Upsets, controversy highlight women’s NCAA play

Monday, March 16, 1998 | 9:09 a.m.

A second No. 1 seed goes down, a No. 2 seed escapes amid controversy. The NCAA women's basketball tournament gets more interesting by the day, even as top-ranked Tennessee waits to gobble up another opponent.

Notre Dame pulled off the second upset of a No. 1 seed, beating Texas Tech 74-59 in a second-round Midwest Regional game in Lubbock on Sunday night behind Ruth Riley's 23 points.

The Irish, now halfway to their goal of a second straight Final Four trip, dumped the Lady Raiders less than 24 hours after an even more stunning development.

Harvard became the first No. 16 seed in either the men's or women's tournaments to advance when it toppled Stanford 71-67 in a first-round West Regional game on Saturday night, touching off a joyous celebration among the Harvard players.

"We've broken records and created history, but this tops the list," Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith said. "No one thought we could do it but us."

At least there was no disputing the outcomes at Texas Tech and Stanford. That wasn't the case in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where second-seeded Alabama edged UCLA 75-74 when LaToya Caudle banked in a shot from the top of the key at the buzzer.

Alabama had inbounded with only eight-tenths of a second left and the ball was tipped twice before Caudle shot. UCLA coach Kathy Olivier complained the clock never started and filed a protest. Officials huddled for 20 minutes before allowing the outcome to stand.

"I can't go out like this. We won," UCLA senior Aisha Veasley said. "I feel like we really won. They didn't beat us."

In Notre Dame's upset, Riley scored all of her points in the second half after spending all but 47 seconds of the first half on the bench. She went there after picking up two quick fouls.

"It was really frustrating to sit on the bench," Riley said. "I felt like I had to come out the second half and do something for the team."

Notre Dame (22-9) reached the Final Four last year as a No. 6 seed and now is trying to do it as a ninth seed. All-American Alicia Thompson led Texas Tech (26-5) with 17 points.

At Alabama, Olivier protested not only what to her was a slow hand on the clock, but also the fact that before throwing the ball, Alabama's Brittany Ezell ran along the baseline, which was illegal in that situation.

"There's eight-tenths of a second left and it's amazing to me that there was enough time to have one of our players tip it, one of their players tip it and then their player shoots," Olivier said.

One No. 1 did advance as Old Dominion beat Nebraska 75-60 to move into the East Regional semifinals at Dayton, Ohio, next Saturday against North Carolina State, an 88-61 winner over Youngstown State.

Tennessee, the No. 1 seed in the Mideast, blew away Liberty 102-58 in the first round Saturday and meets Western Kentucky tonight, when the second round will be completed.

Connecticut will play Arizona in the other East semifinal. Connecticut beat George Washington 75-67 Sunday night and Arizona defeated Virginia 94-77.

North Carolina advanced in the Mideast with an 85-72 victory over Florida International and Kansas beat Iowa 62-58 in the West.

EAST

At Norfolk, Va.

No. 2 Old Dominion 75, Nebraska 60

Mery Andrade, who saved Old Dominion in the second round last year, did it again. Andrade sparked a 15-2 run that broke a 43-43 tie and put the Lady Monarchs (29-2) in control. She finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Anna DeForge led Nebraska (23-10) with 17 points.

At Storrs, Conn.

No. 3 Connecticut 75, George Washington 67

Connecticut (33-2) reached the round of 16 for the fifth straight year by taking advantage of George Washington's foul troubles. Four GW players fouled out and UConn made 30 of 41 free throws. Paige Sauer led Connecticut with 23 points. Chasity Myers led George Washington (20-10) with 20.

At Tucson, Ariz. No. 9 Arizona 94, No. 17 Virginia 77

Adia Barnes scored 30 points and Arizona (23-6) withstood a second-half rally to keep Virginia out of the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years. Virginia (19-10) cut a 25-point lead to nine before Arizona pulled away at the end. Lisa Hosac led the Cavaliers with a career-high 29 points.

At Raleigh, N.C.

No. 10 North Carolina St. 88, Youngstown St. 61

Chasity Melvin's 19 points led five North Carolina State players in double figures as the Wolfpack (23-6) advanced past the second round for the first time since 1995. Ann Marie Martin scored 14 points for 12th-seeded Youngstown State (28-3).

MIDEAST

At Chapel Hill, N.C.

No. 7 North Carolina 85, No. 12 Florida International 72

Tracy Reid scored 17 points to run her career total to a school-record 2,160 and the Tar Heels (26-6) advanced to the regional semifinals for the fifth time in six years. Gergana Branzova's 20 points led Florida International (29-2), which had won 18 straight.

MIDWEST

At Tuscaloosa, Ala.

No. 11 Alabama 75, No. 23 UCLA 74

Dominique Canty's 28 points led Alabama (24-9), now 11-0 in NCAA games at home. UCLA (20-9) had taken a 74-73 lead when Maylana Martin made the first of two free throws with 1.8 seconds to play. She missed the second and Alabama got the rebound, calling time with .8 seconds left. Ezell then threw a long inbounds pass that ricocheted off Canty to Caudle.

WEST

At Iowa City, Iowa

Kansas 62, No. 23 Iowa 58

Freshman Jennifer Jackson scored 15 points and Suzi Raymant added 13 as Kansas (23-8) won for the 12th time this season after trailing at halftime. Angela Hamblin's season-high 22 points topped Iowa, which led 32-25 at the half.