Ohio State wanted to mount an enormous comeback to win its first-round recreation within the girls’s N.C.A.A. event. On Monday in opposition to North Carolina, the Buckeyes wanted to resist one — and wanted a shot from its senior chief to bail them out.
No. 3 seed Ohio State led by 12 factors within the fourth quarter, however the sixth-seeded Tar Heels strung collectively a formidable rally and had tied the sport with 9 seconds left.
That’s when Jacy Sheldon stepped up.
With time winding down, Sheldon took a cross on the wing, drove by site visitors and pulled up for a floater within the paint. The shot went down with 1.8 seconds left, and Ohio State ended North Carolina’s event run, 71-69.
Ohio State appeared effectively in management earlier than the sport turned with just below seven minutes left. Deja Kelly, the Tar Heels’ main scorer, was carried off the court docket with an damage, but in some way North Carolina turned it on with out her, scoring 9 straight factors in simply two minutes. Kelly got here again and helped the Tar Heels take a 1-point lead, its first and solely lead of the sport.
Sheldon scored the subsequent 3 factors, with a layup and a separate free throw. Kelly then hit a jumper to tie the sport, setting the stage for Sheldon’s end.
In its first-round recreation, Ohio State trailed by 16 factors to James Madison earlier than finally profitable, 80-66, on its house court docket.
Sheldon performed simply six video games in the course of the common season whereas battling a leg damage, however she returned for the Large Ten Convention event. She completed Monday’s recreation with 16 factors, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. — Sara Ziegler
Matchups to Watch
No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 9 Miami
8 p.m., ESPN2
Indiana simply dispatched Tennessee Tech on Saturday in its first N.C.A.A. event recreation as a No. 1 seed, led by 19 factors from guard Sydney Parrish. Miami, then again, wanted a 17-point comeback within the second half to beat Oklahoma State. The Hoosiers are taking part in to get to their third consecutive round-of-16 recreation, whereas Miami has made the second weekend solely as soon as. The colleges met within the second spherical of this 12 months’s males’s event as effectively.
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 7 Baylor
9 p.m., ESPN
Baylor struggled early on Saturday, falling behind by 18 factors within the first quarter to Tenth-seeded Alabama. However the Bears pulled out the third-largest comeback within the event’s historical past to win, 78-74. UConn confronted no such struggles, racing to a 53-20 halftime lead on the way in which to a 95-52 win over Vermont. The final time UConn and Baylor met, within the 2021 event’s spherical of 8, the sport ended on a missed shot from Baylor’s DiJonai Carrington that was tightly contested by two UConn defenders, a play that was loudly decried after the sport for the absence of a foul name. Can we get comparable drama within the rematch?
No. 4 U.C.L.A. vs. No. 5 Oklahoma
10 p.m., ESPN2
Oklahoma options the second-ranked offense in Division I, at 84.5 factors per recreation. U.C.L.A. has tightened defensively on the finish of the season, holding its opponents to a median of 61 factors over its earlier 10 video games. Within the first spherical, the Bruins allowed solely 45 factors to Sacramento State. Oklahoma scored 85 on Saturday in opposition to Portland; the Sooners received double-digit scoring from 5 gamers, led by the 14 factors of Taylor Robertson and Aubrey Joens.