Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Freshmen fuel upstart Oregon’s stunning win over Maryland
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Oregon’s young players say they feel excited and loose. They play that way, too.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 21 points, fellow freshman Ruthy Hebard had 16, and the 10th-seeded Ducks continued their improbable run through the NCAA Tournament with a 77-63 victory over Maryland on Saturday.
Oregon (23-13) had five players score in double figures on its way to the first regional final in program history. The Ducks will play No. 1 seed Connecticut in the next round on Monday.
“We’re just excited about everything,” Ionescu said. “None of our kids have experienced anything like this. So I think we’re just excited to advance and be able play another day and see where that takes us.”
Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each scored 16 points for third-seeded Maryland (32-3).
The Terrapins, who averaged more than 90 points a game to lead the nation, were held to their lowest point total this season. They turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 18 Oregon points.
Oregon coach Kelly Graves said before the game that his young team that starts three freshmen might not know it’s not supposed to be winning. The Ducks became the second No. 10 seed to advance to a regional final, joining the 1991 Lamar team.
“They just continue to show great poise,” Graves said.
Maite Cazorla scored 15 points, reserve Oti Gildon 11 and Lexi Bando 10 for the Ducks, who led by nine at halftime and made seven straight shots late in the third quarter to extend their advantage to 59-45.
The Terps, who average more than six 3-pointers a game, were 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
“They took the air out of the ball, which was a really smart move by them,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “We’ve seen that in the past. But we didn’t handle it well at all.”
Connecticut 86, UCLA 71 — At Bridgeport, Conn., Napheesa Collier had 27 points and 14 rebounds to help the top-seeded Huskies (350) get past the fourth-seeded Bruins (25-9).
The victory was the 110th straight for Connecticut and enabled Geno Auriemma to match Pat Summitt for the most NCAA Tournament coaching wins with 112.
Reed High School product Gabby Williams had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Huskies, who trailed 9-2 — matching their largest deficit of the season.
Jordin Canada had 20 points and 11 assists for UCLA.
STOCKTON REGION
Florida State 66, Oregon State 53 — At Stockton, Calif., Ivey Slaughter had 11 points, nine steals and eight rebounds for the third-seeded Seminoles (28-6), who overcame a 17-point first-quarter deficit to upend the second-seeded Beavers (315).
Sydney Wiese, Oregon State’s top scorer, mustered nine points on 3-for-14 shooting while missing all 10 of her 3-point tries.
Shakayla Thomas had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Florida State, which held the Beavers to 36.4 percent shooting.
South Carolina 100, Quinnipiac 58 — At Stockton, Calif., Kaela Davis scored 28 points and A’ja Wilson 24 for the top-seeded Gamecocks (304), who shot 61 percent and made 18 of 19 free throws in burying the 12th-seeded Bobcats (29-7).
Adily Martucci and Jen Fay each scored 12 points for Quinnipiac, which missed its first 10 shots and fell behind 16-0 as its 12-game win streak ended.