Big upsets are arguably one of the most exciting parts of March Madness, despite the pain they might bring your already-busted bracket. As the NCAA women’s tournament began in earnest on Friday, the first upset nearly came from No. 11 Nebraska, who held a nine-point lead over No. 6 Baylor early in the fourth quarter before losing 67-62. Later on, No. 12 Colorado State missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer and fell to No. 5 Michigan State, 65-62.
But Day 1 of the tournament concluded without a single upset as each of the higher-seeded teams won.
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Day 2 then brought the first upset of the tournament early Saturday as No. 10 Virginia rallied past No. 7 Georgia for a xx-xx win in a sweltering Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
We’ll break down all the upsets of the women’s tournament below:
No. 10 Virginia 82, No. 7 Georgia 73
With the air conditioner out in the middle of a March heat wave, No. 10 seed Virginia and No. 7 Georgia played a back-and-forth game at the University of Iowa’s sweltering Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Virginia left the first quarter with a 24-16 lead but entered the fourth in a 59-56 hole. But the Cavaliers rallied to take a 68-67 lead, then got a 3-pointer off the glass from Romi Levy to tie the game at 71-71 with 1:28 remaining in regulation.
That shot ultimately sent the game to overtime, where Virginia prevailed, 82-73 for the first upset of the tournament.
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It did so as the temperature on the court reached as high as 83 degrees, according to the ESPN broadcast. Virginia toughed out the overtime win in difficult conditions despite having been pushed to the brink by Arizona State in a 57-55 win just two nights earlier in the First Four.
Georgia, instead, appeared more affected by the conditions as it scored just two points in the extra session. And its tournament is done. Virginia advances to take on the winner between No. 2 Iowa and No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson.
