Hoosiers use upset to head to 1st Elite 8

SAN ANTONIO — Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth-seeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State 73-70 on Saturday night, sending the Hoosiers to 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 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 30 seconds 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.

The Wolfpack weren’t done, with Raina Perez making a jumper in the lane to get N.C. State back within two with 13.5 seconds left. Patberg then hit one of two free throws to make it 73-70 and Cunane missed badly on a 3-point attempt just before the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration by the Hoosiers at midcourt.

Williams, Bueckers lead Huskies: The game was billed as a marquee matchup of uber-talented freshmen Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. While those two didn’t disappoint, it was Christyn Williams and UConn’s other upperclassmen who stepped up and helped the Huskies advance.

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

Bueckers and Iowa’s Clark had taken the women’s basketball world by storm this season. Bueckers became the third freshman ever to earn All-America honors. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament.

Clark, shadowed on defense by 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.