Raleigh, North Carolina - The NC State Wolfpack dominated during Saturday’s NCAA first-round action with a huge 96-68 victory over the Longwood Lancers.

As one of this basketball tournament’s favorites, the Wolfpack found themselves in a tight battle during the first quarter, only leading by four heading into the second.

Then, NC State showed its best defensive efforts of the day by holding the Lancers to just six second-quarter points, leading with a comfortable 42-21 halftime advantage.

Longwood did respond with some strong second-half adjustments, but their six-point second quarter put them in a hole that they just couldn’t climb out of.

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The focal point of the Wolfpack’s strong showing on Saturday was senior guard Raina Perez’s (22) near-perfect offensive game.

She finished with 7-for-8 shooting overall for a team-high 16 points, along with four rebounds.

NC State has a second-round matchup with Kansas State on Monday, March 21.

Last year’s championship round finalists the Arizona Wildcats are still alive after beating the UNLV Lady Rebels 72-67. Senior guard Shaina Pellington had a monster game for the Wildcats with a 30-point performance off of 10-for-19 shooting, along with four steals, four assists, and three rebounds.

After two overtimes, the 12th-seeded Belmont Bruins pulled off a 73-70 upset of the fifth-seeded Oregon Ducks.

The Indiana Hoosiers easily defeated the Charlotte 49ers 85-51 while the LSU Tigers fought late in the game to hold off the Jackson State Lady Tigers 83-77.

The North Carolina Tar Heels played strong to knock out the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks 79-66.

So did the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning over the UMass Minutewomen 89-78.

And the Oklahoma Sooners outlasted IUPUI Jaguars 78-72, punching their ticket to the second round.

Second-round action will get under way on Sunday, March 20.