Florida State women advance | NCAA women

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jacinta Monroe was sure she'd drawn a charge. Shanavia Dowdell was sure it was a blocking foul.

Monroe got the call. Florida State got the break.

And thanks largely to that one play, the Seminoles advanced in the NCAA women's tournament in the Dayton Regional.

Third-seeded Florida State clamped down defensively in the second half to escape with a 75-61 win over 14th-seeded Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

"I wish it wasn't this compelling," Florida State coach Sue Semrau said.

Florida State (27-5) will play St. John's in the second round of the Dayton Regional on Monday night.

Dowdell scored 22 of her 28 points in the first half for Louisiana Tech (23-9), which led by nine after 15 minutes.

The highlights stopped there for Teresa Weatherspoon's club, which shot 5 for 30 after halftime.

Dowdell was 10 for 10 from inside the arc in the first half despite playing much of the opening period with two fouls. When she scored with 6:03 remaining until halftime, she had 22 of Louisiana Tech's 32 points, and the Lady Techsters held a seven-point lead.

Foul No. 3 changed everything.

With 4:31 left, she made yet another shot from the right block that got waved off, after Monroe was deemed to have beaten her to the spot. With Dowdell on the bench, Florida State went on a 13-6 run to tie the score at 40 at halftime.

Florida State kept the momentum in the second half.

More Dayton Regional

No. 6 St. John's 65,

No. 11 Princeton 47

At Tallahassee, Fla., Da'Shena Stevens scored 19 points and the sixth-seeded Red Storm ran away from the Tigers.

Nadirah McKenith and Centhya Hart each scored 10 for St. John's (25-6).

Niveen Rasheed scored 11 points for Ivy League champion Princeton (26-3.

Memphis regional

No. 2 Duke 72,

No. 15 Hampton 37

At Durham, N.C. — Keturah Jackson scored a career-high 13 points to lead the Blue Devils (28-5), who play LSU on Monday night.

Choicetta McMillian had nine points to lead the Pirates (20-12).

No. 7 LSU 60,

No. 10 Hartford 39

At Durham, N.C. — LaSondra Barrett scored 20 points to help the Tigers (21-9) win.

Diana Delva scored 12 points for the Hawks (27-5).

No. 8 Dayton 67,

No. 9 TCU 66

At Knoxville, Tenn., Brittany Wilson scored just before the buzzer, and the Flyers (25-7) rallied from an 18-point deficit.

Dayton trailed by 18 with 13:07 left and took advantage of TCU (22-9) going cold down the stretch.

No 5 Georgetown 62,

No. 12 Marist 42

At Berkeley, Calif., Monica McNutt hit consecutive three-pointers to start the second half, and the Hoyas (26-6) won their opener in their first NCAA tournament in 17 years.

Corielle Yarde scored 15 points to lead Marist (26-8).

KANSAS CITY REGIONAL

No. 4 Kentucky 83,

No. 13 Liberty 77

At Louisville, Ky., A'dia Mathies scored a career-high 32 points to lead Kentucky (26-7).

Mathies set a school record for points in an NCAA tournament game while spearheading a defense that forced the Flames (27-6) into 22 turnovers.

No. 5 Michigan State 72,

No. 12 Bowling Green 62

At Louisville, Ky., — Aisha Jefferson scored 17 points for the Spartans (23-9), who face Kentucky on Monday night.

Lauren Prochaska led the Falcons (27-7) with 19 points.

Sacramento Region

No. 8 Iowa 70,

No. 9 Rutgers 62

At Stanford, Calif., the Hawkeyes (20-13) denied Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer a victory over her old school.

Kachine Alexander had 18 points in Iowa's first tournament win since 2002.

Brittany Ray scored 15 points to lead the Scarlet Knights (19-15).