SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jessika Carter had 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, Anastasia Hayes added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Mississippi State beat Illinois 70-56 on Wednesday night to begin the NCAA Tournament in a First Four game.
Mississippi State (21-10) advances to the field of 64 to take on No. 6 seed Creighton. The Bulldogs improved to 14-3 in the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 season.
Freshman Debreasha Powe scored four points during Mississippi State’s 11-2 run to begin the third quarter for a 42-32 lead. The Bulldogs extended it to 52-38 at the end of the quarter after shooting 53%. Kourtney Weber sank a 3-pointer to cap a 9-1 run to begin the fourth quarter for a 61-39 lead.
After Mississippi State’s lead was cut to 12 points with 4:19 left, Carter scored four straight points to reach 20-plus for the sixth time this season.
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JerKaila Jordan also scored 11 points for Mississippi State. Weber finished with eight points.
Carter scored 10 points in the first half to help build a 31-30 lead. Makira Cook scored 11 points for Illinois, which shot 48% from the field but didn’t attempt a free throw compared to Mississippi State’s 10 of 12.
Cook, averaging 18.2 points per game, scored 21 points and Genesis Bryant added 17 for Illinois (22-10), which had one of the best turnarounds in the country after finishing last season with a record of 7-20. Illinois’ first free throws of the game came with 5:35 left in the third quarter.
The Illini were making their eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament, the first since 2003.
SACRED HEAT 57, SOUTHERN 47: Kelsey Wood had her second double-double of the season, Ny’Ceara Pryor had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists and Sacred Heart won its first NCAA Tournament game by beating Southern in Stanford, Calif.
Sacred Heart (19-13), which has won six games in a row, plays fifth-ranked and top-seeded Stanford in the first round Friday.
Wood finished with 10 points and a season-high tying 11 rebounds and Olivia Tucker added 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting, 1 of 10 from 3-point range, for the Pioneers.
Genovea Johnson, the only Southern player to score in double figures, finished with 13 points.
Tucker and Sierra Johnson made back-to-back baskets in the lane before Pryor added a layup that gave Sacred Heart its first lead at 18-16 with 6:28 left in the second quarter and the Jaguars trailed the rest of the way. Tucker hit a 3-pointer and Wood made two free throws before Pryor scored the final four points in a 9-0 spurt to close the first half that made it 33-20 and Sacred Heart led by double figures until the closing seconds.
The Jaguars (18-15) had won five games in a row and nine of their last 10.
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