Albuquerque Region Roundup: Sun Devils open with easy victory

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona State was too big and too deep for Stephen F. Austin in the opening round of the NCAA women's tournament.

Playing on the home court of archrival Arizona, the fourth-seeded Sun Devils routed the Ladyjacks 80-61 Saturday to advance to a matchup Monday night against No. 5 seed Utah in the second round of the Albuquerque Regional.

"As well as we played today, I think we'll be ready to play even better on Monday night," Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne said.

Kristen Kovesdy, the Sun Devils' 6-foot-3 senior center, scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Her backup, Monroe native Kirsten Thompson, added 12 points. Aubree Johnson was the only other Arizona State player in double figures with 10.

Eleven players scored for the Sun Devils (25-6), all in the first half.

"We did what we do," Turner Thorne said. "We started strong, executed well, ran the ball well."

LaToya Mills had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Stephen F. Austin (23-8). Anitria Mosley added 16 points for the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament champions, making their 18th NCAA tournament appearance but first since 2002.

Arizona State, ranked 15th nationally, never trailed in winning for the 11th time in its last 12 outings. The lone loss came to UCLA in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament on March 5.

New Mexico 83, Florida 59

TUCSON, Ariz. — Jana Francis scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and the 11th-seeded Lobos got off to a strong start in a romp over the fifth-seeded Gators.

Katie Montgomery matched her career best with 21 points, 14 in the first half when she made 4 of 5 three-pointers to help the Lobos to an overwhelming 48-24 lead at the break. Dionne Marsh added 18 points for the Lobos.

If New Mexico (22-9) can knock off defending NCAA champion Baylor in the second round on Monday night, the Lobos will advance to the regional semifinals on their home court in Albuquerque.

Dalila Eshe scored 17 and Danielle Santos 15 for the Gators (21-9), who shot 34 percent and were under 30 percent most of the night. New Mexico shot 51 percent.

Baylor 74,

Northern Arizona 56

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Bears bolted to a 23-point first-half lead then sputtered the rest of the way in a first-round win.

Sophia Young scored 23 points, 16 in the first half, and grabbed 10 rebounds for third-seeded Baylor (25-6), the No. 3 seed in the Albuquerque Region. Sade Cunningham led Northern Arizona (22-11) with 16 points, including 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.

Utah 76, Middle Tennessee 71

TUCSON, Ariz. — Shona Thorburn scored eight of her 21 points in the final 4 ½ minutes and the fifth-seeded Utes rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to beat No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee.

Kim Smith, a four-time Mountain West Conference player of the year, struggled most of the game but scored five as Utah outscored the Blue Raiders 15-4 over the final 4:13.

Chrissy Givens had 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds but missed 3 of 4 free throws in the final 4 minutes.

The Utes were 19 for 21 at the free-throw line, 8 for 8 by Thorburn, compared with 3 for 8 by Middle Tennessee.