No. 2 Baylor bounced, 72-67
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Marie Gulich had 26 points, Kat Tudor added 16 and sixth-seeded Oregon State shot 58 percent in the second half to upset No. 2 seed Baylor 72-67 on Friday night in the women’s NCAA Tournament Lexington Region semifinal.
Two years after upsetting Baylor in the Elite Eight, Oregon State (26-7) followed up with a steady performance that ended the Lady Bears’ 30-game winning streak. The Beavers had to withstand nine consecutive points by Alexis Morris that got the Lady Bears (33-2) to 69-67 with 42 seconds remaining before Katie McWilliams’ left-corner 3-pointer provided a five-point edge.
Morris missed two 3s and Natalie Chou another in the final 10 seconds for Baylor, which shot just 39 percent and was edged 38-37 on the glass.
Gulich made 10 of 17 from the field and had nine rebounds for OSU, which won for the 10 time in 11 contests. Tudor was 5 of 10 shooting and 4 of 8 from long range as the Beavers made 9 of 20 from behind the arc.
Kalani Brown had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor, which was outscored in all but the second quarter in losing for the first time since falling 68-62 at UCLA in November.
UCLA 84, Texas 75
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jordin Canada scored 22 points, putting second-seeded UCLA on her back in the fourth quarter, and the Bruins beat Texas 84-75 on Friday night to avenge a Sweet 16 loss to the Longhorns two years ago.
Monique Billings added 17 points and Kennedy Burke had 15 for the Bruins (27-7). They finally made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament after falling a game short the past two seasons.
They’ll face top-seeded Mississippi State on Sunday night for their first Final Four trip.
Mississippi St. 71, N.C. State 57
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — North Carolina State tried to push Teaira McCowan off the block, then tried double-teaming the Mississippi State star, before ultimately trying to deny her the ball altogether.
None of it worked.
McCowan still scored 24 points on perfect shooting, pulled down 15 rebounds and generally made life miserable for the Wolfpack, and helped the top-seeded Bulldogs breeze to a 71-57 win Friday night and a spot in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
