CONNECTICUT 52,
CENTRAL FLORIDA 47
STORRS, Conn. -- Freshman Azzi Fudd scored 16 points and hit two key free throws late as No. 2 seed UConn outfought No. 7 seed UCF 52-47 in a defensive slugfest Monday night to advance to an NCAA record 28th straight Sweet 16.
Christyn Williams (Central Arkansas Christian) added 12 points and Paige Bueckers had 9 for the Huskies (27-5), who have not allowed an opponent to score more than 51 points in their last 10 games.
"It was a battle the whole game," Williams said. "We just tried to throw the first punch and keep punching them."
Diamond Battles scored 12 points, Brittney Smith added 11 and Tay Sanders had 10 for UCF (26-4), which saw its season end along with a 14-game winning streak.
These two former American Athletic Conference foes knew each other well and the Knights weren't intimidated playing in front of a loud sold-out Connecticut crowd where the students were cheering baskets made in pregame warmups.
The Huskies led by just three points at halftime, but extended that to 12 points midway through the fourth quarter.
They led by 10 before Sanders three-pointer from the left corner with 3 1/2 minutes remaining made it 48-41 and started the Knight's final push.
UCF closed the gap to three points twice, the last time when Williams fouled Smith with 15.1 seconds left and the 6-3 post hit her foul shots to cut the deficit to 50-47.
But Sanders fouled Fudd on the other end and the freshman calmly made her free throws to seal the win.
The game was extremely physical, with both teams pressing and playing lock-down defense. There were 45 fouls called, 24 on UCF.
The Knights held UConn to 14 baskets on 48 shots (29.2%), but hit just 16 of their 46 (34.8%) UCF also struggled from the foul line, going 10 of 20.
"This was a rather new experience for me," Coach Geno Auriemma said. "It was what we thought it would be it was going to be really difficult and it was going to be ugly looking and it was.
"We could have easily let that game get away from us and we didn't," he said.
INDIANA 66,
PRINCETON 55
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Grace Berger scored the last of her 15 points on a spinning, tiebreaking layup with 28.2 seconds left and Nicole Cardano-Hillary added 12 points to help third-seeded Indiana beat 11th-seed Princeton and reach its second straight Sweet 16.
Ali Patberg sealed the win in her home finale with a steal with 3.8 seconds left and Aleksa Gulbe closed it out with two free throws.
The Hoosiers (24-8) have won five of their last six and swept the first two NCAA Tournament games they've ever hosted -- in front of a loud, large crowd. Indiana also has tied its single-season school record for wins.
Afterward the Hoosiers celebrated by jogging into the student section as the band played the school fight song and then lifted Coach Teri Moren after the alma mater played. Indiana now faces either second-seeded UConn on Saturday in Bridgeport, Conn.
The Hoosiers advanced on a night Princeton (25-5) was trying to post a tourney record ninth victory by a double-digit seed. Instead, the Tigers had their 18-game winning streak snapped while shooting 32.8% from the field and three of its top players got into early foul trouble.
Julia Cunningham and Grace Stone each scored 13 to lead Princeton. Ivy League Player of the Year Abby Meyers had 11 points, going just 3 of 14 from the field and missing her first six 3-point attempts before making her last as the buzzer sounded.
The Ivy League tourney champs sure made it tough on Indiana.
After trailing 39-29 at halftime, the Tigers stingy defense limited Indiana to just three baskets in the third quarter as they pulled within 45-42.
N.C. STATE 89
KANSAS STATE 57
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Kayla Jones scored 18 points to help top-seeded North Carolina State beat Kansas State, earning a fourth straight trip to the Sweet 16.
Raina Perez and Diamond Johnson each added 15 points for the Wolfpack (31-3), who won their 12th straight game behind a dominating second-quarter performance. N.C. State shot 55% and made 9 of 19 three-pointers, romping to a lopsided win in front of a loud Reynolds Coliseum crowd for the final time this season.
The win sends N.C. State to the Bridgeport Region semifinal against Notre Dame on Saturday.
The matchup of Associated Press second-team All-Americans Elissa Cunane of the Wolfpack and Ayoka Lee of the Wildcats never truly materialized due to foul issues. But the Bridgeport Region's headliner instead showed off its deep roster by getting production off the bench and continuing to roll anyway.
The 6-5 Cunane headed to the bench less than 3 1/2 minutes into the game with her second foul and finishing with four points in 13 minutes.
The 6-6 Lee needed a little longer to get her second before also taking a seat early at the end of the period. She finished with 12 points, well below her season average of 22.3, despite playing 31 minutes.
NOTRE DAME 108, OKLAHOMA 64
NORMAN, Okla. -- Dara Mabrey scored a season-high 29 points as No. 5 seed Notre Dame rolled past No. 4 Oklahoma.
Mabrey made 11 of 19 field goals, including seven 3-pointers. Sonia Citron scored 25 points and Maya Dodson added 20 for Notre Dame (24-8). According to Stats by STATS, Notre Dame became the first team, men's or women's, to beat a higher-seeded team by at least 40 points.
The win sends Notre Dame into the Bridgeport Region semifinal against top seed N.C. State on Saturday.
Taylor Robertson scored 19 points for Oklahoma (25-9). Skylar Vann had 11 points and nine rebounds, and Liz Scott had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Sooners, who committed 28 turnovers and shot just 32.3%.
Kansas State's Cymone Goodrich (2) attempts to shoot over North Carolina State's Diamond Johnson (0) during the first half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Raleigh, N.C., Monday, March 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles (5) drives past Oklahoma guard Nevaeh Tot (1) and Madi Williams (25) in the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Monday, March 21, 2022, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/ Mitch Alcala)
Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron (11) fights Oklahoma guard Skylar Vann (24) and Liz Scott, right, in the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Monday, March 21, 2022, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/ Mitch Alcala)
Villanova forward Brianna Herlihy (14) attempts a layup as Michigan guard Laila Phelia defends during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Villanova guard Lucy Olsen (3) attempts a steal from Michigan guard Amy Dilk (1) during the second half of a college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Monday, March 21, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)