BUECKERS, UCONN PREVAIL IN BATTLE OF STAR FRESHMEN

Christyn Williams scored 27 points, Paige Bueckers had 18 and No. 1 Uconn beat fifth-seeded Iowa 92-72 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The game featured a matchup of 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 Allamerica 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

Uconn 92

Iowa 72 and eight assists for Uconn (27-1). Clark had 21 points for Iowa (20-10) on 7for-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.

No. 2 Baylor 78, No. 6 Michigan 75 (OT): Nalyssa Smith scored 24 points and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, leading Baylor to the victory.

Egbo gave Baylor (28-2) a 78-75 lead with a foul shot with 19 seconds left. After Leigha Brown scored for Michigan (16-6), Egbo picked up an assist on Moon Ursin’s wide-open layup.

Akienreh Johnson missed a half-court try for Michigan, and the Big Ten team was unable to get a last shot near the basket before time ran out.

Mercado Regional

No. 4 Indiana 73, No. 1 N.C. State 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.

Indiana led 70-60 with 2:51 left before N.C. State scored

Hemisfair Regional

(5) Georgia Tech vs. (1) South Carolina, 10 a.m., Ch. 10

(6) Texas vs. (2) Maryland, 6 p.m., ESPN

Alamo Regional

(5) Missouri St. vs. (1) Stanford, noon, Ch. 10

(6) Oregon vs. (2) Louisville, 4 p.m.,

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.

No. 3 Arizona 74, No. 2 Texas A&M 59: Aari Mcdonald scored 31 points to lead Arizona to past 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, who finished with three points after scoring 35 in the second round.

ESPN