Upsets highlight NCAA Division I Women's Tournament second round

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Nov 17, 2023

Unseeded UC Irvine joined five lower seeds -- Memphis, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Saint Louis and Texas -- in winning their second-round matches in the NCAA Division I Women's Tournament on Friday.

UC Irvine 2 No. 8 Gonzaga 1. The Anteaters, who eliminated No. 1 seed UCLA in the first round, opened up a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes on goals by Laila El Behery and Lilli Rask and held on to return to the round of 16 for the second straight season.

No. 7 Pittsburgh 4 No. 2 Arkansas 3. Ellie Coffield equalized in the 77th minute and followed up with the winner in the 89th minute for the Panthers, who will return to the round of 16 for the second straight season under Randy Waldrum, who coached Nigeria at the 2023 Women's World Cup.

No. 6 Memphis 3 No. 3 Notre Dame 2. Saorla Miller and Ashley Henderson scored a minute apart late in the second  half to open up a 3-1 lead and the Tigers held on to also return to the round of 16 for the second straight season.

No. 6 Saint Louis 2 No. 3 Georgetown 1. The Billikens advanced to the round 16 for the first time in program history, getting goals from Hannah Larson and Hannah Sawyer. SLU extended its winning streak to 12 games and unbeaten streak to 18 games (16-0-2).

No. 6 Mississippi State 2 No. 3 Brown 1. The Bulldogs came back from 1-0 down on goals by Kennedy White in the 70th minute and Taylor James in the 76th minute to advance to the final 16 for the first time.

No. 5 Texas 2 No. 4 Wisconsin 1. Lexi Missimo scored her 26th goal on the season to move the Longhorns into the round of 16, which matches the deepest tournament run in their history. She also assisted on the first Texas goal to give her 20 assists.

Second Round
Friday, November 17
Wisconsin 1 Texas 2
Georgia 3 Iowa 2
Georgetown 1 Saint Louis 2
North Carolina 1 Alabama 0.

Notre Dame 2 Memphis 3
Gonzaga 1 UC Irvine 2
Florida State 1 Texas A&M 0
Clemson 2 Columbia 1
Penn State 2 Santa Clara 0
Brown 1 Mississippi State 2
Texas Tech 0 Princeton 0
(Texas Tech wins 4-3 on penalty kicks.)
Arkansas 3 Pittsburgh 4
Nebraska 2 Tennessee 1
Stanford 3 South Carolina 0

Third Round
Sunday, November 19
Penn State-Saint Louis 1 pm.
Clemson-Georgia 2 pm.
North Carolina-Saint Louis 2 pm.
Nebraska-UC Irvine 2 pm.
Stanford-Mississippi State 4 pm.
Florida State-Texas 5:30 pm.
Memphis-Pittsburgh 7 pm.
Note: All times ET.