Uconn cruises into Elite Eight
Williams leads Huskies past Clark, No. 5 Iowa
Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1 Uconn to a 92-72 win over fifth-seeded Iowa on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The game featured a matchup of two extremely talented freshmen in Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. The friends had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season.
Bueckers became the third freshman to earn All-america honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament. They didn’t disappoint. Bueckers also had nine rebounds and eight assists for Uconn, which raised its record to 27-1. She had a lot more help from her teammates as Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th tripledouble in NCAA women’s tournament history, with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Aliyyah Edwards added 18 points.
Clark, shadowed on defense by Williams on almost every possession, finished with 21 points — below her nearly 27-point a game average. She was just 7-for-21 from the field.
The game marked the return of Uconn coach Geno Auriemma, who missed the opening two rounds because he was recovering from the coronavirus. Auriemma arrived in San Antonio on Wednesday.
Baylor 78, Michigan 75 (OT):
Nalyssa Smith scored 24 points on a perfect shooting game and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of OT, helping No. 2 Baylor beat
No. 6 Michigan in the Sweet 16.
Indiana 73, NC State 70: Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth-seeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State, sending the Hoosiers to the regional final for the first time in school history.
Arizona 74, Texas A&M 59:
Aari Mcdonald scored 31 points to lead No. 3 Arizona to a win over No. 2 Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 and send the Wildcats to the regional final for the first time in program history.