Oregon, UConn set half of women’s Final Four

Half of the women’s basketball Final Four is set with victories Sunday by UConn and Oregon in their regional finals.

No. 2 Connecticut (35-2) is back in the Final Four for the 12th consecutive time and 20th time overall thanks to a 80-73 win over No. 1 Louisville (32-4) at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York.

Senior guard Katie Lou Samuelson led the Huskies with 29 points while senior forward Napheesa Collier (12 points,13 rebounds) and sophomore guard Megan Walker (13 points, 12 rebounds) contributed double-doubles in the win.

The Cardinals were led by senior guard Asia Durr’s 21 points and nine rebounds.

The second-seeded Ducks (33-4), on the other hand, reached the first Final Four in program history with a 88-84 win victory over No. 1 Mississippi State (33-3) at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

Junior guard Sabrina Ionescu led the Ducks with 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while sophomore forward Satou Sabally contributed 22 points.

Senior center Teaira McCowan led the Bulldogs with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in the loss. Senior forward Anriel Howard added 18 points, while senior guard Jazzmun Holmes had her own double-double with 15 points and 13 assists.

The second half of the Final Four will be set Monday night with No. 1 Baylor (34-1) facing No. 2 Iowa (29-6) in the Greensboro Regional final and No. 1 Notre Dame (33-3) facing No. 2 Stanford (31-4) in the Chicago Regional final.

Oregon will take on the winner of the Baylor-Iowa matchup in the Final Four starting Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, while UConn will get the Notre Dame-Stanford winner. The national title game will take place Sunday, April 7.