UConn advances with its 110th straight win

South Carolina hits 100, routs upstart Quinnipiac; Florida State also prevails

After watching UConn’s NCAA Tournament dominance mostly from the bench for three seasons, Saniya Chong finally made her mark.

Chong scored 16 points and came up with big plays on both ends of the court, and the top-seeded Huskies beat UCLA, 86-71, on Saturday to advance to the Bridgeport (Conn.) regional final.

“I was looking at the stat sheet, that’s more points tonight than in maybe the three previous NCAA tournaments combined,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “I said before the conference tournament at Mohegan that there are two guys we need them to play at, or above, their level and Saniya’s one of them. Today the effort and play of Saniya was, I thought, the difference in the game.”

It was the 110th straight victory for the No. 1 Huskies, who will face 10th-seeded Oregon on Monday night. The Ducks pulled off another surprise, topping Maryland to advance to their first Elite Eight.

“They don’t know enough to be either intimidated or pressured or anything you’d associate with a team doing this for the first time,” Auriemma said of the Ducks. “They are having fun and enjoying the moment as they should. It’s really neat to see. I said when Kelly Graves was hired that it won’t be long before they’re in the Final Four. I hope it’s not this early, but it won’t be long.”

Napheesa Collier had 27 points and 14 rebounds for UConn (35-0), which shot 55.6 percent (30-for-54) from the field.

Buoyed by the success of their Pac-12 partner, the fourth-seed Bruins (25-9) took a 9-2 lead over UConn before the Huskies scored 17 of the next 19 points. The seven-point deficit matched the Huskies’ largest this season.

“We like to say that to play with us it’s a marathon not a sprint,” said Gabby Williams, who had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists. “They came out hard, aggressive, there was 37 minutes left to play.”

The victory tied Auriemma with Pat Summitt for most NCAA tournament victories. The Hall of Fame coaches have 112 tournament victories.

SOUTH CAROLINA 100, QUINNIPIAC 58: Kaela Davis, A’ja Wilson and the top-seeded Gamecocks (30-4) overpowered the 12th-seeded Bobcats (29-7) from the opening tip, scoring the first 16 points and advancing to the Stockton regional final against third-seeded Florida State.

Davis scored 28 with five 3-pointers, Wilson added 24 and South Carolina’s athleticism and smothering, swarming defense was just too much for Quinnipiac on the Sweet 16 stage.

The Bobcats started out 0-for-10 from the field and took more than seven minutes to score.

The Gamecocks won their eighth in a row, putting coach Dawn Staley’s team in the Elite Eight for the second time in three years.

FLORIDA STATE 66, OREGON STATE 53: Ivey Slaughter had a career-high nine steals to rally the Seminoles (28-6) past the second-seeded Beavers (31-5), who made the Final Four last season.

Florida State trailed by as many as 17 points late in the first quarter and 10 midway through the second. Baylor 97, Louisville 63 Mississippi State 75, Washington 64 Mississippi State (32-4) vs. Baylor (33-3), 7:35 p.m. Notre Dame 99, Ohio State 76 Stanford 77, Texas 66 Notre Dame (33-3) vs. Stanford (31-6), 12:05 p.m. Oregon 77, Maryland 63 UConn 86, UCLA 71 Oregon (23-13) vs. UConn (35-0), 7 p.m. South Carolina 100, Quinnipiac 58 Florida State 66, Oregon State 53 South Carolina (30-4) vs. Florida State (28-6), 9 p.m. Bridgeport winner vs. Oklahoma City winner, time TBA Lexington winner vs. Stockton winner, time TBA Semifinal winners