2014 NCAA Tournament Lincoln Region 2nd Round Game Breakdowns
#1 Connecticut vs. #9 St. Joseph’s (Storrs, Connecticut)
Connecticut got out of the blocks with ease in the first round against Prairie View A&M, rolling to an 87-44 victory over the Lady Panthers. The key for Connecticut was their ability to start fast. They led by as many as 50 points in the contest. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis also got her stroke going from behind the arc, as the Huskies shot 50 percent from three point range. St. Joseph’s advanced to the second round by outlasting eighth seed Georgia 67-57. The guard play was the difference for the Hawks. Erin Shields and Natasha Cloud combined for 31 points and 14 rebounds. St. Joseph’s will have to get continued outstanding play from Shields and Cloud, along with relentless rebounding inside from Ashley Robinson, to have a chance against Connecticut.
#4 Nebraska vs. #12 BYU (Los Angeles, California)
Nebraska took a little while to get rolling against Fresno State, but were finally able to pull away to a 74-55 win over 13th seed Fresno State on Saturday. The balance at both ends of the floor thanks to three double-doubles by Jordan Hooper, Rachel Theriot, and Emily Cady was the difference in allowing the Huskers to seal the victory. BYU had an outstanding performance in upsetting fifth seeded NC State 72-57 in the first round. They were relentless defensively, limiting the Wolfpack to 27 percent shooting, while blocking 15 shots. This is going an intriguing contrast of styles as the Cougars are going to try and force Nebraska to be very perimeter oriented and not give away any easy shots. The Huskers are going to have to find a way to free up space inside to maintain balance offensively. This should be a single digit margin type of game.
#3 Texas A&M vs. #11 James Madison (College Station, Texas)
Texas A&M did not have an easy go of it against the pesky number 14 seed North Dakota. The Aggies needed a 14-0 run over the course of the first and second halves to win 70-55. The 15 day layoff definitely showed for Texas A&M as they were not sharp at all in the first half. Their talent and depth wore down the Fighting Sioux in the second half thanks to Courtney Walker’s 19 points and Karla Gilbert taking care of business down in the paint. James Madison went after sixth seeded Gonzaga in a very fearless fashion in a dramatic 72-63 victory. The win was the first for the Dukes in the NCAA tournament since 1991. Kirby Burkholder was tremendous for James Madison, as she scored 28 points and had 18 rebounds along with four assists and three steals. The defense on the perimeter by the Dukes was huge in knocking off the Bulldogs as they held Gonzaga to 4-of-20 shooting from three point range. If James Madison can force the Aggies to play from the outside they have a real shot at pulling off the upset.
#2 Duke vs. #7 DePaul (Durham, North Carolina)
Duke was dominant in an 87-45 rout over 15th seeded Winthrop in the first round on Saturday. The Blue Devils shot 54 percent from the field. Forward Tricia Liston led the scoring with 20 points and Oderah Chidom came off the bench with a huge effort offensively scoring 17 points. The defensive start in the first half was a very positive sign for Duke as they limited the Eagles to just 17 points on 6-of-29 shooting from the field. The ability to still score at a high level for the Blue Devils despite the loss of multiple point guards is testament to the coaching staff and their ability to adapt to their personnel. DePaul continued its high flying ways in a 104-100 win over 10th seeded Oklahoma in the first round. The game was the highest scoring game in regulation during the NCAA Tournament in its history. Megan Rogowski hit a three-point shot with 40.5 seconds left to put the Blue Demons ahead for good and push them on to the showdown with Duke. The keys for both teams are simple. For the Blue Devils, they need to take care of the basketball since the pressure from DePaul will be constant. For the Blue Demons, they must find a way to do a great job rebounding the basketball against a much taller Duke frontline. This could possibly make a run at breaking the record set on Saturday as both defenses could easily struggle in this game.
