Maryland sails past Middies in opener RALEIGH REGIONAL

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Alyssa Thomas had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 2 Maryland past in-state foe Navy 59-44 on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA women’s tournament.

Laurin Mincy scored 14 for Maryland (29-4), which pulled away after leading 31-23 at halftime. The Terrapins will next play Monday night against Louisville.

Although the men’s tournament featured a pair of 15 seeds knocking off No. 2s, there would be no major upset here. When the women’s tournament began, No. 15 seeds were 0-68, and Navy was unable to break the trend.

The Midshipmen had never defeated a ranked team or an Atlantic Coast Conference foe, and that pattern continued, too.

Jade Geif led Navy (18-14) with 14 points.

No. 7 Louisville 67, No. 10 Michigan State 55

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Becky Burke scored 14 points and Shawnta’ Dyer had 13 to help Louisville beat Michigan State.

The Cardinals (23-9) 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.

The game marked the return of Louisville coach Jeff Walz to College Park. Walz was an assistant on the Terrapins’ national title team in 2006 before taking the top job with the Cardinals in 2007.

Walz will face his old team in the second round Monday night.

No. 6 Arkansas 72, No. 11 Dayton 55

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Quistelle Williams scored 15 points, Keira Peak and Lyndsay Harris added 14 apiece and Arkansas rallied from an early double-digit deficit to defeat Dayton.

C’eira Ricketts had 13 points and five assists for the Razorbacks (24-8), who finished the game with a 20-2 run after trailing by as many as 14 in the first half.

No. 3 Texas A&M 69, No. 14 Albany 47

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.

White had missed the last three games with a left foot injury. She got going early, scoring 12 points in the first half.