LEXINGTON, Ky. – Aggressive rebounding and timely baskets certainly helped sixth-seeded Oregon State against No. 2 seed Baylor.
More impressive was the Beavers’ poise throughout as they handed the Lady Bears their first loss since November and earned a second Elite Eight appearance in three seasons.
Marie Gulich had 26 points, Kat Tudor added 16 and Oregon State shot 58 percent in the second half to upset Baylor, 72-67, on Friday night in the women’s NCAA Tournament Lexington Region semifinal.
Two years after upsetting Baylor in the Dallas Region final, Oregon State (26-7) followed up with a steady performance to improve to 4-0 all-time against Baylor while ending its 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 30 seconds later provided a five-point edge.
That pivotal shot typified a night in which OSU stuck with the game plan and didn’t flinch for the brief times it trailed.
“When you play a team like Baylor, part of the tempo issue is you can’t turn it over,” Beavers coach Scott Rueck said. “You can’t hand them possessions by either a turnover or taking a quick, poor shot.
“I thought we took a couple early in the first quarter, but overall they just know how to win, and that leads to possessions like that against a great defense and a great offense.”
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 shot 45 percent in winning 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.
No. 1 Mississippi State 71,
No. 4 North Carolina State 57
Teaira McCowan had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Victoria Vivians added 14 points and top-seeded Mississippi State routed North Carolina State, 71-57, on Friday night to reach the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Morgan William added 13 points and Roshunda Johnson, who lost her grandfather earlier in the week, added 12 as the Bulldogs (35-1) also broke their school record for wins in a season.
They’ll have a chance to add to it Sunday, when they face third-seeded UCLA for a spot in the Bulldogs’ second consecutive Final Four.
Kiara Leslie had 27 points to pace the No. 4 seed Wolfpack (26-9), who led early in the second quarter before coming undone. Foul trouble set in, Mississippi State clamped down defensively and North Carolina State coach Wes Moore was hit with a technical foul as the Bulldogs pulled away.
The Wolfpack also had no answer for McCowan, whose size presented all kinds of problems. The only junior in a senior-laden starting lineup, she finished 11 of 11 from the field and made both of her foul shots on a night that would have been perfect except for a trio of turnovers.
No. 3 UCLA 84, No. 2 Texas 75
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.
Ariel Atkins had 20 points and Jatarie White had 17 for the No. 3 seed Longhorns (28-7), who kept falling into deep holes, slowly digging their way out and then letting UCLA pull away once more.
Texas made one last charge when it got back-to-back 3-pointers from Atkins and Alecia Sutton to close within 76-72 with less than 2 minutes left. But Burke answered with a layup for UCLA, and Canada’s jumper with just under a minute to go helped put the game away.
No. 1 Louisville 86,
No. 4 Stanford 59
Asia Durr had 24 points, Myisha Hines-Allen added 17 and top-seeded Louisville rolled past No. 4 seed Stanford 86-59 on Friday night in the women’s NCAA Tournament Lexington Region semifinal.
Arica Carter had 13 points and Jazmine Jones 10 for the Cardinals (35-2), who trailed for just 53 seconds to win their 10th consecutive game and advance to their first regional final since 2014. Louisville thrived offensively, shooting 52 percent and building a lead that reached 27 points with 1:24 remaining to finish their third consecutive NCAA Tournament rout.
Hines made 8 of 15 baskets and surpassed 2,000 career points. The senior forward also grabbed five rebounds.
Brittany McPhee had 15 points and Dijonai Carrington 14 for Stanford.