NEW YORK, NY : Oregon, Quinnipiac crash Sweet 16 field on Monday, March 20th 2017
Oregon and Quinnipiac are crashing the Sweet 16.
The two double-digit seeds joined a field of mostly top seeds in the women’s regional semifinals that will be played next weekend.
It’s no shock that No. 1s UConn, Baylor, South Carolina and Notre Dame made it out of the first weekend. Seeing these two newcomers, though, brings an unexpected buzz to the tournament.
It’s only the third time in NCAA Tournament history that two double-digit seeds made the regional semifinals.
“It’s funny, we never really put a goal on how far we can go, just because we didn’t know what we had,” No. 10 seed Oregon coach Kelly Graves said after his team beat Duke. “We’ve kind of attacked the entire season as a work in progress.
“With a young team, you kind of have to do that. House money, that’s a good way to put it,” he added. “We’re playing with house money.”
The 12th-seeded Bobcats shocked the field, first beating Marquette and then knocking off host Miami on Monday night. Quinnipiac’s run comes 10 years after fellow Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference school Marist made a run to the Sweet 16.
“Just a great game,” Quinnipiac coach Tricia Fabbri said . “Great game, I’m sure, to watch.”
Next up for Quinnipiac is South Carolina. The Gamecocks barely escaped the second round with a win over Arizona State, and the team may be without guard Allisha Gray, who injured her knee Sunday. South Carolina is already missing Alaina Coates, a star center who injured her ankle before the NCAA Tournament began and will miss the rest of the season.
Notre Dame also could be without one of its stars as Brianna Turner injured her knee in an overtime victory against Purdue on Sunday. The Irish said they would know more about the extent of the injury on Tuesday.
While both Notre Dame and South Carolina struggled to win, UConn and Baylor both cruised through their first two rounds.
The Lady Bears followed up a record-setting performance in the opener with a solid 40-point win over Cal.
UConn dispatched Syracuse in an NCAA title rematch behind Kia Nurse’s nine 3-pointers.
Now the Huskies, who have won 109 consecutive games, will make the 90-minute trip from campus to Bridgeport, Connecticut, for a matchup with UCLA.
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Oregon, Quinnipiac crash Sweet 16 field