WOMEN’S NCAA BASKETBALL REGIONAL FINALS

Oregon 88, Mississippi State 84

PORTLAND, ORE

Thanks to another stellar performance from Sabrina Ionescu and a lift from a home-state crowd, Oregon is heading to its first women’s Final Four. Ionescu had 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the second-seeded Ducks beat No. 1 seed Mississippi State. Satou Sabally had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Ducks (33-4), who head to Tampa to face the winner of today’s game between top overall seed Baylor and Iowa. At the final buzzer, Ionescu jumped into teammate Ruthy Hebard’s arms, and coach Kelly Graves flashed an ‘O’ with his hands to the crowd. The Ducks had been eliminated in the Elite Eight the past two seasons. Teaira McCowan had 19 points and 15 rebounds in her final game for the Bulldogs (33-3), who had played in the NCAA title game for the past two seasons. Two of Mississippi State’s losses this season were to Oregon — the first one a true road game.

No. 2 UConn 80, No. 1 Louisville 73

ALBANY, N.Y.

Katie Lou Samuelson put UConn on her injured back and shot the Huskies into a record 12th straight Final Four. Samuelson scored 29 points and second-seeded UConn held off No. 1 Louisville in the Albany Regional Final. “She made some shots today that only really special players make at this particular time,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “This is when players separate themselves in these games.” The Huskies (35-2) have won six national championships and had a 111-game winning streak during their remarkable Final Four run. They will be looking to try and reach the title game for the first time in three years after they have lost on last-second shots in the past two national semifinals.

Associated Press