Duquesne to face Dayton for big bid

After two unexpected wins, Duquesne — the No. 7 seed entering the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament — finds itself just 40 minutes from an equally unexpected bid to the NCAA tournament. The Dukes (18-14) defeated Saint Joseph’s, 78-63, in Richmond, Va., to advance to the championship at noon Sunday against Dayton (ESPNU).

Duquesne is the first No. 7 seed to reach an A-10 final, and was led by Chassidy Omogrosso (20 points) and Conor Richardson (17).

“We need to enjoy this for about an hour, and then we can't dream,” Duquesne coach Dan Burt said. “We do not have to play a perfect game [Sunday], but we'll have to be very good." Dayton defeated the Dukes twice in the regular season.

More Atlantic 10

Saicha Grant-Allen and Jenna Burdette each scored 13 points to lead Dayton (21-9) to a 75-65 win against Saint Louis (24-80) in the other semifinal.

ACC

Lexie Brown scored 20 points to help No. 13 Duke (27-4) beat 16th-ranked Miami (23-8), 57-52, in the semifinals in Conway, S.C. ... Marina Mabrey scored 26 points as No. 3 Notre Dame (29-3) beat 14th-ranked Louisville (27-7), 84-73.

Southeastern

A’ja Wilson had 26 points and No. 5 South Carolina (26-4) reached the final by beating Kentucky (21-10), 89-77, in Greenville, S.C.

Big Ten

Ashley Morrissette had 24 points as Purdue (21-11) upset No. 9 Ohio State (265), 71-60, in Indianapolis to reach the championship. ... Brionna Jones scored a career-high 32 points as No. 4 Maryland (29-2) beat Michigan State (21-11), 100-89.

Ohio Valley

Kylee Smith scored 30 points and Belmont (27-5) advanced to the NCAA tournament by routing Eastern Kentucky (12-20), 94-64.

PSAC

Shatara Parsons scored the winning basket with 3.4 seconds remaining as No. 5 California (28-2) claimed a 71-69 win against East Stroudsburg (19-9) in the semifinals in Shippensburg, Pa. ... IUP (22-6) earned a 67-58 overtime victory against host Shippensburg (24-6).

Division III

Tichina Mitchell had 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3 for 3 from 3point range, but La Roche (23-4) lost to Massachusetts Dartmouth (22-5), 7164, Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Montclair, N.J.