Best of Monday's women's NCAA tournament action

No. 1 Baylor 102, No. 9 Cal 63

Baylor's size was too much for Cal's Kristine Anigwe to handle by herself. The rest of the Lady Bears were simply too much -- period.

Baylor devastated Cal with a 25-2 second-quarter run, largely fueled by its guards.

The pivotal run began late in the first with Baylor trailing 16-14. Point guard Chloe Jackson had 10 points in the stretch, and Didi Richards added five. The Lady Bears shot 64 percent in the second quarter and led 46-27 at the half.

Baylor's 6-foot-7 Kalani Brown (eight points) and 6-foot-4 Lauren Cox (10 points, five assists) didn't carry the offense but made life difficult for the 6-foot-4 Anigwe. The Cal All-American picked up two early fouls and was ineffective from that point. She missed 10 of her first 11 shots, and her 33-game double-double streak, the second-longest in NCAA history, came to an end. She finished with 13 points and five rebounds in her final game, and she managed to set the Cal single-season scoring record before her night was finished.

Baylor led the nation in field goal percentage and blocks per game this season and held Cal to 41.5 percent shooting. The Lady Bears shot 54.7 percent and assisted on 25 of their 41 field goals. -- Charlie Creme

No. 6 South Dakota State 75, No. 3 Syracuse 64

Underdogs aren't supposed to be the better team in crunch time, especially when they are playing on the road in the NCAA tournament, and especially when their best player is having an off night.

South Dakota State threw that convention out the windows of the Carrier Dome, upsetting Syracuse and advancing to the program's first Sweet 16.

Madison Guebert, the team's second-leading scorer, was the Jackrabbit who came up big. With South Dakota State trailing 62-61 and 3 minutes, 42 seconds left, Guebert made consecutive 3-pointers. The Jackrabbits' defense also went to another level, holding Syracuse scoreless for more than three minutes as South Dakota State ended the game on a 14-2 run.

Guebert finished with a game-high 20 points. Macy Miller, the Jackrabbits' leading scorer, had only 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, but added 10 rebounds and 5 assists, including two on Guebert's key shots.

Syracuse, which received its highest seed ever, has failed to make the Sweet 16 in three consecutive seasons following a trip to the national title game in 2016. -- Charlie Creme

No. 6 UCLA 85, No. 3 Maryland 80

When UCLA fell in overtime to Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals, Bruins coach Cori Close didn't try to hold back her emotion. She hurt for her players, but she was also sure they could go on an NCAA tournament run.

After beating Tennessee in the first round Saturday, the Bruins knocked off the host Terps on Monday to advance to their fourth consecutive Sweet 16. UCLA lost senior standouts Jordin Canada and Monique Billings to the WNBA from last season's Elite Eight team, and it took time this season to jell. But it was clear by the league tournament that the Bruins had done that. Michaela Onyenwere led UCLA with 30 points, adding eight rebounds. Japreece Dean had 22 points and five assists, and Kennedy Burke -- who took over late in the Tennessee game -- had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Next up, UCLA will try to do something the program hasn't done: beat UConn, the No. 2 seed in the Albany Regional. The Huskies lead the series 5-0, including 86-71 in the 2017 Sweet 16 and 78-60 last season at UCLA.

It was a tough finish for Maryland, which also lost in the Big Ten tournament final, to Iowa. The good news for the Terps, though, is they bring all five starters back next season. -- Mechelle Voepel