Hoosiers use upset to head to 1st Elite 8

SAN ANTONIO — Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth-seeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State 73-70 on Saturday night, sending the Hoosiers to 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.

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 star Elissa Cunane missed a contested layup with 30 seconds left.

Nicole Cardano-Hillary then made two free throws with 21.1 seconds left. Before those two from the line, Indiana had been a dismal 6 for 13 on free throws.

The Wolfpack weren’t done, with Raina Perez making 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, setting off a wild celebration by the Hoosiers at midcourt.

Williams, Bueckers lead Huskies: 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 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona cruises: Aari McDonald scored 31 points to lead No. 3 Arizona to a 74-59 win over No. 2 Texas A&M on Saturday night in the Sweet 16 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.