NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament : Washington Tops New Mexico St. and Will Meet Long Beach Next

Yvette Cole scored 16 points Wednesday night as Washington’s women’s basketball team defeated New Mexico State, 86-73, in a West Regional first-round game at Seattle.

The Huskies (23-6) advanced to Saturday’s second-round game at Long Beach against fourth-ranked Cal State Long Beach.

New Mexico wound up 23-7.

Oregon 75, E. Washington 56--At Eugene, Ore., Stefanie Kasperski scored 16 points to lead Oregon (23-6) into a second-round game against Ohio State at McArthur Court. Eastern Washington fell to 18-12.

Illinois 80, Bowling Green 64--Jonelle Polk scored 28 points, blocked 6 shots and had 8 rebounds at Champaign, Ill., to lead the Illini (19-9) past Bowling Green (27-3) in the Mideast Regional.

Northwestern 62, Kansas State 61--Laura Arnold hit a free throw with five seconds remaining in overtime at Evanston, Ill., to give Northwestern (20-9) a victory in another Midwest game. Kansas State finished with a 22-9 record.

Tennessee Tech 78, S. Mississippi 66--At Cookeville, Tenn., Cheryl Taylor scored 25 points as Tennessee Tech improved its record to 24-6. Southern Mississippi fell to 21-9.

Kansas 78, NE Louisiana 72--At Monroe, La., Evette Ott scored 20 points for Kansas (20-12) in the Midwest Regionals. Chrissa Hailey had a career-high 27 points for Northeast (14-10).

Duke 70, Manhattan 55--In the East, Katie Meier recorded the first triple-double of her career to lead Duke (19-9) past Manhattan (20-11) at Durham, N.C. Meier scored 16 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out 10 assists.

St. Joseph’s 67, South Alabama 56--Jill Rooney scored 26 points as the Hawks (23-8) moved into Sunday’s East Regional game against top-ranked Texas (28-1) at Austin, Tex. South Alabama finished 24-6.