Women’s NCAA roundup

The Associated Press RIVER WALK REGION

• Christyn Williams scored 27 points and Paige Bueckers added 18 to lead No. 1UConn to a 92-72win over fifth-seeded Iowa on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The game featured a matchup of two extremely 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 All-America 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 and eight assists for UConn, which raised its record to 27-1. She had a lot more help from her teammates as Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th triple-double in NCAA women’s tournament history, with 17points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Aliyyah Edwards added 18 points.

Clark, shadowed on defense Williams on almost every possession, finished with 21 points — below her nearly 27-point a game average. She was just 7-for-21 from the field.

MERCADO REGION

• Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth-seeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State, 7370, sending the Hoosiers to the regional final for the first time in school history. Indiana (21-5) had been in the Sweet 16just 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 30seconds 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. Jada Boyd scored 18 points for N.C. State, and Raina Perez had 17.

The loss ended a wonderful season for the Wolfpack, who won the ACC Tournament title and earned the first No. 1seed in school history. N.C. State was trying to secure the program’s second Elite Eight berth and first since the 1998 tournament, when they were coached by the late Kay Yow.

• Aari McDonald scored 31 points to lead No. 3 Arizona to a 74-59 win over No. 2 Texas A&M 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. McDonald was 6-of-12shooting 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.