NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2017: Friday Scores, Subregionals Bracket

The 2017 women's NCAA basketball tournament got underway Friday, with 16 games spread throughout the afternoon and evening.Two of the tournament's No. 1 seeds are in action. The South Carolina Gamecocks meet the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Robert Morris Colonials.Ohio State Buckeyes starKelsey Mitchell, a likely top-five pick in the 2017 WNBA draft, will also take the court as her team faces the 12th-seeded Western Kentucky Lady Toppers.The full tournament bracket is available to view at NCAA.com.Below is an overview of how Friday unfolded.First-Round ResultsFriday RecapMaryland 103, Bucknell 61The Maryland Terrapins had little trouble with the Bucknell Bison as they cruised to a 103-61 victory.Brionna Jones andShatori Walker-Kimbrough both had big games to spur the Terps to their blowout win. Jones scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, whileWalker-Kimbrough finished with a game-high 28 points and recorded five steals.The Maryland defense suffocated Bucknell, forcing 20 turnovers and holding the Bison to 5-of-22 shooting from beyond the arc.Bucknell couldn't handle the Terrapins' depth, either, as Maryland got 36 points off the bench.Kentucky 73, Belmont 70The Kentucky Wildcats fought off a tough challenge from the Belmont Bruins and sealed a 73-70 win at the foul line.Entering the game, Maci Morris was an 88.2 percent shooter from the charity stripe. That came in handy as the Bruins were forced to foul in order to try and take the lead late. In the final 37 seconds of the fourth quarter, Morris went 7-of-8 from the foul line to stave off Belmont's comeback attempt.Darby Maggard had a chance to tie the game as Belmont inbounded the ball with 3.2 seconds remaining. Maggard made five of her 12 attempts from long range in the game, but her last-ditch effort missed the mark."Wow, that was fun," Belmont head coach Cam Newbauer said, per espnW's Graham Hays. "It wasn't the outcome we wanted, but that was incredible to watch."Makayla Epps finished as the game's leading scorer (30), whileEvelyn Akhator chipped in with 22 points and 10 rebounds.NC State 62, Auburn 48The Auburn Tigers outscored the NC State Wolfpack 25-13 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to atone for a slow start as they fell 62-48.The Tigers never settled into an offensive groove. They shot 24.6 percent from the floor and missed 15 of their 17 three-point attempts.NC State was well below its best, turning the ball over 20 times. InDominique Wilson, the Wolfpack at least had a player on whom they could rely. The senior guard scored 23 points and shot 3-of-8 from beyond the arc.Jennifer Mathurin andAshley Williams were also key in giving NC State a 46-33 rebounding edge, each grabbing 10 boards.DePaul 88, Northern Iowa 67A slow start also plagued the Northern Iowa Panthers as they trailed 22-9 after the first quarter. They were unable to climb out of the early hole, with the DePaul Blue Demons advancing following an 88-67 win.Ball movement spurred on an efficient offensive afternoon for the Blue Demons. Twenty-two of DePaul's 36 made field goals came off assists. The team's constant passing helped free up Tanita Allen, who shot 5-of-6 from three-point range and scored 25 points.Allen was one of four Blue Demon players to score in double figures as DePaul showed off the balance that made it the 10th-bestscoring team in the country this year.
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