UConn moves into Sweet 16 with victory over Syracuse
Paige Bueckers scored 20 points and Aaliyah Edwards added 19 to help No. 1 seed UConn beat eighth-seeded Syracuse 83-47 on Tuesday night and advance to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
NCAA WOMEN
Once again the Huskies were missing coach Geno Auriemma, who is recovering from COVID-19. Chris Dailey filled in for the Hall of Fame coach, who celebrated his 67th birthday on Tuesday and could potentially rejoin the team this weekend for its next game.
The Huskies (26-1) got off to a slow start, a bit flummoxed by Syracuse’s zone defense.
With the game tied 8-8, Christyn Williams banked in a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock expired and then Bueckers scored off a steal to give the Huskies a five-point lead. They led 19-14 after one quarter and slowly pulled away from the Orange (15-9) to a 15-point halftime lead.
Bueckers, the freshman All-America guard, had 16 points in the half.
In the second half, the Huskies tore the zone apart with precision passing that led to easy layups.
Syracuse was led by its own talented freshman in 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso. She had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Stanford 73, Oklahoma State 62— Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford unleashed another barrage of 3-pointers as the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament booked yet another trip to the Sweet 16.
The Cardinal made 13 3-pointers after making 15 in their first-round win. All of those against Oklahoma State came in the first three quarters as Stanford built the lead as high as 20.
Stanford made the Sweet 16 for the 27th time in pursuit of its first national title since 1992.
The Cardinal (27-2) had four players score in double figures and all five starters made at least one 3-pointer as the Cowgirls struggled to cover every shooter.
Neferatali Notoa scored 14 for Oklahoma State (19-9). Michigan 70, Tennessee 55 —
Leigha Brown scored 23 points and Naz Hillmon added 19 to lead No. 6 seed Michigan to its first regional semifinals appearance with a win over third-seeded Tennessee.
The Wolverines had been 0-5 in the second round before pulling off the victory over the Lady Vols. As the final buzzer sounded, the Michigan players jumped into a group hug at center court and sang “it’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.”
Leading 18-16 with eight minutes left in the first half, Michigan (16-5) held Tennessee (17-8) to just one field goal the rest of the second quarter and built a 28-19 halftime lead.
Hillmon, the Big Ten Player of the Year, also had 15 rebounds as the Wolverines more than held their own on the glass against the Lady Vols, outrebounding them 42-40.
Georgia Tech 73, West Virginia 56 — Lotta-Maj Lahtinen scored 22 points, Lorela Cubaj had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 seed Georgia Tech used a big third quarter to beat No. 4 West Virginia.
The Yellow Jackets needed a second-half rally in the opening round against Stephen F. Austin — the fourthlargest comeback in tournament history — but had this game well in control with a 17-point lead over the Mountaineers to start the fourth.
Lahtinen was 9 of 16 from the field and struck for 17 points in the first half to dig the Yellow Jackets out of an early hole.
Georgia Tech (17-8) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in program history and first since 2012.
Esmery Martinez scored 13 points to lead West Virginia (22-7).
South Carolina 59, Oregon State 42 — Aliyah Boston scored 19 points and top seed South Carolina dominated after a close first quarter to beat eighth-seeded Oregon State, advancing to its seventh straight Sweet 16.
The Gamecocks (24-4) led by a point after one quarter but had built a 12-point lead by halftime and were up 5329 by the start of the fourth.
South Carolina, which won a national title in 2017, improved to 8-1 in the second round under coach Dawn Staley.
Taylor Jones scored 13 points for Oregon State (12-8), which ended a streak of four straight Sweet 16 appearances.
Baylor 90, Virginia Tech 48 — Moon Ursin and DiJonai Carrington both had 21 points as reigning women’s national champion Baylor advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Sweet 16.
Queen Egbo had a doubledouble with 12 points and 13 rebounds, along with seven blocked shots for the Lady Bears (27-2). DiDi Richards had nine assists.
All-America forward NaLyssa Smith finished with 15 points, all but two of those coming after halftime for Baylor. Smith got her second foul only seven minutes into the game, and didn’t return until getting two quick layups after the break.
Georgia Amoore had 18 points with four 3-pointers to lead Virginia Tech (15-10).
Iowa 86, Kentucky 72 — Freshman Caitlin Clark finished with 35 points after outscoring Kentucky on her own in the first half, and the fifthseeded Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16.
The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes (20-9) scored the game’s first 11 points and led throughout to advance past the second round for only the third time in their 14 NCAA appearances during coach Lisa Bluder’s 21 seasons.
They went to the Elite Eight in the last tourney two years ago before losing to eventual champion Baylor.
Two-time AP All-American guard Rhyne Howard finished with 28 points to lead the Wildcats (18-9).
NC State 79, South Florida 67 — Jakia Brown-Turner scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina State shrugged off a challenge from No. 8 South Florida with a big third quarter, advancing to the Sweet 16.
Jada Boyd added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack (22-2), who reached their third straight regional semifinal and 14th overall.
Elena Tsineke had 22 points to lead the Bulls.