Women’s NCAAWrapup UCONN CLOSER TO FINAL FOUR AFTER ITS RECORD ROUT
bridgeport, conn. » Breanna Stewart and the powerhouse UConn Huskies took notice of the major upsets Friday night. They needed only four minutes to put to rest any notion of that happening to them.
Stewart’s 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots led No. 1 UConn to a record-setting, 98-38 rout of fifth-seeded Mississippi State on Saturday.
“Crazy things happen in March,” said Stewart, a two-time national player of the year. “We wanted to make sure when we came out today that wasn’t going to happen with us.” It hasn’t in quite some time. The win was the 72nd straight for UConn (35-0) and left the Huskies just three victories shy of an unprecedented fourth consecutive national championship. Their road to that historic title became a bit easier Friday night when top seeds South Carolina and Notre Dame bowed out in the Sweet 16.
“It was an awakening for our players and everyone else,” said UConn coach Geno Auriemma. “If you show up inMarch and don’t bring your A-game and your guys aren’t focused and locked in and playing their best basketball, this can happen.”
UConn will face Texas in the Bridgeport Regional title game Monday night. Imani Boyette scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading second-seeded Texas to a come-from-behind, 72-64 win over UCLA in the Bridgeport Regional semifinals. BrookeMcCarty added 15 points for the Longhorns (31-4), who will play in their first regional final since 2003. Monique Billings scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for UCLA, which finished 26-9. Jordin Canada also had 20 points for the third-seeded Bruins. … Nina Davis scored 30 points and Baylor is going to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year after a 78-58 victory over Florida State. The Lady Bears (36-1), the No. 1 seed in the Dallas Regional, went ahead to stay with a 15-3 run to end the first quarter after an early flurry of turnovers led to frustrated coach Kim Mulkey calling a timeout. Alexis Jones added 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Baylor, which extended its winning streak to 23 games. Khadijiah Cave contributed 10 rebounds. Leticia Romero had 11 points for fifth-seeded Florida State (25-8), which made consecutive Sweet 16 appearances for the first time in school history. … JamieWeisner had career highs with 38 points and seven 3-pointers, helping Oregon State advance to its first regional championship game with an 83-71 victory over DePaul. Weisner also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Beavers (31-4), the No. 2 seed in the Dallas Regional. They will play Baylor on Monday night for a berth in the Final Four. The Associated Press