Paige Bueckers exploded for 29 of her career-high 40 points in the second half as No. 2-seeded UConn dominated the final 20 minutes to blow out No. 3 Oklahoma 82-59 in Saturday’s Spokane Region 4 Sweet 16 matchup in Spokane, Wash.
Bueckers’ 40 points also set the UConn program record for the most in an NCAA Tournament game. The win sends UConn to a third straight Elite Eight, where the Huskies will face No. 1 Southern California.
The Huskies (34-3) went on a 16-4 run coming out of intermission, flipping a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead in less than five minutes. Bueckers bookended the spurt with a pair of jump shots, including a 3-pointer right out of the break that was set up by a Jana El Alfy offensive board and Azzi Fudd assist.
The rebound was one of nine for El Alfy, and Fudd’s assist was one of five. Bueckers, meanwhile, kick-started a stellar second half for herself.
She shot 12-of-16 from the floor after halftime, including 5-of-6 from 3-point distance. Bueckers finished 6-of-8 from long range for the game and 16-of-27 from the field overall.
The All-American also grabbed six rebounds, swiped three steals and blocked a pair of shots. Bueckers’ new career-high comes one game after she matched her previous personal best of 34 points in UConn’s second-round win over South Dakota State.
Oklahoma (27-8) — which built its first-half lead successfully playing from inside-out, scoring 18 points in the paint by halftime then getting nine of Payton Verhulst’s 13 first-half points on 3-pointers — had no answers in the second 20 minutes.
The Sooners shot just 7-of-28 in the second half and committed 10 turnovers, which UConn turned into 10 points.
After coughing up nine first-half turnovers, the Huskies committed only one in the second half.
Ashlynn Shade had 12 points for UConn, Fudd added 10 points and Sarah Strong recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds despite shooting only 4-of-13 from the floor.
Verhulst led Oklahoma with 16 points, while Raegan Beers recorded 10 point and 10 boards.
No. 1 USC survives rough shooting night, tops No. 5 Kansas St.
Avery Howell scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half and No. 1 seed Southern California endured the absence of star JuJu Watkins to advance to the Elite Eight with a 67-61 win over No. 5 seed Kansas State in Spokane Region 4 on Saturday.
The Trojans (31-3), playing their first full game since Watkins’ season-ending knee injury, trailed by two at halftime after struggling offensively. USC shot just 29.7 percent from the floor in the half — and only 6-of-28 outside of Kennedy Smith.
Smith scored 11 points in the half as USC dealt now only with Watkins’ absence but also shooting woes for Kiki Iriafen. She entered averaging 18.6 points per game, second only to Watkins (23.9), but was held to seven points on 3-of-13 shooting against Kansas State. She was coming off a 36-point game in the second round.
USC weathered its offensive inconsistency on Saturday by turning up the defensive pressure on the Wildcats. The Trojans forced 16 turnovers and converted them into 18 points, while also limiting Kansas State to 5-of-16 shooting from 3-point range.
The Wildcats (28-8) leaned on Serena Sundell, who scored 22 points. She netted 12 in the second half, while Ayoka Lee notched 10 of her 12 points after intermission, but USC limited the rest of the Kansas State roster to just nine points in the final two quarters.
The Trojans defense held the Wildcats scoreless for a 3:11 stretch in the third period that proved pivotal, outscoring the Wildcats 12-0. Kansas State clawed back to force a 51-51 tie but could not retake the lead.
A nearly two-minute scoreless spell in the final three minutes finished the Wildcats, as USC gave itself breathing room thanks to free throws from Smith and Howell.
Smith finished with 19 points and three steals. Rayah Marshall chipped in 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Howell and Iriafen each snared eight rebounds. Lee had 10 boards.
The win sends USC into Monday’s Elite Eight for a matchup with No. 2 UConn, which dominated the second half in an 82-59 rout of No. 3 Oklahoma.
Madison Booker, defense carry Texas past Tennessee
Madison Booker scored 17 points, capped by two key free throws with 35.1 seconds to play, as No. 1 Texas outlasted No. 5 Tennessee 67-59 on Saturday afternoon in a Birmingham 3 Region semifinal in Birmingham, Ala.
The Longhorns (34-3) advance to the Elite Eight to square off against No. 2 TCU, a 71-62 winner over No. 3 Notre Dame in the region’s first semifinal, on Monday. Texas, which hasn’t won the national championship since 1986 when it went 34-0, reached the Elite Eight for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
The contest was tied at 50-50 heading into the fourth quarter before the Longhorns took the lead for good on Booker’s bucket with 6:29 remaining. Taylor Jones’ layup stoked the Longhorns’ margin to 63-58, and Tennessee never got closer than four points the rest of the way.
Jordan Lee added 13 points for Texas, with freshmen Jones and Bryanna Preston scoring a dozen each.
Ruby Whitehorn led Tennessee (24-10) with 16 points. Zee Spearman had 13 and Samara Spencer scored 12 for the Lady Volunteers, who made only 5 of their 26 3-point shots.
The Lady Vols went scoreless over the final 4:37 of the first period as Texas garnered a 21-13 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Tennessee rallied to tie the game at 28 on Whitehorn’s 3-pointer with 2:07 to play in the second period before Texas ran off six of the final eight points of the half and led 34-30 at the break.
Four players scored six points each to lead the Longhorns’ offense before halftime as Texas shot 55.6 percent from the floor. Whitehorn paced all scorers with nine points in the first half.
A 3-pointer by Lee three minutes into the third quarter pushed Texas’ lead to 41-34 before the Lady Vols roared back, using a 15-6 run capped by Whitehorn’s jumper with 40 seconds left to leapfrog to a 49-47 advantage. The game was tied at 50-50 heading to the final period.
Lith’s big second half carries No. 2 TCU past No. 3 Notre Dame
Hailey Van Lith poured in 26 points, 18 of them in the second half, as No. 2 TCU came from behind to beat No. 3 Notre Dame 71-62 on Saturday afternoon in an NCAA Women’s Championship regional semifinal in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Horned Frogs (34-3) advance to the Elite Eight to square off on Monday (time to be announced) against No. 1 Texas, which defeated fifth-seeded Tennessee 67-59 in Saturday’s second semifinal. It is TCU’s first trip to an NCAA regional final in program history.
Notre Dame led by two points at halftime and by as many as nine early in the third quarter before the Horned Frogs rallied to take a 58-52 advantage on a jumper by Van Lith two minutes into the final period. From there, TCU rode Van Lith’s hot hand and savvy ball handling to finish off the victory.
Sedona Prince added 21 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots for the Horned Frogs while Madison Conner hit for 13 points.
Liatu King led Notre Dame (28-6) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hannah Hidalgo added 15 points and Olivia Miles had 10 for the Fighting Irish in the loss.
Notre Dame trailed by a point after one period before jumping to the front at 24-20 after a jumper by Miles with 8:49 to play in the second quarter. Notre Dame held the lead the rest of the half but never by more than four points, with the margin trimmed to 35-33 when the Horned Frogs’ Donovyn Hunter converted two free throws with 33 seconds to play until halftime.
Prince, Conner (nine points each) and Van Lith (eight) combined for all but seven of TCU’s points in the first half while King led the Fighting Irish with eight points and five rebounds before the break.
Notre Dame expanded its advantage to 46-37 when Hidalgo hit a pair of free throws with 5:51 to play in the third quarter. King’s layup at the buzzer gave Notre Dame a one-point lead heading into the fourth.