SEATTLE — The University of Connecticut women's basketball program's record run of appearances in the NCAA Division I semifinals is over, halted by a monumental performance from Ohio State.
The Buckeyes ended UConn's unprecedented streak of reaching 14 consecutive Final Fours, beating the Huskies 73-61 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
"The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you're closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who has led the Huskies to an NCAA-record 11 championships and last season's runner-up finish. "It's just a matter of time. I mean, it's not if it's going to happen; it's just a matter of time when it's going to happen. And it was going to happen sooner rather than later."
Cotie McMahon scored 23 points for the Buckeyes, who reached the Elite Eight for the first time in three decades. Ohio State hadn't made a regional final since 1993, when its run ended with a loss to Texas Tech in the title game.
"When I had the opportunity to come to Ohio State, this was certainly the goal and the vision to go farther than they have been going," said coach Kevin McGuff, who had never beaten UConn. "It's not easy to get here, obviously. But I'm really proud of our team and our program of how we've evolved to be able to get to this point.
"Like I said, I mean, I have so much respect for Geno and his staff and all that they have accomplished. So for us to be able to win this game in the Sweet 16 is obviously extremely significant. They're just hard to beat. They're so well coached. So this is a great win for us."
The third-seeded Buckeyes (28-7) forced No. 2 seed UConn (31-6) into 25 turnovers, ending the Huskies' season before the national semifinals for the first time in 14 seasons. UConn hadn't been eliminated this early since 2006.
"It's an impossibility to do what we have done already," Auriemma said. "What's the next-highest streak? ... And you take that in stride and you say, yeah, it was great while it lasted and it's a credit to all the players that we had and all the times that you have to perform really, really well at this level."
Ohio State will play No. 1 Virginia Tech (30-4) on Monday night in the Seattle 3 Region final with a trip to Dallas at stake. The Hokies beat fourth-seeded Tennessee 73-64 in Saturday's second semifinal at the site.
Ohio State, which had to rally from a double-digit deficit in the first round against James Madison, used full-court pressure to disrupt the Huskies' offense.
"Our press is what we rely on, and sticking together and talking through it," said Ohio State's Jacy Sheldon, who had 17 points and went 10-for-10 from the foul line. "We knew UConn was going to be ready for us, so we knew we were going to have to stay consistent throughout the game."
This has been the most trying year of Auriemma's storied career. UConn was beset by injuries and illnesses to both players and coaches, including a torn ACL that sidelined star Paige Bueckers all season. It got so bad the Huskies had to postpone a game when they didn't have enough scholarship players, and even their unbelievable run of 30 years without consecutive losses came to an end.
Lou Lopez Senechal scored 25 points for the Huskies, Azzi Fudd had 14 and Ohio State transfer Dorka Juhasz finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Huskies led 17-9 before Ohio State started scoring and turning UConn over with its full-court press. The Buckeyes scored the next 17 points, forcing 11 turnovers during that stretch, which spanned the first and second quarters. UConn had eight turnovers to start the second quarter, leaving Auriemma exasperated on the sideline.
McMahon was converting those turnovers into points for the Buckeyes as the freshman finished the half with 18 points — equaling the number of turnovers the Huskies had in the opening 20 minutes. Ohio State led 36-26 at the break.
This was only the sixth time UConn had trailed by double digits at the half in an NCAA tournament game, according to ESPN. The Huskies lost all of those.
South Carolina 59, UCLA 43
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Reigning national champion South Carolina, continuing to emphasize defense and rebounding first during its undefeated run, turned its latest overwhelming performance to beat UCLA.
Three-time All-American Aaliyah Boston had eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, and Brea Beal, Kamilla Cardoso and Bree Hall scored 10 points apiece for the Gamecocks (35-0), the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. It was South Carolina's 41st consecutive victory and secured the program's sixth trip to the Elite Eight under coach Dawn Staley.
The Gamecocks, who led 14-8 after the first quarter and 25-15 at halftime before heading to the fourth ahead 50-30, will play for their fifth trip to the Final Four in Monday's Greenville 1 Region final against No. 2 seed Maryland.
Charisma Osborne scored 14 points to lead the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-10), who were in the Sweet 16 for the eighth time overall and first time since 2019.
"It was the lowest point total that anyone had held them to in a half in the first half," Bruins coach Cori Close said of the Gamecocks, "and we couldn't even take advantage of that because we were struggling so much offensively."
The key for South Carolina's offense was patience, and making sure to keep working the ball to find seams inside.
"That's something Coach emphasized at halftime," Boston said. "She was like ... 'Just take our time, we're taking great shots, but taking a split-second longer could help us out."
Maryland 76, Notre Dame 59
Diamond Miller scored 14 of her 18 points in the final two quarters to lead Maryland over depleted Notre Dame and into the Elite Eight for the first time in eight years.
Shyanne Sellers also had 18 points for the Terrapins (28-6), who used a third-quarter burst to put away the third-seeded Fighting Irish (27-6).
Sonia Citron led the Irish with 14 points, their only scorer in double figures. Notre Dame was again without leading scorer Olivia Miles, who sustained a knee injury in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament earlier this month. Fellow starter Dara Mabrey was also a spectator due to injury.
Maryland's Miller and Sellers combined for 30 of their 36 points in the final two quarters.