NCAA roundup: UConn’s Final Four streak ends with 73-61 loss to Ohio State
SEATTLE — UConn’s record Final Four run is over, thanks to a monumental performance by Ohio State.
The Buckeyes ended UConn’s unprecedented streak of reaching 14 consecutive Final Fours, beating the Huskies 73-61 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
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“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s just a matter of time. I mean, it’s not if it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time when it’s going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later.”
Cotie McMahon scored 23 points for the Buckeyes, who snapped their three-decade Elite Eight drought. The Buckeyes hadn’t made a regional final since 1993, when they eventually lost in the title game to Texas Tech.
“When I had the opportunity to come to Ohio State, this was certainly the goal and the vision to go farther than they have been going,” said coach Kevin McGuff, who had never beaten UConn. “It’s not easy to get here, obviously. But I’m really proud of our team and our program of how we’ve evolved to be able to get to this point.
“Like I said, I mean, I have so much respect for Geno and his staff and all that they have accomplished. So for us to be able to win this game in the Sweet 16 is obviously extremely significant. They’re just hard to beat. They’re so well-coached. So this is a great win for us.”
The third-seeded Buckeyes (28-7) forced No. 2 seed UConn (31-6) into 25 turnovers, ending the Huskies’ season before the national semifinals for the first time in 14 seasons. UConn hadn’t been eliminated this early since 2006.
“It’s an impossibility to do what we have done already,” Auriemma said. “What’s the next highest streak? … And you take that in stride and you say, yeah, it was great while it lasted and it’s a credit to all the players that we had and all the times that you have to perform really, really well at this level.”
Ohio State will play Virginia Tech on Monday night in the Seattle 3 Region final with a trip to Dallas at stake. The Hokies beat Tennessee 73-64.
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VIRGINIA TECH 73, TENNESSEE 64
SEATTLE (AP) — Georgia Amoore scored a career-high 29 points and top-seeded Virginia Tech advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history with a win over Tennessee.
The Hokies (30-4) won their 14th straight game overall and advanced to a matchup with No. 3 seed Ohio State in the Seattle 3 Regional final on Monday night. Ohio State topped UConn in the first semifinal, ending the Huskies’ streak of 14 straight Final Four appearances.
Amoore and the Hokies used a dominant stretch spanning the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third that built enough of a cushion to hold off Tennessee’s valiant rally over the final 12 minutes.
Amoore attempted 19 3-pointers in the Hokies’ second-round win, but shot only 14 this time around.
Jordan Horston led Tennessee (25-12) with 17 points.
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SOUTH CAROLINA 59, UCLA 43
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Reigning national champion South Carolina turned in its latest overwhelming defense-and-rebounding-first performance to beat UCLA.
Aaliyah Boston had eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, and Kamilla Cardoso had 10 points for the Gamecocks (35-0), the top overall tournament seed. It was South Carolina’s 41st consecutive victory and secured the program’s sixth trip to the Elite Eight under Dawn Staley.
The Gamecocks will play for their fifth trip to the Final Four in Monday’s Greenville 1 Region final against No. 2 seed Maryland.
Charisma Osborne scored 14 points to lead the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-10), who were in the Sweet 16 for the eighth time and first since 2019.
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MARYLAND 76, NOTRE DAME 59
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Diamond Miller scored 14 of her 18 points in the final two quarters to lead second-seeded Maryland over depleted Notre Dame and into the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.
Shyanne Sellers also had 18 points for the Terrapins (28-6), who used a third-quarter burst to put away the third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6). Maryland will play South Carolina on Monday for a Final Four berth.
Sonia Citron led the Fighting Irish with 14 points, their only double-figure scorer.
Notre Dame was again without leading scorer Olivia Miles, who injured a knee in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
