Bueckers, UConn delight in coveted Sweet 16 matchup against Iowa
Baylor beat Michigan in OT thriller, Hoosiers in 1st Elite 8
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.
"The fact there was so much hype on those two kids. part of it was unfair and comes with the territory," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Like I told the team before the game, in all these matchups, it comes [down] to somebody else. ... Our defence as bad as it was at times, was really, really good when it had to be. Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Olivia [Nelson-Ododa], our three juniors were amazing. played the way you wanted your upperclassmen to play. It was not going to be easy on either Caitlyn or Paige to play their normal game."
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 honours. Clark led the nation in scoring and came into the regional semifinals averaging 29 points in the tournament.
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"I was super excited for this game, just because of the spotlight on it," said Bueckers, who also had nine rebounds and eight assists. "And I know everybody hyped it up to be Caitlin versus Paige, but I was so excited for our team because I knew that people were going to come and notice and watch our whole team play."
Evina Westbrook just missed the 18th triple-double in NCAA women's tournament history, with 17 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists for UConn, which raised its record to 27-1. Nelson-Ododa added 11 rebounds and seven assists to go with four points. Freshman Aaliyah Edwards of Kingston, Ont., added 18 points.
Clark, shadowed on defence 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.
"I thought we played a great team basketball game," Williams said. "I think we were working on all cylinders today. So, I don't want to get all the credit, because this was a total team effort."
The game marked the return of Auriemma, who missed the opening two rounds while recovering from the coronavirus. Auriemma arrived in San Antonio on Wednesday.
Iowa (20-10), behind Clark, was able to get within nine twice in the fourth quarter but Bueckers answered with a 3-pointer each time and Iowa could get no closer.
"This season was truly special, and I think for this team it's only up from here. I know a lot of girls dream about going to all those blue bloods but I think playing for your home state is really something special and creating something is really special and that's my goal here," Clark said. "Obviously I still have three years left to do a lot of special things."
Baylor beats Michigan in OT thriller
NaLyssa Smith scored 24 points on a perfect shooting game and Queen Egbo made two big plays in the final seconds of overtime, helping No. 2 Baylor beat No. 6 Michigan 78-75.
Egbo gave Baylor a 78-75 lead with a foul shot with 19 seconds left. After Leigha Brown scored for Michigan, Egbo picked up an assist on Moon Ursin's wide-open layup.
Smith was 11 for 11 from the floor. Ursin had 20 points for Baylor (28-2), and Dijonai Carrington scored six of her 19 in overtime.
Baylor advances to Monday's River Walk Region final against top-seeded UConn.
Indiana in 1st Elite 8
Ali Patberg scored 17 points to help fourth-seeded Indiana beat No. 1 seed North Carolina State 73-70, 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.
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.
Indiana trailed 33-28 late in the first half before scoring the final six points of the second quarter. It carried the momentum into the third, opening a 45-35 lead. Indiana hit seven of its first eight shots in the period.
Patberg had seven points in the quarter as the Hoosiers, who face Arizona on Monday night in the Mercado Region final, led 58-48.
Aari McDonald leads Arizona past Texas A&M
As a player, Arizona coach Adia Barnes led the program on its deepest march into the women's NCAA Tournament in program history.
Until this year, that is. Her current Wildcats team has gone even farther.
Aari McDonald, the Pac-12 player of the year, scored 31 points No. 3 Arizona beat No. 2 Texas A&M 74-59 on Saturday night in the Sweet 16, sending the Wildcats to the regional final for the first time.
Arizona poured in 13 team 3-pointers with McDonald making six from long range.
"We are peaking at the right time," McDonald said. "We are ready to make more history."
The program had made only one previous trip to the Sweet 16 when Barnes was playing for the Wildcats in 1998. Now they advance to Monday night's Mercado Region final against No. 5 Indiana, which upset top-seed North Carolina State earlier Saturday.
"I was 20 when I graduated and we left our legacy," Barnes said. "So I always tell these young women, `Leave your legacy, leave your mark.' And all these players came when no one believed in Arizona."
McDonald had a game for the ages for Arizona (19-5) on both ends of the court. The conference defensive player of the year led the effort to shut down Texas A&M guard Jordan Nixon, whose late-game heroics carried the Aggies through the first two rounds.
Nixon scored 35 points in the second round, but managed just three points against the Wildcats. Aaliyah Wilson scored 17 points to lead Texas A&M (25-3).
