Louisville and UConn advance in Albany Regional
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Sam Fuehring and Asia Durr each had 17 points and top-seeded Louisville clamped down on defense again, beating No. 4 Oregon State 61-44 on Friday night to reach the Elite Eight.
Louisville (32-3) will meet UConn (34-2) on Sunday for a berth in the Final Four. The Huskies defeated UCLA 69-61 in the first game. The Cardinals beat UConn 78-69 in late January.
Oregon State (26-8), 0-3 against Louisville, sputtered in the third quarter to fall behind by 16 and couldn't recover in the rematch of a regional final last year that Louisville won by 33.
Mikayla Pivec, who entered the game averaging 19.5 points in the tournament for Oregon State, finished with 17 points, the only player in double figures for the Beavers, who matched their season low in points.
No. 2 UCONN 69, No. 6 UCLA 61
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Napheesa Collier had 25 points and 10 rebounds to help UConn rally to beat UCLA.
Trailing 50-49 entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies scored the first six points of the period to start a 15-4 run.
Crystal Dangerfield, who had a quiet night until the fourth quarter, had a nifty lefty-handed layup high off the glass during the spurt. She had nine points during the game-changing burst. She finished with 15 points, 11 came in the fourth quarter.
Katie Lou Samuelson, who had gone without a basket in the first three quarters, finally scored to cap the run. The senior stole the ball near halfcourt then drove in for a layup and was fouled. She hit the ensuing free throw and the Huskies (34-2) were able to hold on for the win. Samuelson finished with six points on 1-for-6 shooting.
The loss ended a strong run for UCLA (22-13). Japreece Dean scored 16 points to lead the Bruins.
PORTLAND REGIONAL
No. 1 MISSISSIPPI STATE 76, No. 5 ARIZONA STATE 53
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Teaira McCowan had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and top-seeded Mississippi State earned a spot in the Elite Eight for the third straight season with a victory over Arizona State.
The Bulldogs (33-2) will face second-seeded Oregon.
Jazzmun Holmes had 13 points and seven assists, and Andra Espinoza-Hunter added 12 points for Mississippi State, which led by as many as 24 points.
Kianna Ibis had 16 points for the Sun Devils (22-11), who were vying for their first trip to the round of eight since 2009.
It was the 11th straight victory for the Bulldogs, who defeated Arkansas for the SEC Tournament title and won the regular-season conference title with a 15-1 record.
No. 2 OREGON 63, No. 6 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 53
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ruthy Hebard had 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and 11 assists to send Oregon to its third straight Elite Eight with a victory over South Dakota State.
Ionescu added seven rebounds to fall just short of a triple-double for the Ducks (32-4). On Sunday, Oregon will face top seed Mississippi State (33-2), which beat Arizona State 76-53 in the earlier game.
Oregon was spurred on by a huge contingent of its fans as attendance at the Moda Center was announced at 11,324.
Macy Miller had 21 points for South Dakota State (28-7), which had advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in school history. The loss snapped an 18-game winning streak for the Jackrabbits.