Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
PORTLAND, Ore. — Paige Bueckers scored 24 points and Connecticut grinded its way to a 53-45 victory over Duke on Saturday night in the Portland Region semifinals at Moda Center.
The third-seeded Huskies (32-5) used stifling defense to pull out their 12th straight win and earn a spot against USC in Monday’s Elite Eight.
Oluchi Okananwa scored 15 points off the bench to lead No. 7 seed Duke (22-12).
The Blue Devils shot 32.7 percent from the field, made only 4 of 21 shots from 3-point range and committed 23 turnovers. They scored only 13 points in the first half and were held to their second-lowest scoring total of the season.
The Huskies shot only 40 percent from the field and register a worse percentage than Duke from beyond the arc (3 of 16, 18.8 percent). Nonetheless, they forged a 20-point lead in the third quarter and held on as Duke rallied down the stretch.
UConn extended a 10-point halftime lead to 33-17 early in the third quarter. Huskies center Aaliyah Edwards was whistled for her fourth foul with 4:18 left in the quarter and her team ahead 33-19. Bueckers knocked down back-to-back jumpers and KK Arnold followed with a pair of foul shots to make it 39-19.
Finally, Duke began to find its range, using an 8-3 run to close the gap to 42-27 heading into the final period. The Blue Devils continued to chip away from there. A three-point play by Okananwa with 4:46 remaining trimmed the deficit to 48-38.
Neither team scored again until Reigan Richardson hit a jumper to draw Duke within 48-40 with 2:30 left. When Okananwa drilled a 3-pointer with 1:59 to go, the difference was 48-43.
But Edwards connected on a jumper with 1:06 to play to make it 50-43. Bueckers made three free throws down the stretch to help the Huskies hold Duke at bay.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma used only six players. Three of them — Bueckers, Arnold and Nika Muhl — went the distance.
The Huskies led 10-6 after a slow-paced first quarter. Duke was only 3 for 13 from the field — and 0-for-5 on 3-point attempts — in the quarter. The Huskies weren’t much better at 5 for 14 and 0-for-2 from distance.
Bueckers picked up her second foul early in the second quarter but remained in the game. Her three-point play pulled UConn into a 15-6 lead with 7:02 remaining in the quarter. Midway through the period, Duke had 13 turnovers. The Huskies increased the margin to 23-10 before Ashton Jackson’s 3 just before the half ended for Duke.
–Kerry Eggers, Field Level Media