Huskies keep rolling
Connecticut wins 110th straight game
After watching Connecticut’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.
Napheesa Collier had 27 points and 14 rebounds for UConn (35-0), which shot 55.6% (30 for 54).
The fourth-seed Bruins jumped out a 9-2 lead before the Huskies scored 17 of the next 19 points. The sevenpoint deficit matched the Huskies’ largest this season.
The victory tied Auriemma with Pat Summitt for most NCAA Tournament victories. The two Hall of Fame coaches have 112 tournament victories.
Jordin Canada had 20 points and 11 assists for UCLA (25-9).
Oregon 77, Maryland 63: Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points, fellow freshman Ruthy Hebard had 16 and the 10th-seeded Ducks (23-13) continued their improbable run by beating the Terrapins (32-3) in Bridgeport.
Oregon put five players in double figures on its way to the first regional final in program history. Maryland, which averages more than 90 points a game to lead the nation, was held to its lowest point total this season. STOCKTON REGIONAL
South Carolina 100, Quinnipiac 58: Kaela Davis scored 28 points with 5 three-pointers as the Gamecocks (30-4) overpowered the upstart Bobcats (29-7) in Stockton, Calif.
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 and took more than seven minutes to score.
Florida State 66, Oregon State 53: Ivey Slaughter had a career-high nine steals, a school record in the NCAA Tournament, to help the Seminoles (28-6) hold off the Beavers (31-5) in Stockton.
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State’s leading scorer, wound up with just nine points on 3for-14 shooting and missed all 10 of her three-point attempts.