It didn't take long for form to fall by the wayside in the NCAA women's tournament, although some of the game's big guns showed why upsets are rare.
In the opening game of the West Regional, Kent surprised No. 25 Texas A&M, the Southwest Conference tournament champion, 72-68.But things went as expected for the likes of Georgia, Iowa, Penn State, Texas Tech and Alabama.
Bille Jean Smith-Goldman scored 20 points and made a steal in the final seconds as Kent (24-6) pulled the first surprise of the tournament.
Texas A&M (20-12), the seventh seed in the West Regional, cut the lead to 70-68 with 15.1 seconds left after Marianne Sevin stole the ball from Smith-Goldman and made a layup. Smith-Goldman made up for her turnover by stealing an errant pass in the backcourt and dribbling out the clock.
"She steps up in big games and this was one of her best," said Kent forward Amy Sherry, who scored 19 points.
"They were a great defensive team," Texas A&M guard Lisa Branch. "They pressured us and we didn't respond. They kept us guessing and kept us off balance."
East
George Washington 83, Maine 67
Tajama Abraham had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks as George Washington (26-6) wore down Maine (27-5). George Washington won for the 20th time in 21 games and ended the Black Bears' 19-game winning streak. The Colonials made nine 3-pointers, six in a 15-minute span of the second half when they outscored Maine 32-10.
Virginia 100, Manhattan 55
Virginia (24-6) opened its 13th straight appearance in the NCAA women's tournament with its biggest postseason victory ever. Even after coach Debbie Ryan emptied her bench, Virginia continued to pull away to a 45-point margin, eclipsing the 39-point victory against George Washington in the first round in 1992. Gina Somma, the nation's No. 3 scorer at 25.8 points a game, was limited to 19 for the Lady Jaspers (19-11). Tora Suber led Virginia with 17 points.
Midwest
Oklahoma St. 90, Rhode Island 82
Gina Shaterkina scored 23 points for Oklahoma State (20-9), which raced to a 16-point lead in the first five minutes and held on. Oklahoma State, appearing in the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row and seventh time overall, broke a string of three straight first-round losses by shooting 59 percent from the field. Rhode Island (21-8) started out like a team making its first NCAA appearance, falling behind 20-4 in the opening 4:45. The Rams cut the margin to three points on several occasions, the last with 121/2 minutes left in the game, but Oklahoma State pulled away at the end.
Notre Dame 73, Purdue 60
Katrina Gaither scored 18 points and hauled in 13 rebounds as Notre Dame (23-7) used ball-hawking defense and sharpshooting offense to eliminate the Boilermakers (20-11). Stacey Lovelace's layup with 3:30 left trimmed Purdue's deficit to 56-54. But Notre Dame responded with a 17-6 surge in the final three minutes to pull away. The surge was highlighted by Sheila McMillen's 3-pointer with 2:09 left to open a 61-54 lead.
Texas Tech 78, Portland 61
Michi Atkins had 30 points and 13 rebounds to propel No. 9 Texas Tech past pesky Portland (20-11), which was tied 44-44 with 11 minutes left. Atkins scored six points as Tech took control with a 13-0 run.
Georgia 98, St. Francis, Pa. 66
Tracy Henderson had 21 points for Georgia (24-4), which closed out the first half with a 21-3 run. St. Francis (19-11) was keeping it close when the second-seeded Lady Bulldogs turned to a familiar weapon - defense - to extinguish the Red Flash. St. Francis scored nine consecutive points to tie 30-30 with 7:25 left in the half, only to have Georgia got on a 15-0 run.
Mideast
Wisconsin 74, Oregon 60
Barb Franke scored 24 points and Ann Klapperich added 16 for 18th-ranked Wisconsin (21-7), which blew open a tight game at the start of the second half by working the ball inside against the 11th-seeded Ducks (18-11). Arianne Boyer, Oregon's leading scorer, picked up her third foul with 4:15 left in the first half with the Ducks leading 21-20. Katie Voight keyed a 14-7 run with consecutive 3-pointers and Wisconsin led 34-28 at halftime. The Badgers, who matched a school victory record, led thereafter and built the lead to as much as 62-43 on a bucket by Klapperich with 8:44 left.
DePaul 96, SMU 82
Latasha Byears scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and four other Blue Demons were in double figures for DePaul (21-9). DePaul, making its sixth tournament appearance in seven years, took a 60-47 lead on Amy Lundquist's basket with 13:35 remaining that capped an 11-4 spurt to open the second half. SMU got as close as 82-75 with 4:48 left.
Vanderbilt 100, Harvard 83
Sheri Sam scored a career-high 39 points as Vandy (21-7) rallied in the second half to eliminate the Crimson (20-7). Harvard, making its first NCAA trip, led 41-40 at halftime and 45-42 before Sams took over. Vandy pushed the lead to 72-57.
Iowa 72, Butler 67
Tangela Smith and Tiffany Gooden each scored 15 points and Smith had 14 rebounds for Iowa (26-3). The second-seeded Hawkeyes fell behind early but used superior height and depth - and some timely shooting by Stacy Frese, who had 12 points on four 3-pointers - to spoil the first tourney appearance by Butler (21-9).
West
NC State 77, Montana 68
Muriel Davis and Chasity Melvin each had 17 points as North Carolina State (20-9) wore down Montana (24-5). Montana State, the Big Sky champion for the 11th time in 14 years, fell behind by as many as 11 points before making it close. Sherri Brooks, who led the Lady Griz with 27 points, scored six straight just before halftime as Montana pulled to 38-33. A layup by Brooks with 5:14 left cut the Wolfpack lead to 66-63. But NC State hit 11-of-12 from the line to stave off the upset.
Alabama 95, Appalachian St. 66
Shalonda Enis scored 32 points and Dominique Canty had 31, almost outscoring the Lady Mountaineers (24-6) by themselves as 10th-ranked Alabama (23-7) had a surprisingly easy time.
No. 8 Penn St. 94, Youngstown St. 71
Kim Calhoun scored 24 points and Penn State (26-6) overcame a slow start with a 19-0 second-half run to eliminate Youngstown State (20-9). Youngstown trailed only 50-49 with 15 minutes to play when Penn State's Angie Potthoff scored the next six points and Calhoun the next eight.
Auburn 73, Hawaii 53
Kristen Morehouse scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds as No. 18 Auburn (21-8) beat Hawaii (23-6), the Big West postseason tournament champion. Auburn, making its 12th NCAA appearance as an at-large entry out of the Southeastern Conference, displayed its trademark, the best in the SEC 14 of the last 16 seasons.
Colorado 83, Tulane 75
Erin Scholz scored 19 points and Raegan Scott added 17 as No. 17 Colorado (26-8) used its inside presence to defeat Tulane (21-10). Colorado took a 39-32 lead at halftime with a 25-12 run that lasted nearly 10 minutes.