No. 5 UConn finishes 139-0 in American Athletic Conference
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Megan Walker scored 26 points and Christyn Williams added 22 to lead No. 5 UConn over Cincinnati 87-53 in win the American Athletic Conference tournament championship on Monday night, finishing off a perfect run for the Huskies over their seven years in the AAC.
UConn went 139-0 in the American after it was formed in 2013, winning all but two games by double digits. The Huskies are leaving the AAC at the end of the postseason to rejoin the Big East.
Angel Rizor scored 16 points, Antoinette Miller added 15 and IImar'I Thomas chipped in with 14 for third-seeded Cincinnati (22-10), which had upset the No. 2 seed, UCF in the conference semifinals.
Williams hit a layup nine seconds into the game and the Huskies led wire-to-wire.
Crystal Dangerfield finished with 14 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa had her eighth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She also blocked four shots.
PORTLAND 70, NO. 11 GONZAGA 69
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Haylee Andrews scored on a floater in the lane with 3.6 seconds and fourth-seeded Portland, which trailed by 20 points in the first quarter, upset top-seeded Gonzaga in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament.
Gonzaga, which trailed by six when WCC player of the year Jill Townsend fouled out with 5:13 to play, took the lead on a layup by Jenn Wirth with 8.6 seconds to go.
After a timeout, Andrews took the ball near the top of the key, drove left and stepped through the defense toward the basket, putting up a short right-hander.
Freshman Alex Fowler scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Portland (20-11), which was picked last in the WCC preseason poll. Kate Andersen added 18 points and Andrews had 16 on her 20th birthday. The Pilots, last to the championship game in 1997, will face second-seeded San Diego on Tuesday.
Wirth scored 21 points with eight rebounds for Gonzaga (28-3).
NO. 15 DEPAUL 88, MARQUETTE 74
CHICAGO (AP) — Lexi Held scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting and DePaul beat Marquette in the Big East tournament championship game for a third straight season.
It was the fourth straight year the teams met for an automatic berth to the NCAAs. DePaul will make its fifth trip to the tournament, all since 2014.
Chante Stonewall, the Big East player of the year, scored 22 points and Kelly Campbell added 16 for top-seeded DePaul (28-5).
Selena Lott scored 26 points for No. 2 seed Marquette (24-8). Lauren Van Kleunen added 22 points.
NO. 17 SOUTH DAKOTA 65, ORAL ROBERTS 43
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Taylor Frederick scored 16 points and South Dakota coasted past fourth-seeded Oral Roberts in the Summit League semifinals.
The Coyotes (29-2) were tied with the Golden Eagles (15-16) after one quarter before dominating the second quarter en route to their 18th straight win.
Hannah Sjerven had 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks for South Dakota, which will face second-seeded South Dakota State in the league title game on Tuesday.
Keni Jo Lippe led Oral Roberts with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
