Maupin's 17 points leads Texas Tech past Villanova in the first round of March Madness

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Bailey Maupin scored seven of her 17 points in the final three minutes, and No. 7 seed Texas Tech held on to defeat 10th seed Villanova 57-52 on Friday night in the first round of March Madness.

“Everyone on this team knows if it’s their time, it’s their time, and they get to the basket,” said Maupin, who averaged a team-high 15.1 points per game this season. “Just happened to be me tonight.”

Denae Fritz scored 13 points for Texas Tech (26-7), which went 7 of 15 from 3-point range, outshot Villanova, 44% (18 of 41) to 37% (20 of 54) and made 14 of 15 foul shots.

The NCAA tournament victory was the first since 2005 for Texas Tech, a once-proud program that won a national championship in 1993 when their coach, Krista Gerlich, played for the Lady Raiders.

“This one is pretty special, just because it’s been a long time coming,” Gerlich said.

Fritz and Maupin both hit 3-pointers in the final 4:22 to help Tech carry a 53-47 lead into the final two minutes.

“Shooters have to have a short memory,” Maupin said. “If I’m open, I have to be the one to shoot and just have that confidence that it’s going to go in.”

Villanova guard Jasmine Bascoe's jumper cut the Wildcats' deficit to four with 52 seconds left. But Bascoe, a slashing point guard who led all scorers with 21 points, turned the ball over when she lost her dribble off her leg with 21 seconds left.

“It was, I would say, a tragic moment for me,” Bascoe said. “Trying to put it behind my back and we'd talked about how that's not always the best thing to do in those situations, and it definitely won't be happening again.”

After Maupin hit two free throws, Bascoe hit a 3 to make it a one possession game again with 14 seconds left.

A Texas Tech turnover on an offensive foul by Maupin gave the Wildcats (25-8) a chance to tie it, but Denae Carter's 3-point attempt missed, Maupin rebounded and hit two more free throws to seal it.

Gerlich felt having four senior starters and the four seniors among her key reserves made a difference.

They have “a little bit more of a desperation I think when they play, a little bit more fortitude when it comes to making big plays and leaving it all out on the floor,” Gerlich said.

Neither team led by more than seven points in what was a physical, defensive-oriented game.

Kelsey Joens scored 14 points and Brynn McCurry had 13 points and nine rebounds for Villanova.

But Tech's depth and experience made them challenging to play, Villanova coach Denise Dillon said.

“The full-court pressure, for them to be able to sustain that the entire contest is impressive," she said. "They showed it for 40 minutes tonight.

“They get up on you. Their rotation's big," Dillon added. "They're constantly running different people into the game and they stayed with that pressure throughout.”

The first half ended tied at 26, with both teams shooting below 42%

With Tech defenders swarming Bascoe early, Joens took shots decisively, hitting five of her first six shots, including her first four 3-point shots. But Joens attempted just two shots in the second half — both missed 3s.

“You get worn down a little bit and teams take you out of that rhythm, they have the advantage," Dillon said. "And then, we were just forcing some individual plays.”

Texas Tech moves into the second round on Sunday against LSU, the site host and No. 2 seed in the Sacramento 2 region, which routed Jacksonville 116-58 on Friday. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness