LEXINGTON, Ky. — Marie Gulich had 26 points, Kat Tudor added 16 and sixth-seeded Oregon State shot 58 percent in the second half Friday night to upset No. 2 seed Baylor 72-67 in the women’s NCAA tournament Lexington Region semifinal.
Two years after upsetting Baylor in the Elite Eight, Oregon State (26-7) followed up with a steady performance that ended the Bears’ 30-game winning streak.
The Beavers had to withstand nine consecutive points by Alexis Morris that got the Bears (33-2) to 69-67 with 42 seconds remaining before Katie McWilliams’ left-corner 3-pointer provided a five-point edge.
Morris missed two 3s and Natalie Chou another in the final 10 seconds for Baylor, which shot just 39 percent and was edged 38-37 on the glass.
Gulich made 10 of 17 from the field and had nine rebounds for Oregon State, which won for the 10 time in 11 games. Tudor was 5-of-10 shooting and 4 of 8 from long range as the Beavers made 9 of 20 from behind the arc.
Kalani Brown had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor, which was outscored in all but the second quarter in losing for the first time since falling 68-62 at UCLA in November.
KANSAS CITY REGION
MISSISSIPPI STATE 71, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 57: Teaira McCowan had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Victoria Vivians added 14 points and top-seeded Mississippi State (35-1) routed North Carolina State (26-9) at Kansas City, Missouri.
Morgan William added 13 points and Roshunda Johnson, who lost her grandfather earlier in the week, added 12 as the Bulldogs also broke their school record for wins in a season.
Kiara Leslie had 27 points to pace the No. 4 seed Wolfpack, who led early in the second quarter before coming undone. Foul trouble set in, Mississippi State clamped down defensively and North Carolina State Coach Wes Moore was hit with a technical foul as the Bulldogs pulled away.
The Wolfpack also had no answer for McCowan, whose size presented all kinds of problems. The only junior in a senior-laden starting lineup, she finished 11 of 11 from the field and made both of her foul shots on a night that would have been perfect except for three turnovers.
CONNECTICUT HAS advanced to the regionals for 25 straight years.
“You have to think at some point in 25 years you’d stumble once or twice,” Coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s been a remarkable run through a lot of different players and scenarios, and a lot of different places.”
Top-seeded UConn will face fifth seed Duke in the Albany Region semifinals Saturday. Defending champion South Carolina will face 11th-seeded Buffalo in the first game.
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