CONNFIDENT
With Geno back on bench, top seed Huskies reach another Elite Eight
Christyn Williams scored 27 points, Paige Bueckers had 18 and No. 1 Connecticut beat fifth-seeded Iowa 92-72 on Saturday in San Antonio in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The game featured a matchup of talented freshmen: 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 (27-1). Clark had 21 points for Iowa (20-10) on 7-for-21 shooting.
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.
Next up for the Huskies is Baylor on Monday night in the River Walk regional final.
Fourth-seeded Hoosiers knock off top seed N.C. State
In San Antonio, Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourthseeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State 73-70, sending the Hoosiers to a 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.
Indiana led, 70-60, with 2:51 left before 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.
The Hoosiers will face Arizona on Monday night in the Mercado regional final.
No. 2 Bears survive sixth-seeded Wolverines
In San Antonio, NaLyssa Smith scored 24 points on a perfect shooting game and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, helping No. 2 Baylor beat No. 6 Michigan 78-75 in the Sweet 16.
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.
Smith was 11 for 11 from the floor. Ur sin had 20 points for Baylor (28-2).
Brown scored 23 for Michigan (16-6), which had never before advanced this far in the tournament.
No. 3 seed Arizona clamps down on No. 2 Texas A&M
In San Antonio, Aari McDonald scored 31 points to lead No. 3 Arizona to a 74-59 win over No. 2 Texas A&M to send the Wildcats to the regional final for the first time in program history.
The Wildcats (19-5) 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.
Aaliyah Wilson scored 17 points to lead the Aggies (25-3).