Perez’s late basket lifts NC State
BRIDGEPORT — Raina Perez’s steal at midcourt and layup with 14 seconds left lifted top-seeded N.C. State to a 66-63 win over fifth-seed Notre Dame on Saturday in the Bridgeport Region semifinals.
It’s the Wolfpack’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 1998 when they reached the Final Four.
Trailing 59-51 early in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack rallied, scoring 15 of the final 19 points capped by Perez’s layup. The Irish had one last chance, but Maddy Westbeld missed a 3-pointer from the wing and Perez hit both free throws for the final margin.
“We practice this and knew I could do it,“Perez said of the free throws. I’m just so happy I knocked them down.”
The Wolfpack had gotten within 63-62 when Elissa Cunane made the first of two free throws with 36 seconds left. After a Notre Dame timeout, the Irish got the ball inbounds in the backcourt and Dara Mabrey was stripped near midcourt by Perez, who took it in for the layup and the lead.
N.C. State (32-3) advanced to the regional final Monday night where it will face either second-seeded UConn.
Cunane scored 16 points and Kai Crutchfield added 14 for the Wolfpack, who avenged an earlier loss to the Irish on Feb. 1. That was N.C. State’s most recent loss of the season.
“It’s a hump we had to get over and the girls are determined and I’m determined and we made it happen.” said Crutchfield of reaching the regional final.
Olivia Miles scored 21 points and Westbeld added 13 for the Irish (24-9).
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey has the Irish back among the nation’s elite women’s basketball teams in her second season as head coach. The Irish missed the NCAAs last year for the first time since 1995.
The Wolfpack got off to a decent start and led 16-12 after one quarter before the Irish got going behind their freshman Miles. She and fellow first-year player Sonia Citron scored seven straight for the Irish to open up a 36-26 lead. The Wolfpack trailed 38-30 at the half. The lead stayed around eight for most of the third quarter before the rally by N.C. State.
LOUISVILLE 76, TENNESSEE 64
WICHITA, Kan. — Hailey Van Lith had 23 points and six assists, Emily Engstler had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Louisville held off Tennessee to reach the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive time.
Kianna Smith also had 12 points for the Cardinals (28-4), who blew most of an early 15-point lead before pulling away late in the fourth quarter to set up a date with either No. 3 seed Michigan or 10th-seeded South Dakota for a spot in the Final Four.
The Cardinals have become one of the nation’s dominant women’s programs under coach Jeff Walz — much like the Lady Vols were for so many years under Pat Summitt — but are still chasing their first national championship.
Rae Burrell led fourthseeded Tennessee (25-9) with 22 points, but she didn’t get a whole lot of help from her team, which had 18 turnovers. Jordan Walker contributed 10 points but had five of the turnovers.
The Cardinals asserted control midway through the first quarter, taking advantage off too many unforced errors by the Lady Vols. Kaiya Wynn’s turnover led to Van Lith’s easy transition layup, then Wynn missed a pair of foul shots and Burrell missed an open 3-pointer from the corner in the waning minutes that allowed Louisville to stretch its lead.
The trouble for Tennessee really began in the second quarter.
The Lady Vols turned the ball over on four of their first six possessions, often resulting in easy baskets at the other end, and the Cardinals seized on the momentum swing by slapping on a full-court press, too. Their lead ballooned to 27-13 before Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper called a timeout to rescue her team trapped in the backcourt.
The biggest reason Tennessee hung around, down 38-29 at the half, was decent defense of its own.
The Lady Vols finally got going on offense out of the break, with Burrell and Tess Darby as the catalysts. Darby was scoreless in the first half but hit three 3s in the third quarter, and Burrell also had nine points over that stretch, including a 3 that barely beat the buzzer to get the Lady Vols within 55-50 heading to the fourth.
The turnovers finally did them in, though.
Tennessee had closed within 55-53 on Burrell’s three-point play to begin the fourth quarter but coughed it up on three straight trips down floor. Engstler scored after the first turnover, Smith drained a 3-pointer after the second and Louisville quickly stretched the lead again, building a big enough cushion to coast into the regional finals.