Connecticut forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa reaches for a rebound against Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes during a regional semifinal Saturday in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Bridgeport, Conn. Holmes, of Gorham, scored 12 points in Indiana’s 75-58 loss. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Over the past 25 years, UConn has been known for putting together lengthy scoring runs that turn tight games into blowouts.
Paige Bueckers and the Huskies did it again Saturday against Indiana, sending UConn to its 16th consecutive regional final.
Bueckers’ 3-pointer to open the third quarter began a 16-0 onslaught and the Huskies ran away for a 75-58 win in the Bridgeport Regional.
“We started pushing the ball in transition more; we got a few easy buckets there,” Bueckers said. “I thought we played with a lot better pace and just a lot better energy.”
Bueckers and Christyn Williams each scored 15 points and Azzi Fudd had 13 to lead UConn, which faces top-seeded North Carolina State on Monday night in an attempt to earn a 14th straight trip to the Final Four.
But it was in the lane where the Huskies dominated. Olivia Nelson-Ododa had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, and Connecticut (28-5) outscored the Hoosiers 46-32 in the paint. UConn also outrebounded Indiana 39-27, including 15-2 on the offensive end.
“Throughout the season, rebounding has been a point of emphasis, especially from the coaches,” Nelson-Ododa said. “Just going out there today, staying in an aggressive mentality and just keep attacking, keep crashing the boards was really huge for us.”
Ali Patberg, in her seventh year of college basketball thanks to transfer and COVID-19 rules, had 16 points for the third-seeded Hoosiers (24-9). Grace Berger had 13 points and Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham added 12.
“I’m not a good loser,” Patberg said. “So this is not how I envisioned going out. But I’m just thankful that Coach (Teri) Moren believed in me five years ago and gave me an opportunity to wear Hoosier on my chest. I just hope that the time I had at IU, people just remember how hard I played and I was a good teammate and worked as hard as I could.”
Indiana opened with an 8-2 run, but UConn came back to lead 37-33 at the half.
Williams’ layup put UConn up by double digits for the first time at 44-33. A free throw from Aaliyah Edwards (nine points, 10 rebounds) capped the run and gave the Huskies their first 20-point advantage at 53-33.
“During that stretch, there was a look about us that we felt exceptionally confident,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “We knew exactly where we were going. We knew where the ball was going. We knew where the shots were coming from. We could pick and choose which shots we wanted to take, and we got more layups than we had gotten in the previous two quarters.”
Indiana outscored UConn 13-6 to close the third quarter and cut the deficit to 11 midway through the fourth on a basket by Holmes.
But Bueckers responded at the other end and the Hoosiers could not close the gap any further.
The Huskies got a first-quarter scare when Bueckers went down on a steal attempt and grabbed her surgically repaired left knee. She ran to the bench and had it worked on by trainers, but returned for the start of the second quarter. She played 33 minutes in her eighth game back from the injury that kept her out more than two months.
“It’s been a little bit of finding ourselves again, how much do we want to cheer for Paige and how much do we need to just play basketball and make shots and let her figure her own way out there,” Auriemma said. “Today she took a more assertive role, which I like for her to do.”
North Carolina State guard Raina Perez makes a layup after a steal to give the Wolfpack a one-point lead with 14 seconds left in the Sweet 16 win over Notre Dame in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 66, NOTRE DAME 63: Raina Perez’s steal at midcourt and layup with 14 seconds left lifted top-seeded N.C. State (32-3) to a win over fifth-seed Notre Dame (24-9).
It’s the Wolfpack’s first trip to the Elite Eight since 1998, when they reached the Final Four.
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.
“We practice this and knew I could do it,” Perez said of the free throws. I’m just so happy I knocked them down.”
The Wolfpack got within 63-62 when Elissa Cunane made the first of two free throws with 36 seconds left. After a Notre Dame timeout, Dara Mabrey was stripped near midcourt by Perez, who took it in for the layup and the lead.
Cunane scored 16 points and Kai Crutchfield added 14 for the Wolfpack, who avenged their most recent loss, 69-66 at Notre Dame on Feb. 1.
“It’s a hump we had to get over and the girls are determined and I’m determined and we made it happen.” said Crutchfield of reaching the regional final.
Olivia Miles scored 21 points and Westbeld added 13 for the Irish.
Notre Dame Coach Niele Ivey has the Irish back among the nation’s elite women’s basketball teams in her second season as head coach. The Irish missed the NCAAs last year for the first time since 1995.
The Wolfpack got off to a decent start and led 16-12 after one quarter before the Irish got going behind their freshman, Miles. She and fellow first-year player Sonia Citron scored seven straight for the Irish to open up a 36-26 lead. The Wolfpack trailed 38-30 at the half. The lead stayed around eight for most of the third quarter.
WICHITA REGION
LOUISVILLE 76, TENNESSEE 64: Hailey Van Lith had 23 points and six assists, Emily Engstler added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Louisville held off Tennessee 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 either No. 3 seed Michigan or 10th-seeded South Dakota for a spot in the Final Four.
The Cardinals have become one of the nation’s dominant women’s programs under Coach Jeff Walz but are still chasing their first national championship.
Rae Burrell led fourth-seeded Tennessee (25-9) with 22 points, but she didn’t get a whole lot of help from her team, which had 18 turnovers.
MICHIGAN 52, SOUTH DAKOTA 49: Naz Hillmon had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Laila Phelia scored the go-ahead layup in the final minute for No. 3 Michigan, which beat No. 10 seed 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).
Michigan will play No. 1 seed Louisville in the regional final on Monday.
South Dakota (29-6) was trying to become just the fifth double-digit seed to reach the Elite Eight. Hannah Sjerven had 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out, while Chloe Lamb, the Summit League Player of the Year who averaged 16 points per game, was held to six points.
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