The first day of the 2011 Women's NCAA Tournament is in the books, and it featured its fair share of landslide victories and shocking updates, as any good March Madness day should.
In the day's biggest blowout, No. 1 seed Tennessee obliterated No. 16 seed Stetson, 99-34, in Knoxville, TN. Shekinna Stricklen scored 15 points to lead the Volunteers (32-2), who held a 55-20 lead entering halftime and outscored the Hatters 44-14 in the final twenty minutes. Victoria McGowan had even points and seven rebounds for Stetson (20-13).
Another blowout came in Stanford, CA where the top-seeded Cardinal trounced No. 16 seed UC Davis, 86-59. Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 22 points and seven rebounds for Stanford (30-2), which led 42-30 at the intermission and outscored the Aggies (24-9) in the final half, 44-29. Paige Mintun had 17 points and seven boards for UC Davis.
One of the day's biggest upsets came in Spokane, WA where No. 11 seed Gonzaga topped No. 6 seed Iowa, 92-86. Courtney Vandersloot scored 34 points and had seven assists for the Bulldogs (29-4), who trailed 44-27 at the break but outscored the Hawkeyes 55-42 in the second half to preserve the win. Jaime Print had 25 points for Iowa.
No. 10 seed Temple upset No. seed 7 Arizona State, 63-45, in Salt Lake City, UT. Victoria Macauley finished with 12 points to lead Temple (24-8). Kimberly Brandon had 11 points to lead the way for Arizona State (20-11).
In University Park, PA, No. 6 seed Penn State took care of business against No. 11 seed Dayton, winning 75-66. Alex Bentley scored 25 points and had four assists for the Lady Lions (25-9). Patrice Lalor scored 18 points and had 11 assists in the loss for the Flyers (21-12).
No. 10 seed Marist upset No. 7 seed Iowa State, 74-64, in Durham, N.C. Kate Oliver had 16 points to pace Marist (31-2). Anna Prins scored 25 points to lead the way for the Cyclones (22-11).
No. 5 seed Georgia Tech downed No. 12 seed Bowling Green, 69-58. Sasha Goodlett scored 19 to led the Yellow Jackets (24-10) while Lauren Prochaska also had 19 points to lead the Falcons (28-5).
In Knoxville, No. 8 seed Marquette held off No. 9 seed Texas, 68-65. Angel Robinson totaled 19 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles (24-8). Kristen Nash scored 19 points to lead the Longhorns (19-14).
Back in University Park, PA, No. 3 seed DePaul fended off No. 14 seed Navy, 56-43. Felicia Chester had a solid all-around game for DePaul (28-6), amassing 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Jade Geif had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Midshipmen (20-12).
No. 2 seed Duke toppled No. 15 seed Tennessee-Martin, 90-45. Jasmine Thomas scored 18 for Duke (30-3) and Heather Butler scored 15 points to lead the way for the Skyhawks (21-11).
Ohio State, the No. 4 seed, beat No. 13 UCF, 80-69. Jantel Lavender collected 30 points and 11 boards for the Buckeyes (23-9). D'Nay Daniels had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights (22-11).
No. 5 seed North Carolina bested No. 12 seed Fresno State, 82-68. Italee Lucas scored 22 points to lead UNC (27-8) while Hayley Munro scored 15 points and dished out four assists for the Bulldogs (25-8).
In another upset, No. 9 seed St. John's topped No. 8 seed Texas Tech, 55-50. Nadirah McKenith finished with 14 points and seven rebounds to pace the Red Storm (22-10). Casey Morris scored 10 for the Lady Raiders (22-11).
No. 4 seed Kentucky escaped No. 13 seed Hampton, 66-62, in overtime. Keyla Snowden scored 19 points for the Wildcats (25-8) and Choicetta McMillan finished with 19 points for the Pirates (26-7), who were held to just six points in the day's only overtime game.
In Spokane, No. 3 seed UCLA posted a 55-47 win over No. 14 seed Montana. Jasmine Dixon had 15 points for UCLA (28-4). Alyssa Smith totaled 14 points in the loss for the Lady Griz (18-15).
Last but certainly not least, No. 2 seed Notre Dame took care of business against No. 15 seed Utah, topping the Utes 67-54. Natalie Novosel and Skylar Diggins both scored 20 points for the Fighting Irish (27-7). Iwalani Rodrigues scored 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Utes (18-17).