By Bel Garcia

Seattle, WA - The Circling Seattle Sports + Converge Media team of Bel Garcia and Mathew Bermudez will be on hand for all three days of Women’s March Madness as the Seattle regional is being hosted at Climate Pledge Arena! Bel will be writing game recaps of every matchup that takes place as each team fights to move on in the big dance, while Mathew Bermudez will be capturing the matchups through his lense and recording the recaps that Bel does for the days! Here is what Bel and Mat saw one day one of the tournament, as the Tennessee Volunteers took on the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Ohio State Buckeyes took on the UCONN Huskies!

Ohio State versus Uconn through photos (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)

Game one: Ohio State knocks off Uconn

The Buckeyes and UConn kicked off the second day of the Sweet Sixteen regionals. Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart’s college team under the roof that they had played in, but it would not be so sweet for UConn. Catie McMahon set the tone for Ohio State with her aggression driving to the basket, as she had 19 points in the first half. It appeared as though every offensive possession for the Buckeyes went to McMahon in the first half and the Huskies just could not stop her. Ohio State would take the lead into halftime holding UConn to only nine points in the second half.

Ohio State’s Cotie McMahon’s game against Uconn through photos (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)

UConn adjusted their defensive strategy in the second half, holding McMahon to only four points by crowding her and not allowing her to get into the paint easily. However, the strategy didn’t work as well against the rest of the Ohio lineup as they continued to get points in the paint. Luckily, Lou Lopez Senechal found her rhythm in the second half scoring 17 of her 25 points in the final minutes. The Huskies had missed opportunities with sloppy passes and turnovers, giving Ohio State 23 points off turnovers. In addition to those turnover points, the Buckeyes also controlled the tempo and speed of the game with 14 fast break points while only allowing the Huskies 5. They could not maximize on fast break opportunities slowing the tempo instead of passing it down the court to the outlet for easy points. OSU moves on to the Elite 8 with their 73-61 victory over UConn.

The Virginia Tech Hokies hold off the Tennessee Lady volunteers (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)

Game two: Viriginia Tech holds off Tennesse

The Lady Volunteers had a big challenge on their hands facing Virginia Tech, a well-rounded team with players who can contribute to scoring and defense. From the start of the game Virginia Tech’s hustle was a problem for Tennessee on both ends of the floor. Struggles on offense as well as the Hokies defense would hold them to only 22 points in the first half. Virginia Tech is highly skilled in working as a team by the end of the first quarter, all but one of their starting five had scored. Jaw dropping was Georgia Amoore and the way she facilitates the court, she is a leader who makes her team better. She was able to shoot and score from anywhere on the court but gave just as much to the defensive side of the ball. Amoore was on the court for all 40 minutes of the game and was still hustling in the 40th as much as in the 1st.

Virginia Tech’s Georgia Amoore’s game through photos (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)

It would be a tale of two halves for Tennessee, they saw a resurgence and found some momentum in scoring. Horston and Jackson came out of the halftime break aggressive and looking for their shots in the paint. They gave the Lady Volunteers the advantage on points in the paint with a team total of 34, compared to the Hokies’ 26. The defense was applying pressure as needed; they successfully created two turnovers on inbounds and were able to score. Full court press combined with some Amoore misses on the other end gave them some hope, but it just wasn’t enough. Virginia Tech found a way to respond on offense and pulled away to a 73-64 win to advance to the Elite 8.

Ohio State matches up with Virginia Tech on Monday, at 6PM PST inside of Climate Pledge Arena.

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