.
- Credit to Oregon’s defense (and Deja Kelly’s savvy) for causing some of that chaos. Having freshman Toby Fournier back in on the bench will help considerably.
- Duke had to fight to get to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s tournament. But the No. 2 seed in the Birmingham 2 region overcame a poor shooting start with a strong second half and prevailed over No. 10 Oregon, 59-53, on its home court at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- The Blue Devils have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season under head coach Kara Lawson.
- Ashlon Jackson scored 20 points, all in the second half, hitting 5-of-9 of her 3-point shots to lead Duke. Deja Kelly tallied 20 for Oregon, but did not get enough help in the closing 20 minutes.
- Duke will play the winner of North Carolina-West Virginia, who play on Monday.
- Down 58-53 with 28 seconds remaining in regulation, Duke’s Delaney Thomas foul on Deja Kelly gave Oregon a chance to close to within three or two points. That was also Thomas’ fifth foul, taking her out of the game.
- Another 3-pointer from Ashlon Jackson has extended Duke’s lead to 58-53 with 1:33 remaining in regulation. Jackson has hit five from behind the arc this afternoon and has 19 points for the game.
- Notre Dame cruised to an easy lead in the first quarter, and was able to beat back a second quarter comeback from Michigan with a few three-pointers. But Michigan is starting to come back to life, with some key defensive plays as the Wolverines start to regain confidence.
- Michigan’s defense has been coming up big in the second quarter, but if there’s one player that’s incredibly difficult to defend, it’s Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo. The sophomore guard came back from the timeout to score a crazy layup, pushing her way down the court and past multiple Michigan players.
- That “I’ll do it myself” mentality is one of Hildalgo’s greatest weapons: She has great teammates, but there’s also so much she can do by herself and make it look easy.
- Deja Kelly forced a turnover and appeared to have an easy bucket to give Oregon the lead until Jadyn Donovan made it back to defend. Oregon didn’t score off the steal. That may end up being the pivotal moment in this game. Duke up to a 55-51 lead with 2:14 to play.
- Duke is maintaining its narrow lead over Oregon at the free throw line, with Oluchi Okananwa and Delaney Thomas each sinking two to put the Blue Devils ahead, 53-50, with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
- The tide is seemingly turning, as Michigan goes on an 8-2 run against Notre Dame, forcing Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey to call a timeout before the media break. The Wolverines have forced three turnovers in three minutes, and has scored the last six points uncontested.
- Despite Ashlon Jackson’s 3-point barrage for Duke, Deja Kelly is keeping Oregon alive for an upset as this game goes to the fourth quarter.
- Kelly scored the Ducks’ final nine points of the third and has 18 for the game, pushing Oregon to within a 45-40 deficit going into the closing 10 minutes in Durham.
- Notre Dame has pulled ahead to a dominant 32-12 start, completely outplaying Michigan in the paint. The Wolverines are struggling to hit the basket, going 4-for-15 from the floor, while the Fighting Irish are shooting an efficient 75%.
- It was a slow start for Michigan in their first-round game as well, as their three star freshman struggled to get their footing. A similar situation seems to be brewing here in South Bend, probably not helped by the packed, raucous Notre Dame crowd. Syla Swords, one of the Wolverines’ top scorers, is particularly struggling to hit her shots, going 1-for-5 in this first quarter; Swords finally hit a layup in the final minute, picking up the and-one in the process, though she missed the free throw.
- Notre Dame can keep riding this energy to an easy win. Michigan, meanwhile, needs to completely reset and block out the noise if the Wolverines want to get a comeback going.
- If Hannah Hidalgo is anywhere near you, you better keep a strong hold onto the ball. Hidalgo rips it away from Brooke Quarles Daniels on the sideline and Notre Dame cashes in on the other end with a slick pass from Olivia Miles to Liatu King. Smooth sailing on water like glass so far for the Fighting Irish. A brutal No. 3 seed for Michigan to draw in the bracket.
- Ashlon Jackson is staying hot from 3-point range, hitting her fourth 3 of the third quarter to push Duke to a 10-point lead.
- The Blue Devils are ahead 41-31 with 3:30 remaining in the frame.
- Duke has come out shooting to begin the second half with Ashlon Jackson knocking down three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points. The Blue Devils now lead, 34-28, midway through the third quarter.
- We’re underway with one of the more competitive matchups on the slate today, with No. 3 Notre Dame hosting No. 6 Michigan. Both teams’ defenses have been on display so far, with the two sides trading possession and keeping things scoreless through the first minute and a half of play.
- Fighting Irish guard Olivia Miles — who is starting on the court despite an ankle injury suffered during the first round on Friday — gets Notre Dame on the board first with a pair of free throws. From there, the Irish have gone on a 6-0 run, forcing Michigan to take an early timeout.
- After going more than five minutes without scoring the first quarter, Oregon had another three-minute scoreless stretch in the second. However, Peyton Scott and Nani Falatea hit jump shots to get the scoreboard moving again for the Ducks.
- Jordan Wood got a layup at the buzzer for Duke to close the margin to 28-23 at the half. But Oregon’s defense has given the Blue Devils’ problems while Toby Fournier is out of the lineup with an illness. Duke scored only nine points in the opening 10 minutes and shot 36% in the first half.
- Oregon’s Deja Kelly and Duke’s Reigan Richardson each have nine points to lead their respective teams.
- Kara Lawson’s Duke rosters hang their hats on defense and they’ll need to hone in on that in the second half. The Ducks are shooting 50% with good looks and aren’t too far belong their game average scoring pace (68.5 ppg). There were bright glimpses late for Duke with a steal up top and pressure on the ensuing inbound.
