“We knew they were going to junk it up, and one of our keys was offensive execution against their changing defenses,” South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said in a postgame interview with reporters.
Drexel, a No. 14 seed, had a 15-10 lead over Georgia after the first quarter and was tied with the Bulldogs at halftime. No. 3-seeded Georgia took the lead in the third and pulled away in the fourth, scoring 27 points to Drexel’s 18 in that quarter.
Some lower-seeded teams have said adieu, but three had advanced by Monday evening, including Belmont, a No. 12 seed that defeated a No. 5, Gonzaga, 64-59.
There was a close call when 15th-seeded Troy, in its fourth tournament appearance, nearly upset Texas A&M, a No. 2 seed. The Aggies came out on top, with an 84-80 win decided amid a series of free throws and fouls at the end.
A No. 15 seed has never won in the women’s tournament; a No. 16 seed famously ousted a No. 1 in 1998, when Harvard defeated Stanford.
B.Y.U., a No. 11 seed, pulled off the first upset of the tournament, beating No. 6-seeded Rutgers with a fourth-quarter reversal on Monday. Both teams had been to tournaments before, most recently in 2019.
The 13th-seeded Wright State, in its third tournament appearance, beat Arkansas, a No. 4 seed, 66-62. Raiders guard Angel Baker had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals in the upset.
“I’ve coached the men’s game, gone against some of the best, but some of the women I coach against, they’re better,” B.Y.U. Coach Jeff Judkins said in a postgame interview with reporters. “Against a really good team like Rutgers, to perform at our best, it’s hopefully something we can use a long way for our program.”
Marisa Ingemi and Natalie Weiner contributed reporting.
