San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
WOLFPACK STEAL VICTORY
Raina Perez decided to come back for one more season and hopefully lift N.C. State to new heights. The senior guard did just that, helping the Wolfpack advance to their first regional final in 24 years.
The senior guard stole the ball at midcourt and made a go-ahead layup with 14 seconds left to send the topseeded Wolfpack to a 66-63 comeback win over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn.
It’s the Wolfpack’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 1998 when they reached the Final Four.
N.C. State had lost in the Sweet 16 the previous three tournaments and looked as if it was going to make it four straight until the late rally led by Perez and Kai Crutchfield, who also came back for the extra COVID year granted by the NCAA.
“For this group it would have been hard for me to face the fact they they all came back and we still didn’t get over the hump,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “That makes me feel really good and I’m so excited for our program to do this, kind of break through. It took a while four years of the Sweet 16 to get through that wall.”
It wasn’t the first time that Perez came up huge for the Wolfpack on a big stage. She hit the game-winning jumper to lift them to the ACC tournament championship last season.
Trailing 59-51 early in the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack rallied, scoring 15 of the final 19 points capped by Perez’s layup. The Irish had one last chance, but Maddy Westbeld missed a 3-pointer from the wing and Perez hit both free throws for the final margin.
The Wolfpack had gotten within 63-62 when Elissa Cunane made the first of two free throws with 36 seconds left. After a Notre Dame timeout, the Irish got the ball inbounds in the backcourt and Dara Mabrey was stripped near midcourt by Perez, who took it in for the layup and the lead.
N.C. State (32-3) advanced to the regional final Monday night where it will face second-seeded Uconn.
More Bridgeport Regional
No. 2 Connecticut 75, No. 3 Indiana 58: Paige Bueckers and Christyn Williams each scored 15 points to lead a balanced Uconn offense in a win over Indiana to advance the Huskies into their 16th consecutive women’s NCAA Tournament regional final.
Olivia Nelson-ododa had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds for Connecticut (28-5), which outscored the Hoosiers (24-9) 46-32 in the paint and went on a 16-0 run to start the second half to take control.
Wichita Regional
No. 1 Louisville 76, No. 4 Tennessee 64: Hailey Van Lith had 23 points and six assists, Emily Engstler had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Louisville held off Tennessee in Wichita, Kan., to reach the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive time.
Kianna Smith also had 12 points for the Cardinals (28-4), who blew most of an early 15-point lead before pulling away late in the fourth quarter to set up a date with No. 3 seed Michigan for a spot in the Final Four.
No. 3 Michigan 52, No. 10 South Dakota 49: Naz Hillmon had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Laila Phelia scored the go-ahead layup in the final minute for Michigan, which beat South Dakota to reach the Elite Eight for the first time.
Phelia scored 14 points and Leigha Brown added 10 for the Wolverines (25-6).
South Dakota (29-6) was trying to become just the fifth double-digit seed to reach the Elite Eight.
Notable
Syracuse hired Felisha Legette-jack as head coach of the women’s basketball program. The 55-year-old Legette-jack, a 1989 graduate of Syracuse and a twotime honorable mention Allamerican as a player, has been head coach at Buffalo for a decade.