N.C.A.A. Women’s Tournament: UConn Overcomes Fourth-Quarter Deficit

With Connecticut struggling on offense, Crystal Dangerfield took over.

Dangerfield, the Huskies’ junior guard, scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, 9 of them during a game-changing spurt that started the period, and No. 2 seed UConn went on to beat sixth-seeded U.C.L.A., 69-61, on Friday night in the Albany Region semifinals. Napheesa Collier led the Huskies with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

“I don’t think there’s anything that came easy, from the very opening tip,” UConn Coach Geno Auriemma said. “It was a struggle.”

He added: “We had to work really, really hard for everything we got. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on our guys to make plays. Every pass was contested. Every cut was contested. Every shot was difficult to come by. There were a lot of opportunities in the second half because we only played four and a half players, so to speak. We just found a way somehow when we really needed to make some shots.”

Trailing by 50-49 entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies scored the first 6 points of the run. Dangerfield had a nifty lefty-handed layup high off the glass during the spurt.

“They were really packing it in on D,” Dangerfield said. “They were leaving the lane really wide open. So it’s just a matter of spacing the floor and taking what they leave open.”

Katie Lou Samuelson, who had gone without a basket in the first three quarters, finally scored a field goal, capping the run. Samuelson, a senior, stole the ball near halfcourt and then drove in for a layup and was fouled. She hit the ensuing free throw, and the Huskies (34-2) were able to hold on for the win. Samuelson finished with 6 points.

The Huskies will face No. 1 Louisville in the regional final on Sunday. UConn will be trying to extend its record Final Four run to 12 years. During that stretch, the team has won six national championships and had a record 111-game winning streak.

“The big difference was some of those big shots by Dangerfield,” U.C.L.A. Coach Cori Close said. “I thought we regrouped after their 6-0 run, but I saw our demeanor change when Dangerfield hit a couple of those big shots late in the shot clock.”

The loss ended a strong run for U.C.L.A. (22-13). The Bruins won 10 of their final 12 regular-season games after losing their top two scorers from last year, Jordin Canada and Monique Billings, to the W.N.B.A. The Bruins stumbled through two four-game losing streaks during the season but really got going in Pacific-12 play. They made it to the conference tournament semifinals before losing to Oregon in overtime.

“This year, this team was special,” said Kennedy Burke, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds for U.C.L.A. “Even though we didn’t start off well, we showed we could fight and compete with any team.”

Japreece Dean scored 16 points to lead the Bruins.

UConn trailed by 5-0 before Collier got going. She had 10 points as the Huskies built a 22-15 lead after the first quarter. The lead grew to 12 before the Huskies went cold from the field; they did not score for the final 5 minutes 15 seconds of the half. U.C.L.A. was able to cut its deficit to 31-26 at the break, scoring the final 7 points of the half.

“We went into halftime up 5, and Lou and Crystal didn’t score,” Auriemma said. “We kind of felt O.K. I thought Lou would do something in the second half. Didn’t think her big moment would be on the defense. That’s the biggest shocker of the night, and a 3-point play.”

LOUISVILLE 61, OREGON ST. 44 Sam Fuehring and Asia Durr each had 17 points, and top-seeded Louisville clamped down on defense again, beating No. 4 Oregon State in Albany and reaching the round of 8.

Oregon State (26-8), 0-3 against Louisville, sputtered in the third quarter to fall behind by 16 and could not recover in the rematch of a regional final last year that Louisville won by 33. The Beavers shot 30.4 percent (17 of 56), just above their season low.

MISS. ST. 76, ARIZONA ST. 53 Teaira McCowan had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and top-seeded Mississippi State earned a spot in the round of 8 for a third straight season with a victory over No. 5 Arizona State in Portland, Ore.

On Sunday in the regional final, the Bulldogs (33-2) will face the winner of the late game between second-seeded Oregon and No. 6 South Dakota State.

Jazzmun Holmes had 13 points and 7 assists, and Andra Espinoza-Hunter added 12 points for Mississippi State, which led by as many as 24 points.

Kianna Ibis had 16 points for the Sun Devils (22-11), who were vying for their first trip to the round of 8 since 2009.

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