Huskies home in on Sweet 16 spot
Napheesa Collier scored 23 points and top-seeded UConn beat in-state neighbor Quinnipiac, 71-46, last night in Storrs, Conn., to advance to a 25th straight Sweet 16.
Azura Stevens added 14 points and Kia Nurse chipped in with 13 for the Huskies (34-0), who found themselves in a much slower-paced game than their 140-52 first-round rout of Saint Francis (Pa.).
But Connecticut was not threatened in this one either. They opened with a 9-2 run and never trailed.
Jen Fay had 12 points to lead the ninth-seeded Bobcats (28-6), who saw their school-record 23-game winning streak snapped.
Quinnipiac got plenty of open looks, but hit just 4-of-24 shots from 3-point range.
UConn shot 59 percent, held Quinnipiac to just 17 baskets on 56 shots (30 percent), and led 33-18 at halftime.
A pair of free throws by Stevens gave the Huskies their first 20-point lead late in the third quarter and it was 54-31 going into the fourth.
The Huskies were too big for the Bobcats, who had no player on the court over 6-foot tall.
They outrebounded Quinnipiac 33-21 and outscored them 28-14 in the paint.
It was just the second meeting between the two programs. The first, a 117-20 UConn win, came almost 20 years ago after Quinnipiac made the jump from Division 2.
Buffalo 86, Florida State 65 — Cierra Dillard scored 22 points and the 11th-seeded Bulls (29-5) shocked the No. 3 seed Seminoles (26-7) in Tallahassee, Fla., to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Duke 66, Georgia 40 — Leaonna Odom scored 16 points and the No. 5 Blue Devils (24-8) relied on a dominant defense to hold the No. 4 Bulldogs (26-7) to two second-quarter points in a second-round win in Athens, Ga.
Central Michigan 95, Ohio State 78 — In Columbus, Ohio, Presley Hudson scored 28 points and the No. 11 Chippewas (30-4) stunned the No. 3 Buckeyes (28-7) to earn the school’s first ever trip to the Sweet 16.
Stanford 90, Florida Gulf Coast 70 — Alanna Smith scored 28 points with four 3-pointers, Brittany McPhee added 17 points and nine rebounds and the No. 4 Cardinal (24-10) are headed back to the Lexington Regional for a third straight March after beating the scrappy No.12 Eagles (31-5) in Stanford, Calif.
UCLA 86, Creighton 64 — Jordin Canada scored 21 points and Japreece Dean added 16 points to lead the No.3 Bruins (26-7) to a victory over the No. 11 Blue Jays.
Texas 85, Arizona State 65 — Lashann Higgs scored 19 points and Brooke McCarty scored 15 as the No. 2 Longhorns (28-6) booked their fourth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16 with a win over the No. 7 Sun Devils (22-13) in Austin, Texas.