UConn, South Carolina on collision course
ALBANY, N.Y. — Geno Auriemma and Connecticut are in a familiar place — the Elite Eight.
Napheesa Collier had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help top-seeded Huskies beat Duke 72-59 on Saturday and advance to the regional finals for the 13th consecutive season.
The Huskies’ senior duo of Gabby Williams and Kia Nurse was key on the defensive end to help UConn earn the win.
“We’re fortunate that our two seniors are two of the better defensive players in the country,” Auriemma said. “We can count on those two every game. Gabby’s going to play great every game. She plays at a certain level every game. Kia’s one of the toughest competitors we’ve had at Connecticut.”
UConn (35-0) will face defending national champion South Carolina on Monday night to try to advance to a record 11th straight Final Four.
“Last time we played them we got out to an early run so I don’t think any of us are expecting it to be easy (Monday),” said Williams, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists. “A’ja (Wilson) doesn’t want her college career to be over on Monday. We know they are going to put up a fight and it will be a battle.”
Duke had only given up an average of 49 points in its first two games of the Tournament. UConn had that by the end of the third quarter, much to the delight of the partisan crowd of 10,658.
Fifth-seed Duke (24-9) was down seven early in the second when the Blue Devils went cold from the field, going scoreless over the next 5½ minutes.
The Blue Devils cut their deficit to 12, but UConn scored the final eight points of the half, including a pullup by Williams just before the halftime buzzer to give UConn a 40-20 lead.
“You’ve got to be prepared for the whole 40 minutes,” Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. “UConn is good at responding to that. You’ve got to keep going and have immediacy and smarts . ... We did in circumstances, but we couldn’t get it across the board. They have too much experience not to, especially with Gabby and Nurse, they have too much experience.”
Duke was led by Leaonna Odom, who scored 22 points.
SOUTH CAROLINA 79, BUFFALO 63
A’ja Wilson, the consensus first pick in the next WNBA draft, had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Alexis Jennings added 20 points, and the Gamecocks held off the upstart Bulls.
“I just feel like my energy really helps my teammates,” Wilson said. “That’s the biggest thing. That’s my goal, whether it’s screaming at one or just screaming at everyone. That’s just how I operate. I really try to use that on every possession.”
Wilson’s three-point play gave the Gamecocks a 60-52 lead before Cierra Dillard’s driving layup off the glass with 6:38 left cut the deficit again. But Buffalo missed three straight shots and a fast-break layup by Doniyah Cliney gave South Carolina a 10-point lead with just over five minutes to go. The Gamecocks outrebounded Buffalo 48-21, outscored the Bulls 20-5 on second-chance points, and finished with a 5230 edge in the paint.
“We just did what we do best,” Jennings said.
Second-seeded South Carolina (29-6), whose only losses this season have come against ranked teams, will face topseeded and unbeaten UConn in the regional final on Monday night.
Dillard led Buffalo (29-6) with 29 points, the only Bulls player in double figures.