As March Madness gets underway for the women’s side, the University of Maryland Terrapins came up victorious in dominating fashion.
Later Friday, the No. 1 Virginia Tech University Hokies notched a win over Chattanooga.
Here is what you need to know about all the D.C.-area teams on day one of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Maryland
Greenville Regional 1 Bracket: No. 2 Maryland defeats No. 15 Holy Cross, 93-61
It was a blowout for the Maryland Terrapins on their home court as they defeated Holy Cross 93-61. They scored the game’s first 14 points of the game in a contest where they led wire-to-wire.
Five players scored double digit points led by two transfer players — Brinae Alexander with 18 points and Abby Meyers with 16 points. Diamond Miller and Shyann Sellers added 13 points apiece.
“It’s easy to have like the jitters and the nerves, but once you see the ball go in, especially for me, I think that gives me a good boost of confidence,” Alexander said.
As a team, the Terrapins shot 52% from the field while forcing the Crusaders — who won the Patriot League championship to make the dance for the first time since 2007 — into 24 turnovers.
They advanced to the second round in the Greenville 1 Region, where they will play seventh-seeded Arizona on Saturday. It will be a reunion for head coach Brenda Frese because she played for the Wildcats from 1989 to 1993, earning an undergraduate degree in the process.
The Terrapins victory comes a day after the men’s team opened up the tournament with a win over West Virginia.
Read more on Maryland’s victory here.
Virginia Tech
Seattle Regional 3 Bracket: No. 1 Virginia Tech defeats vs. No. 16 Chattanooga, 58-33
Later, Friday, the Virginia Tech Hokies defeated Chattanooga 58-33 to advance to the second round of the tournament in a contest where they never trailed.
Georgia Amoore led the team with 22 points, while making five three pointers, giving her 99 on the season, which is a single-season school record. Elizabeth Kitley added 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Hokies’ 12th straight victory.
“The old adage is to survive and advance,” said head coach Kenny Brooks. “You want to be a little bit better than that. But we’re fortunate to be able to get a win today.”
The Hokies led by one late in the first quarter, but used a 17-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to pull away. Amoore scored eight points in that run.
In the second round, Virginia Tech will face South Dakota State Sunday.
Read more on Virginia Tech’s victory here.
WTOP’s Dave Preston and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
