Rutgers gets four players in double figures in steamroller victory over Robert Morris • RUTGERS 85, ROBERT MORRIS 42: Rutgers got the fresh start it was looking for, thanks in part to an overmatched opponent. Kia Vaughn led four players in double figures with 22 points, and second-seeded Rutgers routed 15th-seeded Robert Morris on Saturday in the first round of the Greensboro Regional in Des Moines.
Rutgers gets four players in double figures
The Scarlet Knights (25-6), who stumbled into the NCAA tournament on a two-game losing streak, will play seventh-seeded Iowa State in the second round Monday night.
Rutgers (25-6) put Robert Morris on its heels early, opening the game with a 15-2 run. The Colonials (23-10) made a brief surge by hitting six of their next eight shots, but Rutgers closed out the first half with a 30-12 spurt that squashed any notions of a comeback.
"We took good shots and played very focused defense," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "It was nice to see us establish an inside game. It was nice to see everybody step up and make a difference."
The lone bright spot for Robert Morris came when Sade Logan tied the Division I record for three-pointers in a season, 126, set by Alabama State's Lisa McMullen in 1991. But Logan was 3-for-15 from the field and 2-for-9 from three-point range.
• GEORGE WASHINGTON 66, AUBURN 56: Jessica Adair had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Antelia Parrish added 15 points and seven rebounds, leading sixth-seeded George Washington to a hard-fought first-round win over No. 11 Auburn in Stanford, Calif.
Parrish made four three-pointers and converted a key three-pointer with 5:50 remaining, after scoring on a fourth attempt in one sequence for the Colonials (26-6), who closed the regular season by winning 10 of 11 games.
"We were rushing everything in the first half, not doing what we do well," Parrish said. "We settled down a lot in the second half."
The Colonials will play in the second round of the Greensboro Regional on Monday night against No. 3 seed California.
DeWanna Bonner led Auburn (20-12) with 16 points.
• CALIFORNIA 77, SAN DIEGO 60: Ashley Walker dominated the inside with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Devanei Hampton scored 22 points and the third-seeded Golden Bears won their first NCAA tournament game in 15 years, beating San Diego in Stanford, Calif.
Cal (27-6) took advantage of the opportunity to play close to home, after losing in the first round the past two years in Pennsylvania. With many of their fans cheering on at Maples Pavilion and without the jet lag from a cross-country flight, the Bears overpowered the 14th-seeded Toreros (19-13) and built a 20-point first-half lead.
Cal opened with a 14-2 run, forcing Toreros coach Cindy Fisher to call a timeout less than 2 minutes into the game. The Bears made nine of their first 10 shots, with Walker getting the offensive rebound and scoring after the only miss.
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Waconia’s Max McEnelly defeated Stillwater’s Ryder Rogotzke on Friday to settle the match, just as he beat him at state in 2023.