Huskies make it 110 straight
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — 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 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.”
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-seeded Bruins jumped out to 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. The Huskies led by nine after one quarter and 17 at the half. “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 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 led five Oregon players in double figures with 21 points and the tenthseeded Ducks continued their improbable run through the NCAA Tournament with an upset win over third-seeded Maryland in Bridgeport, Conn. SOUTH CAROLINA 100, QUINNIPIAC 58: Kaela Davis, A’ja Wilson and top-seeded South Carolina overpowered NCAA Tournament surprise Quinnipiac from the opening tip, scoring the first 16 points and advancing to the Stockton Regional final by beating the 12thseeded Bobcats in Stockton, Calif. FLORIDA ST. 66, OREGON ST. 53: Ivey Slaughter started swiping to help Florida State discover its best defense from all angles, and the thirdseeded Seminoles erased a daunting deficit and ran right into the Stockton Regional final. —AP