Williams and Bueckers lead UConn into Elite 8
SAN ANTONIO — Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1 UConn to a 92-72 win over fifth-seeded Iowa on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The game featured a matchup of two extremely talented freshmen in Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. The friends had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season.
Bueckers became the third freshman to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament. They didn’t disappoint. Bueckers also had nine rebounds and eight assists for UConn, which raised its record to 27-1. She had a lot more help from her teammates as Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th triple-double in NCAA women’s tournament history, with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Aliyyah Edwards added 18 points.
Clark, shadowed on defense Williams on almost every possession, finished with 21 points — below her nearly 27-point a game average. She was just 7-for-21 from the field.
The game marked the return of UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who missed the opening two rounds because he was recovering from the coronavirus. Auriemma arrived in San Antonio on Wednesday.
Associate head coach Chris Dailey, who guided the team through the opening two wins, moved back to her customary seat at his side where she’s been for their entire time at UConn.
Williams missed five of her first seven shots before getting going on offense. She made six straight, including six in a row in the second quarter, to give UConn a 49-35 halftime lead. The junior wing had 14 points in the period.
“I started off a little rough, but I just kept shooting and they started falling,” Williams said.
Iowa (20-10), behind Clark, was able to get within nine twice in the fourth quarter but Bueckers answered with a 3-pointer each time and Iowa could get no closer.
BAYLOR 78, MICHIGAN 75
NaLyssa Smith scored 24 points and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, leading second-seeded Baylor to the victory.
Egbo gave Baylor a 78-75 lead with a foul shot with 19 seconds left. After Leigha Brown scored for Michigan, Egbo picked up an assist on Moon Ursin’s wide-open layup.
Akienreh Johnson missed a halfcourt try for sixth-seeded Michigan, and the Big Ten team was unable to get a last shot near the basket before time ran out.
INDIANA 73, NORTH CAROLINA ST. 70
Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help Indiana reach the regional final for the first time in school history.
Indiana (21-5) had been in the Sweet 16 just once before, back in 1983 before the women’s NCAA Tournament became a 64-team field.
No. 4 seed Indiana led 70-60 with 2:51 left before top-seeded N.C. State scored eight straight points to get within two with 1:21 left. The Wolfpack (22-3) had a chance to tie it, but Elissa Cunane missed a contested layup with 30 seconds left.
Raina Perez made a jumper in the lane to get N.C. State back within two with 13.5 seconds left. Patberg then hit one of two free throws to make it 73-70 and Cunane missed badly on a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer.
Jada Boyd scored 18 points for N.C. State, and Perez had 17.
ARIZONA 74, TEXAS A&M 59
Aari McDonald scored 31 points to lead No. 3 Arizona to a win over No. 2 Texas A&M and send the Wildcats to the regional final for the first time in program history.
The Wildcats had only made one previous trip the regional semifinals, when coach Adia Barnes was a player in 1998. This time they rode their Pac-12 player of the year and 13 3-pointers to the school’s biggest victory yet. McDonald was 6-of-12 shooting from long range.
She did it on both ends of the court. The Pac-12’s defensive player of the year shut down Aggies guard Jordan Nixon, whose late-game heroics had pulled Texas A&M through the first two rounds. Nixon finished with three points after scoring 35 in the second round.