COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Tyra White scored 18 points in her return from injury and defending national champion Texas A&M used a big second-half run to pull away from Albany and win 69-47 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
White had missed the last three games with a left foot injury. She got going early, scoring 12 points in the first half, and added four points and a steal in a decisive second-half run.
The Great Danes (23-10) had scored six straight points to tie it early in the second half before A&M used a 17-4 run to take a 49-36 lead with about 13 minutes remaining.
The Aggies (23-10) are making their school-record seventh straight tournament appearance. Albany was in the tournament for the first time.
Stanford 73, Hampton 51
NORFOLK, Va. — Nnemkadi Ogwumike played as if she is intent on having a blast in her final go-round as Stanford seeks a fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four, scoring 22 of her 28 points in the first half to help the Cardinal (32-1) extend its school-record winning streak to 29 games.
Alyssa Bennett scored 19 points to lead Hampton (26-5), which set a school record for victories in a season and was playing about 11 miles from its campus.
Connecticut 83, Prairie View A&M 47
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had a stellar NCAA Tournament debut, scoring 21 points for the Huskies (30-4), who since 1985 have won their first-round games by an average of 48 points.
Gonzaga 86, Rutgers 73
SPOKANE, Wash. — Playing before a big crowd on its home floor, the Bulldogs (27-5) got 23 points from Kayla Standish and mostly handled Rutgers’ press and used a 3-point barrage in the second half to hold off the Scarlet Knights.
Louisville 67, Michigan St. 55
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Becky Burke scored 14 points for the Cardinals (23-9), who rattled the Spartans (20-12) with speed and defense, forcing 14 turnovers and pulling away with a 16-2 run late in the first half.
West Virginia 68, Texas 55
NORFOLK, Va. — Taylor Palmer scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half to lead the Mountaineers (24-9).
Maryland 59, Navy 44
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Alyssa Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Terrapins (29-4) defeated the Midshipmen (18-14), who have never defeated a ranked team.
