Cotie McMahon scored 23 points as No. 3 Ohio State earned a 73-61 victory over No. 2 UConn in the Seattle 3 Regional on Saturday, ending UConn’s streak of consecutive Elite Eight appearances that dates to 2006.
And it will be the first time UConn hasn’t appeared in a Final Four since 2007. Meanwhile, Ohio State is in the regional final for the first time since 1993.
“I think Ohio State just outplayed us and took us out of a bunch of stuff that we want to do,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Again, it’s unfortunate that we chose tonight to play the way we did, but I think Ohio State had so much to do with that.”
UConn (31-6) led by eight points early, but then Ohio State (28-7) broke off a 15-2 run to start the second quarter to take an 11-point lead. The Huskies never got within two possessions of the lead from there. The Buckeyes led by as many as 18 points.
Jacy Sheldon added 17 points for Ohio State. UConn was led by 25 points from Lou Lopez Senechal.
“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” Auriemma said. “And it’s just a matter of time.”
No. 1 Virginia Tech 73, No. 4 Tennessee 64
Georgia Amoore scored 29 points as the Hokies extended their winning streak to 14 straight games by topping the Volunteers.
The Vols (25-12) cut the deficit to a single point in the fourth quarter, but the Hokies (30-4) went on a run to push their advantage back to 12 points. Virginia Tech shot 42.6 percent from the floor and forced Tennessee into 18 turnovers.
Tennessee’s loss marks just the third time ever that neither it nor UConn made the Elite Eight. The other times were 1985 and 1992.
Jordan Horston led the Vols with 17 points. Rickea Jackson had 15 points.
GREENVILLE 1 REGION
No. 1 South Carolina 59, No. 4 UCLA 43
Brea Beal had 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Gamecocks advanced to their third consecutive Elite Eight with an easy victory over the Bruins.
South Carolina – the tournament’s top overall seed – led wire-to-wire in a game where UCLA trailed by double digits for the majority of the second half. The Gamecocks (35-0) held a dominating 42-34 rebounding advantage and outscored the Bruins 26-16 in the paint.
Reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston had eight points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two blocks for the Gamecocks, while Bree Hall and Kamilla Cardoso each added 10 points. UCLA (27-10) was powered by Charisma Osborne’s 14 points and seven rebounds.
South Carolina will face No. 2 Maryland on Monday.
No. 2 Maryland 76, No. 3 Notre Dame 59
Shyanne Sellers tallied 18 points and a game-high eight assists as the Terrapins ran past the Fighting Irish.
Maryland advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2015. The Terps (28-6) trailed the Irish by eight points in the second quarter but broke off a 13-1 run in the third to take the lead. Maryland went on to lead by as much as 22 points. The Terps also got 18 points from Diamond Miller, 12 from Lavender Briggs and 11 from Abby Meyers.
Maryland forced Notre Dame (27-6) into a season-high 25 turnovers. Playing without injured starting guards Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey, Sonia Citron led the Irish with 14 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
“We knew they were a little bit on their heels without a point guard,” Sellers said. “So, just trying to make them really uncomfortable. And you saw that; we did that.”
–Field Level Media
