The first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament got underway Friday morning, starting with a doozy in South Bend, Ind., where No. 6 seed Michigan and its three starting freshmen took down No. 11 seed Iowa State.
Friday first-round schedule
| Matchup | Reg. | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 8 Utah |
B2 |
1:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
No. 3 Notre Dame |
B3 |
2 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
No. 5 Kansas State |
S4 |
2:30 p.m. |
ESPNEWS |
|
No. 2 TCU |
B3 |
3:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
No. 4 Baylor |
S1 |
3:30 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
No. 1 South Carolina |
B2 |
4 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
No. 4 Ohio State |
B3 |
5:30 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
|
No. 7 Vanderbilt |
B2 |
5:30 p.m. |
ESPNEWS |
|
No. 5 Ole Miss |
S1 |
6 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
No. 7 Louisville |
B3 |
6 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
No. 8 Richmond |
S1 |
7:30 p.m. |
ESPNEWS |
|
No. 2 Duke |
B2 |
8 p.m. |
ESPNU |
|
No. 5 Tennessee |
B3 |
8 p.m. |
ESPN |
|
No. 1 UCLA |
S1 |
10 p.m. |
ESPN |
Results
|
No. 6 Michigan: 80 |
No. 11 Iowa State 74 |
|
No. 4 Kentucky 79 |
No. 13 Liberty 78 |
Follow along as we break down the first-round games.
No. 4 Kentucky 79, No. 13 seed Liberty 78
Amoore stars for Kentucky as Wildcats avoid late collapse
On the eve of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Kentucky guard Georgia Amoore shared a piece of wisdom with her teammates about going on a deep March Madness run.
“We don’t have to be superheroes,” she said. “No one has to turn insanely great. We maybe have to do half a percent better than what we were. And collectively, if we all step up our game, even just the teeniest bit, it elevates the whole team.”
Amoore didn’t follow her own advice when the fourth-seeded Wildcats took on No. 13 Liberty, however. It’s a good thing, too, or Kentucky might have been the first host team to lose in this year’s field.
The 5-foot-6 guard carved up the Lady Flames in the first quarter, individually outscoring Liberty, 15-14, in the game’s first 10 minutes. Behind a flurry of 3-pointers and layups after snaking drives to the rim, Amoore scored 23 first-half points, tying her highest-scoring half this season.
But in Kentucky’s 79-78 win over Liberty, what Amoore did in the waning minutes of the first round was equally important as what she did in the first half. A 16-2 Liberty run in the fourth quarter slashed the Wildcats’ lead to one with just over a minute to play. Kentucky bigs Teonni Key and Clara Strack both fouled out in the final 3:30 of the contest, putting even more on Amoore’s shoulder.
The experienced guard never rattled, however, and showed the importance of having experienced guards. Amoore slashed to the rim for a layup with 57 seconds remaining to stretch UK’s lead back to three. She made all four of her free throws in the final minute, too. She later dribbled out the clock to stave off the Lady Flames’ late push.
Amoore’s 34 points tied a Kentucky NCAA Tournament record, and is the third-highest scoring game of her career. She is more than capable of replicating that performance, and led Virginia Tech to the Final Four in 2022-23. But Kentucky’s next opponent — either Kansas State or Fairfield — will surely key in on Amoore, even more than Liberty did.
Kentucky survived a scare on Friday. Amoore’s teammates will have to be more than a half-percent better if the Wildcats want to play beyond the weekend.
— Ben Pickman
No. 6 seed Michigan 80, No. 11 seed Iowa State 74
Michigan solves Audi Crooks problem in time
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Faced with the impossible task of getting around Iowa State’s all-conference center Audi Crooks, Michigan figured out how to shoot over the Cyclones’ court-altering post presence on Friday during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion. And that was just enough to get No. 6 seed Michigan beyond No. 11 Iowa State in a wild 80-74 opening game of the women’s tourney.
After starting just 1 of 10 from 3-point range and falling behind by 10 points during the third quarter when it couldn’t guard 6-foot-3 Crooks on the block, the Wolverines found their stroke and their spacing during a stretch run when they needed both.
Michigan’s offense began to pull Crooks, who finished with 28 points almost exclusively at the rim, away from the basket, creating enough passing lanes for the Wolverines shooters to get clean looks. Jordan Hobbs led Michigan with 28 points (5 of 10 on 3-pointers) as five Michigan players connected from distance to send it into the second round against the winner of Notre Dame-Stephen F. Austin on Sunday.
Pov: Wolverines in the fourth quarter 🙌#MarchMadness x @umichwbball pic.twitter.com/ZvwEPwJ5TH
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 21, 2025
For Michigan, it felt like a meaningful step as the program attempts to recreate the success of its Elite 8 run three years ago before coming back to the pack. The Wolverines start three freshmen, including Big Ten co-Freshman of the Year Olivia Olson, who’s spinning pull-up jumper with 20 seconds remaining put the game away.
Combined with Syla Swords and Mila Holloway, the Wolverines got 39 points from their three freshman starters, all hitting for double figures. Olson led the group with 16 points.
Michigan didn’t get a point from its bench as the starting lineup accounted for all 80 points.
How that matches up in the second round, likely against heavy favorite No. 3 seed Notre Dame will be a different problem for Michigan to solve. But for one game, at least, the Wolverines showed they had the basketball IQ to solve a hoops riddle in real time.
—Pete Sampson
(Photo of Syla Swords: Andy Lyons / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
