Women's NCAA Tournament Portland 4 roundup: Texas drills Drexel

Field Level Media|published: Fri 22nd March, 20:06 2024

First round: Texas Longhorns forward DeYona Gaston (5) snares a rebound in front of Drexel Dragons forward Jasmine Valentine (21). The Longhorns won 82-42. credits: Mikala Compton / USA TODAY NETWORK

Shaylee Gonzales' 21 points led five Texas scorers in double figures, and the top-seeded Longhorns cruised at home to an 82-42 rout of No. 16 seed Drexel in the first contest of the Women's NCAA Tournament's Portland 4 Regional on Friday in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns (31-4) went on a 16-2 run in the second quarter that helped Texas take a 20-point lead into halftime. Their onslaught of the Coastal Athletic Association's automatic qualifier continued when they poured in 34 third-quarter points.

Gonzales shot 5-of-6 from 3-point range, accounting for all of the team's makes on 10 attempts as a team. Texas did not need much from beyond the arc with Taylor Jones scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

DeYona Gaston added 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Khadija Faye and Aaliyah Moore each chipped in 10 points.

Amaris Baker led Drexel (19-15) with 10 points. The Dragons shot just 18-of-51 from the floor and 3-of-14 from long range, while committing 21 turnovers that Texas converted into 28 points.

No. 8 Alabama 82, No. 9 Florida State 74

Aaliyah Nye hit a corner 3-pointer with 1:21 remaining in regulation, part of her 18-point performance, to help the Crimson Tide hold off the Seminoles in Austin.

Nye, who came into the NCAA Tournament with a program-record 104 made 3-pointers on the season, added two more Friday, including the critical, fourth-quarter bucket off Karly Weathers' assist.

Alabama (24-9) went on an 8-0 run beginning with Nye's jumper to put Florida State away.

Essence Cody provided a team-high 20 points and game-high 14 rebounds to pace the Crimson Tide. Weathers added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for Alabama, which advanced in the tournament for the first time since 2021.

Florida State (23-11) got a game-high 25 points from Ta'Niya Latson, and a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double from Makayla Timpson. However, the Seminoles could not overcome a 30-of-75 shooting effort from the floor against Alabama's 31-of-61 performance, which included a 7-of-14 shooting day beyond the arc.

Alabama moved on to face site host and No. 1 seed Texas in the second round on Sunday.

—Field Level Media