March is when great players cement themselves as legends. But the thing about all-time performances is, sometimes they still aren’t enough. Sometimes players lay it all on the line, make all their shots, all the right plays, and still it doesn’t go their way.

And sometimes, it does.

Monday’s slate of games had no Cinderella stories, as each of the lower seeds advanced. Sometimes, favorites are favorites for a reason.

Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker falls into the category of doing everything right but still not getting the desired outcome. The fifth-year senior played her best game in a Crimson Tide uniform, setting an Alabama record with 45 points, including three free throws to send the round of 32 contest against Maryland to a second overtime. But in the end, it wasn’t enough, and 4-seed Maryland advanced to its 17th Sweet Sixteen. 

“It was Maryland’s story to go to the Sweet Sixteen and props to them because they left their heart out there too and they gave it their all too,” Barker said. “But I’m a firm believer that every single person emptied their tank tonight and that’s all you can ask for.”

On the other side of the bracket, 10-seed South Dakota State learned a similar lesson. The Jackrabbits dominated the Summit League, going undefeated in conference play, and they pulled off a first-round upset of 7-seed Oklahoma State. But playing UConn is a whole other story. It’s hard enough to play Paige Bueckers on a normal night, but the Jackrabbits ran into her on one of those all-time nights. Bueckers doesn’t need to cement anything, her legacy is well-established. But the senior guard is still playing for something. As 2-seed UConn defeated South Dakota State 91-57, Bueckers played in front of the Gampel Pavilion crowd for the last time. She’s also playing for one last chance at an NCAA Tournament title. And on Monday, she looked like it. Bueckers finished with 34 points on 14 of 21 shooting to propel her program to its 32nd Sweet Sixteen. 

“It’s incredible to watch,” teammate Azzi Fudd said. “But you almost feel sorry for the other team because you know when Paige is locked in, there’s nothing you can do to stop her. It doesn’t matter what shot she takes, the ball’s going to go in.”

In 6-seed Florida State’s 101-71 loss to 3-seed LSU, junior guard Ta’Niya Latson had a similar performance. She’s been known all season for putting up massive scoring numbers and being unstoppable on the offensive end. Latson leads the country in scoring average with 25 per contest. Against LSU, she led all scorers with 30 points, while also adding seven rebounds and four assists.

Despite the loss, coach Brooke Wyckoff continues to be impressed by her star guard.

“She does not see a limit on what she can do,” Wyckoff said. “Thirty points tonight in only 30 minutes, it’s pretty freakin’ good.”

But LSU secured the dominant victory with three players scoring 20 points or more. Sophomore Mikaylah Williams led with 28 points, senior Aneesah Morrow had 26 and sophomore Sa’Myah Smith added 20 points. Both Morrow and Smith recorded double-doubles as well, with 11 and 12 rebounds, respectively. That kind of balance is what coach Kim Mulkey wants to see out of her squad.

“I think when they see that happening, they realize, this is fun,” she said. “Scoring is fun. But winning and having everybody score the ball and contribute is just a lot more fun and it takes you a long way.”

Another top seed, USC, the No. 1 seed in the Spokane 3 region, also needed a team performance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. The Trojans are used to relying on sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, who averages 24.6 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She is also a front-runner for Player of the Year. But Watkins went down with an apparent knee injury midway through the first quarter. She was carried off the court to be evaluated by USC’s medical center.

In her absence, the Trojans rallied together for a dominant 96-59 victory, with five players, including two bench players, finishing in double-figures. 

“When you throw a bunch of talented people on a team, it doesn’t become a team until you work through some things,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “Something didn’t go right for us. You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu, that we all lean on in so many ways. But this team rallied. They rallied for her. They rallied for each other. Our fans had our back. I’m just really proud. I think we showed what kind of team we are.”

Senior Kiki Iriafen was the driving force for USC. The transfer, who played the first three years of her career at Stanford, had a signature performance in a USC uniform, stepping up when her team needed her the most. 

Iriafen finished with a season-high 36 points on 16 of 22 shooting while also grabbing nine rebounds. 

“It’s hard when you have such a key player not with you, but at the end of the day we have to win the game,” Iriafen said. “For us, it’s just that we want to make sure we get the job done, and want our season to be extended.”