LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Mackenly Randolph scored 20 points to help Louisville pull away for a 72-52 win over Vermont in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
It marked the second straight game that the 6-foot sophomore posted a career high in points and her second straight game with a career-high 11 rebounds. She scored nine points in the third quarter, including four during an 11-2 run that gave the third-seeded Cardinals (28-7) their first double-digit lead of the contest.
After shooting just 36.4% in the first half, Louisville made 10 of its 18 shots in the third quarter.
The daughter of former NBA All-Star Zach Randolph then drained a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 58-38 just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter.
It was a close contest throughout the first half, as the Catamounts (27-8) held a 16-12 lead with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter after Keira Hanson scored seven straight.
A 3-pointer from Tajianna Roberts gave Louisville a 24-22 lead with 6:05 left in the first half, and the Cardinals would not trail again.
Roberts and Laura Ziegler scored 12 points each for the Cardinals.
Hanson finished with 22 points, one off her career high. Nikola Priede added 16 for Vermont.
Up next
Louisville will play the winner of No. 6 seed Alabama vs. No. 11 seed Rhode Island on Monday.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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