Two former Montgomery County hoop stars led their teams to victories over the weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
Bethesda’s Kiki Rice (Sidwell Friends) led her team in scoring as UCLA beat Sacramento State 67-45 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The freshman point guard had 15 points as the fourth-seeded Bruins rolled to a 67-45 victory over No. 13 seed Sacramento State.
“I definitely have a lot of confidence going into the tournament,” said Rice.
“I think throughout the season my confidence has gone up. The more experience I got and in knowing what my team needs. I had some open lanes early and had some mismatches.”
Fourth-seeded UCLA plays fifth-seeded Oklahoma Monday at 10 p.m. in Greenville, SC on ESPN2.
ONTO THE NEXT 🔜#GoBruins | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Oumyr8AngS
— UCLA Women's Basketball (@UCLAWBB) March 19, 2023
In the men’s tournament, Gaithersburg native Jordan Hawkins scored 12 points in UConn’s 70-55 victory over Saint Marry’s to help the Huskies advance to the Sweet 16. Hawkins, a sophomore, hit 4-5 three pointers. He started his high school career at Gaithersburg High School then transferred to DeMatha High School for his junior and senior seasons.
The fourth-seeded Huskies will play eighth-seeded Arkansas in the Sweet 16 Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in Las Vegas on CBS.
STILL DANCING 🕺#Made4March | #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/pe8iwbbtb7
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) March 20, 2023
(Photos courtesy UCLA and UConn Athletics)
