Women’s college basketball Saturday’s results

REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

UConn 98, Mississippi State 38

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.

Breanna Stewart had 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead No. 1 UConn to a record rout of fifth-seeded Mississippi State. The win was the 72nd straight for UConn (35-0) and left the Huskies three victories shy of an unprecedented fourth consecutive national championship. Their road to that historic title got a bit easier on Friday night when top seeds South Carolina and Notre Dame both lost in the Sweet 16. Stewart and the Huskies were determined to make sure that the upset trend didn’t continue Saturday. The best team in the nation put together one of its most dominant games during this run, needing just four minutes to quash any thoughts of the Bulldogs pulling off the victory. The victory supplanted the record 51-point win the Huskies had over Texas in the regional semifinals last year that set the NCAA record for margin of victory in the regional rounds and beyond. UConn will face either the Longhorns or UCLA in the regional final Monday night.

Texas 72, UCLA 64

BRIDGEPORT, CONN.

Imani Boyette scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead second-seeded Texas to a come-from-behind win over UCLA in a Bridgeport Regional semifinal. Brooke McCarty added 15 points for the Longhorns (31-4), who will play in their first regional final since 2003. Monique Billings scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for UCLA, which finishes its season at 26-9. Jordin Canada also had 20 points for the third-seeded Bruins. UCLA led by 10 points in the second quarter, five points at the half and 54-48 after three quarters. But Texas scored the first 10 points of the fourth to take the lead for good. Texas’ Ariel Atkins made a three-point play, hitting a shot as she falling down in the lane while being fouled, to push the lead to 63-56 and the Longhorns hit their free throws down the stretch. UCLA missed its last nine shots.Texas will play UConn in the regional final. The top-seeded Huskies routed Mississippi State 98-38 in Saturday’s first semifinal.

Baylor 78, Florida St. 58

DALLAS

Nina Davis scored 30 points and Baylor is going to the Elite Eight for the third straight year after a victory over Florida State. The Lady Bears (36-1), the No. 1 seed in the Dallas Regional, went ahead to stay with a 15-3 run to end the first quarter after an early flurry of turnovers led to frustrated coach Kim Mulkey calling timeout. Alexis Jones added 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Baylor, which has a 23-game winning streak. Khadijiah Cave had 10 rebounds. Leticia Romero had 11 points for fifth-seeded Florida State (25-8), which made consecutive Sweet 16 appearances for the first time in school history. Ivey Slaughter and Shakayla Thomas each had 10 points.

Oregon State 83, DePaul 71

DALLAS

Jamie Weisner had career highs with 38 points and seven 3-pointers and Oregon State advanced to its first women’s NCAA Tournament regional final with a victory over DePaul. Weisner also had 10 rebounds for the Pac-12 champion Beavers (31-4), the No. 2 seed in the Dallas Regional. They will play top-seeded Baylor (36-1) on Monday night with a Final Four berth on the line. Sydney Wiese added 13 points for Oregon State, including three 3-pointers in an early 3-minute span when the Beavers went ahead to stay. Ruth Hamblin also scored 13 points. DePaul (27-9) was in its fourth Sweet 16 under 30-year coach Doug Bruno, but has never gotten farther in the tournament.

Associated Press