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UConn buries Oregon, powers into Final Four

By The Sports Xchange
UConn Women's Basketball. (UConnWBB/Twitter)
UConn Women's Basketball. (UConnWBB/Twitter)

Napheesa Collier scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and top overall seed Connecticut blew past 10th-seeded Oregon 90-52 Monday in the Bridgeport (Conn.) Region final at Webster Bank Arena.

Gabby Williams added 25 points, and Katie Lou Samuelson finished with eight points and five steals for the Huskies (36-0), who advance to the Final Four for the 10th straight season. UConn will take on No. 2 seed Mississippi State on Friday in Dallas.

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Collier also had four blocks.

The Huskies won their 111th consecutive game, and coach Geno Auriemma earned his 113th NCAA Tournament victory, passing late Tennessee coach Pat Summitt for the all-time record for tournament wins.

UConn's winning streak, one of the longest in team sports history, dates back to 2014. Only three times during that stretch were games decided by single digits. Oregon stayed within single digits for less than five minutes on Monday.

Connecticut overwhelmed the Ducks early, racing out to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter. The Huskies harassed Oregon into 17 turnovers in the first half and went into halftime with a commanding 49-24 lead. Collier had 15 points and Williams had 14 points in the first half.

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The loss ends the Ducks' Cinderella run to the Elite Eight that featured upsets of second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Maryland. Oregon (23-14) stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, losing four of last six to drop to a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Freshman guard Sabrina Ionescu scored 15 points, and freshman forward Ruthy Hebard added 12 points for the Ducks, who started three freshmen this season.

Connecticut shot 54.5 percent from the floor, had 21 assists on 36 field goals and recorded 16 steals. Oregon shot 42.3 percent from the field while getting outrebounded 36-26.

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