Photo Essay: N.C. State and UConn punch tickets to Elite Eight

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — N.C. State, the top seed in the Bridgeport Regional, advanced to its first Elite Eight in 24 years on Saturday, Raina Perez’s steal and fast break layup in the closing seconds put the Wolfpack ahead to stay in their 66-63 triumph over No. 4 Notre Dame which led most of the way. Despite being the higher seed, N.C. State won’t have any kind of advantage in Monday’s regional final, as second-seeded UConn pulled away late from No. 3 Indiana, 75-58, in Saturday’s second game.

Abby Prohaska and Notre Dame did a mostly good job containing Perez, who shot 2-for-9 on the day. It was just the last one she made that made all the difference.

Kai Crutchfield played all 40 minutes for N.C. State, and heated up for 14 points, her first double-figure scoring game since February 13 at Duke. Crutchfield also added four steals for the Wolfpack.

Jakia Brown-Turner scored nine points for N.C. State, which had lost five straight Sweet 16 games, including in the 2018, 2019, and 2021 tournaments. The Wolfpack’s 32 wins this year are a school record.

Elissa Cunane missed a free throw in the final minute that could have tied the game, but it wound up alright for her and the Wolfpack. Had N.C. State not pulled it out, it would have been a tough pill to swallow after a game in which Cunane led her team with 16 points and 10 rebounds, with only one personal foul.

Maddy Westbeld, who scored 13 points with eight rebounds for Notre Dame, can’t believe the Fighting Irish’s season is over after they had led for all but the last 16 seconds of the fourth quarter, by as many as eight points.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aleksa Gulbe battled for a rebound in the second half of the UConn-Indiana game, but the game stopped being much of a battle in the third quarter, when the Huskies turne a four-point halftime lead into 13.

Gulbe’s shot to beat the first-half buzzer gave the Hoosiers hope that they might be able to advance to a second straight Elite Eight, after beating N.C. State in last year’s Sweet 16. Indiana then went scoreless for the first 6:01 of the third quarter, and UConn blew the game open with a 16-0 run.

Paige Bueckers didn’t have her best game, going 7-for-17 and committing four fouls. The sophomore star still was UConn’s co-leading scorer with 15 points, and seven of those points came in the Huskies’ decisive third-quarter run.

Evina Westbrook was UConn’s leading scorer off the bench, with six points in 18 minutes, with a couple of rebounds and assists as well. On Monday, the Huskies will play for a trip to their 14th straight Final Four – a streak that dates back to 2008, when Westbrook was 9 years old.

Freshmen Azzi Fudd (l.) and Caroline Ducharme are on their way to their first Elite Eight, where Aaliyah Edwards (r.) starred a year ago, scoring 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting against Iowa.