Nurse hits 9 3's, UConn to 34-0

STORRS, Conn. — Connecticut’s Kia Nurse heard the boasts from Syracuse that it would bring the best backcourt in America into Monday night’s second-round rematch of last year’s national championship game.

She used that as motivation.

The junior guard scored 29 points and tied an NCAA Tournament record with nine three-pointers to lead UConn to a 94-64 victory over the Orange.

The boasting “allows you to play with a bit of a chip on your shoulder,” she said. “For us, we like to prove it with the way that we play.”

Nurse hit 10 of her 13 shots, missing three attempts from behind the arc for the Huskies, who won for the 109th consecutive time and 26th in a row in the NCAA Tournament. That streak includes last April’s 82-51 victory over the Orange that gave the Huskies their fourth consecutive title.

Gabby Williams and Katie Lou Samuelson each added 23 points and Napheesa Collier chipped in with 17 points for UConn (34-0), which led by as many as 36 points.

The Huskies shot 62 percent from the floor, 52 percent from 3-point range and had 30 assists on their 33 baskets.

Alexis Peterson had 25 points to lead Syracuse (22-11). Backcourt mate Brittney Sykes added 15 and Briana Day had 13 for the Orange.

UConn held Syracuse without a field goal for more than 3 ½ minutes early in the first quarter and used a 9-0 run to build an 18-7 lead.

The Huskies hit 12 of their first 18 shots and led 28-11 after a fast-break bucket at the first-quarter buzzer by Crystal Dangerfield.

A three-pointer by Nurse gave UConn its first 20-point advantage at 31-11 and another three-pointer pushed the lead to 30 at 55-25.

Nurse, who missed the final four games of the regular season with a stress injury in her right ankle, had eight three-pointers and 26 points by halftime.

OREGON 74, DUKE 65

DURHAM, N.C. — Ruthy Hebard had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Oregon earned its first Sweet 16 berth by upsetting Duke.

Maite Cazorla added 17 points and Lexi Bando finished with 14 points to help Oregon (22-13) become the first No. 10 seed in a decade to reach the round of 16.

The Ducks, in their first tournament since 2005, had never advanced past the second round in their 12 previous appearances. Now they’re on to Bridgeport, Conn., to take on third-seeded Maryland (32-2) in a regional semifinal. Lexie Brown scored 25 points for the second-seeded Blue Devils (28-6), who have been upset at home in the tournament’s second round twice since 2014. They played without guard Kyra Lambert, who tore her left anterior cruciate ligament in the first round against Hampton.

UCLA 75, TEXAS A&M 43

LOS ANGELES — Kari Korver scored 21 points, hitting seven three-pointers, and fourth-seed UCLA routed Texas A&M. Monique Billings and Jordin Canada each added 12 points for the Bruins, who had the largest margin of victory in school history in a tournament game. Star point guard Jordin Canada left the game in the third quarter with a cut on her forehead. Trainers stopped the bleeding, applied a bandage and she quickly returned to the game.

UCLA made its first three three-pointers to build a 9-2 lead and never looked back in a tuneup for its Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1 seed Connecticut.

The Bruins led by 21 points at halftime and extended that lead to 31 points at 62-31 after three quarters.

Sports on 03/21/2017

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