The Cincinnati Bearcats posted their first-ever NCAA Tournament win on Saturday night, defeating St. Peter's, 76-63, in overtime. Valerie King scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the extra session to lead UC, while C-USA Freshman of the Year Debbie Merrill added 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Cincinnati will advance to Monday night's second round game against the winner of the Liberty-South Carolina matchup. Monday night's tip-off in Columbia, S.C. will be 7:36 p.m. EST.

The Bearcats entered their third NCAA Tournament with the highest seed in school history but were taken to the brink of elimination by the Peahens, who also had their highest seed in seven straight appearances.

K.B. Sharp contributed 19 points and eight assists for Cincinnati, which had a 31-24 edge after King opened the second half with a 3-pointer.

But St. Peter's rallied and took its largest lead, 58-53,0 on a layup by Tyiana Sears with 2:39 remaining.

The Peahens had a 59-57 lead after Lindsey Gonzalez made 1-of-2 free throws with 29 seconds to go, but Sharp sank a jumper with just six seconds left to force overtime.

St. Peter's missed all nine of its shots in the extra session, scoring its only points from the free-throw line. Cincinnati (27-4) made 4-of-7 shots and all eight of its in the final five minutes.

King buried a 3-pointer, a jump shot, sank two free throws and converted two three-points plays in the overtime. She made 4-of-5 shots in the extra session after making just 5-of-18 in regulation.

Sharp made 6-of-13, including 2-of-3 3-pointers for the Bearcats, who shot 44 percent (28-of-64) and limited the Peahens to 38 percent (26-of-68).

Debbie Merrill collected 16 points and 12 blocks for Cincinnati, which advanced to a second-round matchup with either host seed South Carolina or 14th seed Liberty on Monday.

Felicia Harris scored 17 points and Sears finished with 10 for St. Peter's (25-6), which was outscored, 40-24 in the paint.