Jamie Weisner, Oregon St.

The first week of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament saw some thrilling play and several dominant performances. A substantial amount of Canada Basketball athletes played roles in many of the games as 16 teams now remain. Here are some players that stood out:

The University of Connecticut, who has won--this is not a misprint--117 of 118 games, continued its historic dominance with a win over a confident Duquesne team. Duquesne started the game off hot but came back down to earth, with the Huskies finishing the half on a 22-4 run, on route to a comfortable 97-51 victory. UConn's "Big 3" of Brianna Stewart, Morgan Tuck, and Moriah Jefferson all scored over 20 points to lead the offensive attack while Canadian Sophomore guard Kia Nurse provided a productive floor game on both ends of the court, contributing 7 points and 3 boards to the cause in 28 minutes.  The Huskies will face Mississippi State March 26th at 11:30am e.s.t in the round of sixteen.

A short year ago The Oregon State Beavers had their NCAA Tournament hopes vanish when 11-seed Gonzaga knocked them out.  Led by Canadians Jamie Weisner (Pac-12 Player of the Year) and Ruth Hamblin (Pac-12 All-Conference) a more mature, dialed-in Beavers team avenged last season's disappointment with two dominant performances, a 63-31 victory over Troy and a 69-40 win over St. Bonaventure in the second round. Weisner had 23 points will Hamblin pulled down 16 rebounds in the second round match-up against the Bonnies. The Beavers will face DePaul at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas March 26th at 6:30pm e.s.t. in the third round.

The now 25-7 Florida State Seminoles escaped a scare in the first round after Middle Tennessee State proved formidable, eventually succumbing to the Seminoles 72-55. Edmonton's Adut Bulgak led the charge in their second round match-up against Texas A&M, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the win. Bulgak helped her team build up a lead early, one they would not surrender. The Seminoles will face Baylor Saturday at 4:00pm e.s.t. in the Dallas regional.

‍