Louisville forward Elif Istanbulluoglu (11) attempts a shot over Vermont center Nikola Priede (25) during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Mackenly Randolph scored 20 points to help Louisville pull away for a 72-52 win over Vermont in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

It marked the second straight game that the 6-foot sophomore posted a career high in points and her second straight game with a career-high 11 rebounds. She scored nine points in the third quarter, including four during an 11-2 run that gave the third-seeded Cardinals (28-7) their first double-digit lead of the contest.

Randolph averaged just 7.8 points per game during the regular season, which ended with her first career double-double, a 15-point, 11-rebound game against Notre Dame on March 1. She has now posted four of those in her last five games, and in four postseason games, she’s averaging 12.5 points.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz noted Randolph’s shooting with more confidence now, especially from deep. She made 8 of 14 shots, including 2 of 3 on 3-pointers.

“Now that she’s been working on it, because she’s able to step outside and shoot it, you have to respect that, which is now giving her also opportunities to post up,” he added.

After shooting just 36.4% in the first half, Louisville made 10 of its 18 shots in the third quarter.

The daughter of former NBA All-Star Zach Randolph then drained a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 58-38 just 11 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Vermont, the No. 14 seed, used just six players until the final minute of the game. Coach Alisa Kresge said the lack of depth hurt the Catamounts as the game continued.

“I thought we did a lot of things that we really, game plan-wise, wanted to do,” Kresge said. “A couple of free throws and layups go down, you feel a little different going into halftime, up a couple. Then the second half got away from us.”

It was a close contest throughout the first half, as the Catamounts (27-8) held a 16-12 lead with less than two minutes left in the opening quarter after Keira Hanson scored seven straight.

A 3-pointer from Tajianna Roberts gave Louisville a 24-22 lead with 6:05 left in the first half, and the Cardinals would not trail again.

Roberts and Laura Ziegler scored 12 points each for the Cardinals.

Hanson finished with 22 points, one off her career high. Nikola Priede added 16 for Vermont.

Second half starts with a slap

As Vermont inbounded the ball to start the third quarter, a loud clap filled the KFC Yum! Center. It was the Cardinals players slapping the court.

Ziegler smiled as she got back into position. While the Catamounts scored on that first possession, the slap did help set the tone for the Cardinals in the second half.

“We’ve been focusing on our defense and just our intensity on the ball pressure and all that different thing,” Randolph said. “I think it got us going a little bit and it got the crowd going. It’s a little way to have fun and still be locked in.”

Hanson may come back

Saturday may not have marked the end of Hanson’s collegiate playing career. After playing in just six games as a freshman, the senior may receive a fifth year of eligibility, and she told reporters she’d be open to coming back to Burlington.

“It’s such an amazing place,” said Hanson, who has 1,131 career points with Vermont. “Obviously, I have to weigh how I’m feeling and everything else with that, but definitely not off the table.”

Hanson’s sister, Lia, is a freshman on this year’s team.

Up next

Louisville will play the winner of No. 6 seed Alabama vs. No. 11 seed Rhode Island on Monday.

___

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

News from © The Associated Press, 2026