Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Williams, Bueckers lead UConn past Iowa in Sweet 16
The game was billed as a marquee matchup of uber-talented freshmen Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. While those two didn’t disappoint, it was Christyn Williams and UConn’s other upperclassmen who stepped up and helped the Huskies advance.
Williams scored 27 points and Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1 UConn to a 92-72 win over fifth-seeded Iowa (20-10) on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
“The fact there was so much hype on those two kids. part of it was unfair and comes with the territory,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
Bueckers and Iowa’s Clark had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season. Bueckers became the third freshman ever to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament.
“I was super excited for this game, just because of the spotlight on it,” said Bueckers, who also had nine rebounds and eight assists.
“And I know everybody hyped it up to be Caitlin versus Paige, but I was so excited for our team because I knew that people were going to come and notice and watch our whole team play.”
Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th triple-double in NCAA women’s tournament history, with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists for UConn, which raised its record to 27-1. Nelson-Ododa added 11 rebounds and seven assists to go with four points. Freshman Aaliyah Edwards added 18 points.
The game marked the return of Auriemma, who missed the opening two rounds while recovering from the coronavirus. BAYLOR 78, MICHIGAN 75, OT » NaLyssa Smith scored 24 points and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, leading second-seeded Baylor (28-2) over Michigan (166). INDIANA 73, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 70 » Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help Indiana (21-5) beat North Carolina State (22-3) and reach 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 (19-5) over No. 2 Texas A&M (25-3) and send the Wildcats to the regional final for the first time in program history.