TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Cierra Dillard scored 22 points and 11th-seeded Buffalo shocked No. 3 seed Florida State 86-65 on Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

The Bulls, who were one of the last four to earn an at-large berth in the 64-team field, shot 47.4 percent from the field and went 24 of 26 from the foul line. They also held the Seminoles to 3 of 25 on 3-pointers and 33.8 percent from the field.

Buffalo (29-5) won’t have far to go for the regional semifinal as it will face defending champion and second-seeded South Carolina on Saturday in Albany, New York.

It was the first time in eight games that Florida State (26-7) dropped an NCAA tournament contest when it was the host.

Buffalo seized control late in the first half. The game was tied at 28 with 2:05 remaining when the Bulls closed the half with a 10-2 run, including eight straight points by Dillard, to take a 39-30 lead at halftime.

The Bulls extended the lead to 14 with a 7-2 run to start the third quarter. They led by as many as 14 early in the fourth quarter.

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Stephanie Reid scored 18 points and Summer Hemphill added 17 for Buffalo, which is unbeaten this season the 25 games it has led at halftime.

Shakayla Thomas led Florida State with 25 points in her final game and Nausia Woolfolk added 12.

(1) CONNECTICUT 71, (9) QUINNIPIAC 46: Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and the Huskies (34-0) beat in-state neighbor Quinnipiac (28-6) at Storrs, Connecticut, to advance to a 25th straight Sweet 16.

Azura Stevens added 14 points and Kia Nurse chipped in with 13 for UConn, which found itself in a much slower-paced game than its 140-52 first-round rout of Saint Francis (Pa.).

But Connecticut was not threatened in this one either. The Huskies opened with a 9-2 run and never trailed.

Jen Fay had 12 points to lead the ninth-seeded Bobcats (28-6), who saw their school-record 23-game winning streak snapped.

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(5) DUKE 66, (4) GEORGIA 40: Leaonna Odom scored 16 points and Duke (24-8) was dominant on defense, holding Georgia (26-7) to two second-quarter points in a second-round win at Athens, Georgia.

Lexie Brown and Erin Mathias each had 14 points for Duke, which will play UConn on Saturday in Albany.

Georgia made only 1 of 19 shots in the second quarter. The Bulldogs set season lows for fewest points in a quarter and game and lowest field-goal percentage (24.0) in a game.

The Lady Bulldogs missed their first 13 3-pointers before Simone Costa made a 3 midway through the final quarter.

While Georgia struggled, Duke shot 50 percent from the field to overcome 21 turnovers.

Caliya Robinson led Georgia with 11 points and 12 rebounds. No other Georgia player had more than five points.

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SPOKANE REGION

(11) CENTRAL MICHIGAN 95, (3) OHIO STATE 78: Presley Hudson scored 28 points and Central Michigan (30-4) stunned Ohio State (28-7) to earn the school’s first trip to the Sweet 16.

Cassie Breen threw the ball high in the air as the clock wound down and the joyous Central Michigan players jumped, screamed and hugged as they celebrated the biggest win in school history.

The Chippewas had won their first tournament game in Saturday’s first-round upset of No. 6 Louisiana State. With the upset of Ohio State, they advance to face No. 2 Oregon in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday.

Central Michigan outrebounded and outhustled Ohio State, played taut defense, hit a season-high 14 3-pointers and kept the Buckeyes at bay late in the game.

All-American guard Kelsey Mitchell led Ohio State with 28 points but hit just 11 of her 29 shots from the floor. Mitchell ended her storied career as the second-leading scorer in NCAA, passing Jackie Stiles to finish with 3,402 points.


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