Ella Ladine produced 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead 12th-seeded Washington to a 79-65 victory over 13th-seeded Minnesota on Wednesday in the Big Ten tournament opener in Indianapolis.
Dalayah Daniels scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Huskies (19-12) turned a six-point lead into a comfortable win that advanced them to Thursday’s second-round game against fifth-seeded Michigan (20-9). The Wolverines defeated the Huskies 82-69 on Jan. 15 in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Sayvia Sellers (15 points) and Hannah Stines (14 points, six assists) also hit double figures for Washington, which shot 54.5 percent from the field (30 of 55) and 41.7 percent from 3-point range (10 of 24).
Grace Grocholski paced Minnesota (20-11) with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. She canned a 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the first half to give the Gophers their last lead at 28-27.
Mallory Heyer contributed 11 points and Tori McKinney posted 10 points and six rebounds for the Gophers, who shot 39.4 percent from the field (26 of 66).
Nebraska 84, Rutgers 60
Second-team all-league forward Alexis Markowski racked up 19 points and 10 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season as the 10th-seeded Cornhuskers rolled to a first-round victory over 15th-seeded Rutgers.
Amiah Hargrove contributed 13 points, Alberte Rimdal added 12 points and eight assists and Britt Prince notched 10 points and five assists for Nebraska (20-10), which moved on to Thursday’s second-round game versus seventh-seeded Illinois (21-8). The Illini claimed a 77-68 home win over the Huskers on Feb. 16.
Destiny Adams poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Scarlet Knights (11-19). Mya Petticord and Awa Sidibe added 11 points apiece, but Rutgers shot just 35.6 percent from the field.
The Scarlet Knights took their lone lead at 9-8 on a Petticord 3-pointer, but Nebraska scored 11 straight points to set the tone the rest of the way. Prince, Markowski and Hargrove each canned a 3-pointer during that first-quarter run.
Iowa 81, Wisconsin 54
All-Big Ten guard Lucy Olsen scored 14 of her game-high 19 points in the first half as the 11th-seeded Hawkeyes rushed out to a 20-point halftime lead and claimed their 31st consecutive win over the 14th-seeded Badgers.
Sydney Affolter, Kylie Feuerbach and Taylor McCabe added nine points apiece for Iowa (21-9), which will face sixth-seeded Michigan State (21-8) in Thursday’s final second-round game. The 24th-ranked Spartans edged the Hawkeyes 68-66 on Dec. 15 in Iowa.
All-Big Ten forward Serah Williams registered 22 points, five rebounds and five blocks for Wisconsin (13-17). Williams hit 9-of-16 shots from the field, but the rest of the Badgers finished 12 of 39 (30.8 percent).
Wisconsin built a 9-6 lead on Tess Myers’ jumper at the 6:37 mark, but Iowa closed out the first quarter with 19 straight points to seize control. The Hawkeyes shot 57.4 percent and outrebounded the Badgers 41-19.
–Field Level Media
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