Notre Dame gets past Oregon 84-74
Kathryn Westbeld scored 20 points, Jessica Shepard had 18 and Notre Dame reached the Final Four for the eighth time by defeating Oregon 84-74 on Monday night at Spokane, Wash.
Westbeld had been slowed by an ankle injury from the first round of the NCAA tournament and had scored a combined 12 points in the previous four games, but she teamed with Shepard for an inside attack that hurt the Ducks.
The Fighting Irish (33-3) outscored the Ducks 52-38 in the paint and had a 51-29 rebounding advantage in the Spokane Regional final.
It’s the sixth Final Four for the Irish since 2011. They’ll play Connecticut in a semifinal game Friday night at Columbus, Ohio.
Sabrina Ionescu led Oregon (33-5) with 26 points, but the Ducks struggled offensively over the final 20 minutes. Oregon made only eight of 31 shots in the second half and Ionescu had only seven points.
The Ducks were four for 15 on three-point shots after going into the game as the No. 2 team in the country with a 40.4% success rate.
Notre Dame’s defense was a big reason why Oregon shot poorly.
After a first half that was an offensive showcase, Notre Dame did a better job of pressuring Ionescu and getting the ball out of her hands. When she did get a shot attempt, it was often a challenged look.
Notre Dame took full advantage, starting the half on a 15-4 run, including three second-chance baskets and Jackie Young’s jumper with 30 seconds left in the third quarter that gave the Irish a 61-55 lead.
The Ducks closed to 6563 on Hebard’s fast-break layup — only the sixth field goal of the second half for Oregon. Free throws by Westbeld and Shepard’s basket after Ionescu missed pushed the lead to 69-63 with 4 minutes 50 seconds left. Westbeld scored again and the lead was 71-63.
Connecticut 94, South Carolina 65: Crystal Dangerfield scored 19 points in the first half and finished with 21, and the Huskies (36-0) won the Albany (N.Y.) Regional to reach the Final Four for the 11th consecutive year.
Gabby Williams scored 23 points for Connecticut, which scored the most points in program history for this round of the NCAA tournament. Williams was selected most outstanding player of the regional.
A’ja Wilson finished with 27 points in the last game of a stellar career with the Gamecocks (29-7). Coach Dawn Staley took her out with just over three minutes left and the team down 31 points.