N.C.A.A. Women’s Tournament: N.C. State Easily Advances

RALEIGH, N.C. — No. 1-seeded North Carolina State clinched a coveted spot in the round of 16 of the N.C.A.A. tournament after defeating ninth-seeded Kansas State, 89-57, in a game that showcased its depth and experience.

This will be North Carolina State’s fourth consecutive appearance in the round of 16. The Wolfpack, coming off winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, have now built a 12-game winning streak.

North Carolina State fell to Indiana in last year’s round of 16 by 3 points, and is trying to make a Final Four appearance for the first time since 1998.

“They didn’t come back to do that again,” Coach Wes Moore said after the game. “Now it’s our turn. These kids, they’ve got a lot of confidence, a lot of experience, they’ve won big games on the road. I’m confident that they’ll handle it better this time.”

The Wolfpack’s starting lineup was dominated by seasoned players, including Kayla Jones, a graduate student forward, who led her team in scoring with 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting and added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Raina Perez, the 5-foot-4 graduate guard, had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Diamond Johnson, a sophomore guard, made all five of her 3-point attempts.

The game featured a marquee frontcourt matchup, pitting Elissa Cunane, North Carolina State’s 6-foot-5 all-American senior center, against Ayoka Lee, a 6-foot-6 junior. Lee set a Division I single-game record in January when she scored 61 points against Oklahoma. But after they both drew two fouls in the first quarter, limited minutes tempered the matchup. Lee scored 12 points in 30 minutes; Cunane scored 4 points in 14 minutes.

Kansas State’s Serena Sundell led her team in scoring with 17 points, and added 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Even with Cunane’s early absence, the Wildcats — who were trying to make it to the round of 16 for the first time in 20 years — lost steam by the second quarter. The Wolfpack met the moment and grew a 16-point lead at the end of the first half to 27 going into the final period.

For many Wolfpack players, Monday’s game marked their last at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh. And the crowd let them know it, creating a deafening cacophony of applause and cheers for the home team.

“I’m just soaking up the moment,” Jones said after her final game at the arena. “I love our fans, the energy they bring, it was just an amazing feeling.”

North Carolina State will play No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn. The winner of that game could wind up facing Connecticut for a spot in the Final Four.

— Remy Tumin

Notre Dame, a No. 5 seed, scorched No. 4-seeded Oklahoma, 108-64, to earn its 18th trip to the round of 16 and a Saturday matchup with No. 1-seeded North Carolina State.

After a quarter, the game may as well have been over. The Fighting Irish sprinted out to a 35-12 lead and never looked back, trouncing the Sooners with a polished, dynamic offense and physical defense that Oklahoma never solved. By cracking 100 points, Notre Dame set a school record for scoring in a tournament game — all while playing in front of the Sooners’ home crowd.

Notre Dame’s Dara Mabrey, a senior guard, hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter that seemed to stun Oklahoma, a team that developed a reputation during the regular season for its own 3-point shooting.

“We just came out dripping in confidence,” Mabrey told ESPN after the game. “When Notre Dame plays confident, we’re really hard to stop.”

The Sooners, who came into the game with one of Division I’s highest-scoring offenses, finished the game having made a paltry 32.3 percent of their shots from the field, a full 10 percentage points below their season average. Taylor Robertson, a senior who has rewritten the Oklahoma record books with her 3-point accuracy, was held to an uncharacteristically low three baskets from behind the arc. Oklahoma never found its rhythm, and the Sooners’ frustration was evident early.

The Fighting Irish made scoring look effortless as they inflated almost every column of their box score. Olivia Miles, a freshman guard, came tantalizingly close to her second straight triple-double, finishing the game with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists. Miles’s athleticism and ability to keep the offense moving at an aggressive clip was obvious early, and she rarely stopped moving in her efforts to facilitate her teammates’ scoring.

— Natalie Weiner