No. 3 Louisville pulls away from No. 14 Vermont in tourney opener

Mackenly Randolph posted a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double, leading third-seeded Louisville to a 72-52 first-round victory over 14th-seeded Vermont on Saturday in a Fort Worth Region 3 game in Austin, Texas.

Laura Ziegler and Tajianna Roberts each added 12 points for the Cardinals (28-7), who outscored the Catamounts 23-10 in the third quarter to break open a close game. Imari Berry contributed 10 points and seven rebounds for Louisville, which will face the winner of the first-round game between Alabama and Rhode Island.

Keira Hanson scored 22 points, Nikola Priede added 16 points, Jayden Weltz chipped in 12 and Malia Lenz grabbed 13 rebounds for Vermont (27-8), which had its five-game winning streak snapped. The Catamounts struggled offensively, shooting 40% from the field (20 of 50) and 30.4% from 3-point range (7 for 23).

Louisville led 32-28 at the half, then opened the third quarter on a 9-0 run and led by 17 entering the fourth quarter. Randolph thrived in the third, posting nine points and seven rebounds.