Saskatoon StarPhoenix

UConn women clinch another Final Four berth

- DOUG FEINBERG

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Napheesa Collier scored 28 points, Gabby Williams had 25 and UConn advanced to its 10th consecutiv­e Final Four with a 90-52 victory Monday over Oregon.

Kia Nurse of Hamilton, Ont., added 11 points for top-seeded UConn (36-0), which will face Mississipp­i State Friday in Dallas in the national semifinals. The win was the Huskies’ 111th consecutiv­e victory and moved coach Geno Auriemma past Pat Summitt for the most NCAA Tournament victories. Auriemma now has 113 and counting.

The Huskies jumped all over 10th-seeded Oregon (23-14), which had made an impressive run through the tournament.

Leading 6-4, UConn scored 17 straight points. Saniya Chong got the game-changing burst started with consecutiv­e three-pointers. Nearly 41/2 minutes later, she capped the burst with a layup that made it 23-4. Oregon closed to 3421 midway through the second quarter, but UConn put the game away by scoring 15 of the final 18 points of the half.

The Huskies had several questions heading into their first season since losing their big three of Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck to graduation.

But they have answered every test so far, turning away every challenge while remaining unbeaten.

Now UConn has a new trio leading the way. Collier and fellow sophomore Katie Lou Samuelson were honoured as AP all-Americans Monday with Williams, a junior, making the second team.

Meanwhile, Kaela Davis scored 23 points and A’ja Wilson added 16 as top-seeded South Carolina held off No. 3-seed Florida State 71-64 in a furious finish Monday night to win the Stockton Regional.

The Gamecocks are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2015 in pursuit of their first NCAA championsh­ip.

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