Comeback Effort Comes Up Short in Sweet 16 Loss to UConn

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Comeback Effort Comes Up Short in Sweet 16 Loss to UConn

3/30/2024 10:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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PORTLAND, Oregon – Seventh-seeded Duke went on a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter but couldn't complete the comeback in a 53-45 loss to No. 3 seed UConn in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday evening at the Moda Center.

Oluchi Okananwa led the Blue Devils with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Reigan Richardson had 10 points, while Kennedy Brown led the charge on the glass with 10 rebounds.

Duke trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before putting together a stellar comeback effort. Okananwa spurred the effort with six points in the final period.

How it Happened

Scoring by both teams got off to a slow start as UConn held a narrow 4-2 edge after four minutes of action. The Blue Devils continued to stifle the Huskie offense, but also struggled with turnovers of their own to head into the first break trailing 10-6.
Richardson paced the offense with a pair of baskets while Duke dominated the boards 12-7 in the first 10 minutes.
UConn scored the first five points of the second quarter to extend its lead to 15-6 at the media timeout. Okananwa ended the Blue Devils' scoring drought at 7:22 to bring it within seven, 15-8, but UConn responded with then next six points to go ahead 21-8.
Okananwa knocked down one of two from the charity stripe and Ashlon Jackson drained a three from the left corner to send Duke into the locker room trailing, 23-10. The Huskies shot just 25 percent in the period as Duke held the No. 3 seed to its fewest points in a half this season.
UConn extended its lead to 14 points, 33-19, midway through the third quarter. Paige Bueckers led the effort with consecutive three pointers in the first minute of the period. The Huskies continued to pull away, leading 42-27 after 30 minutes of action.
Trailing 48-33 with 6:25 to play in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils went on a 7-0 spurt to pull within eight and force the Huskies to call a timeout with 2:17 remaining. Coming out of the timeout, Brown blocked a shot and Okananwa raced down the floor to hit the fastbreak three-pointer to make it a five-point game.
Aaliyah Edwards ended UConn's drought at 5:19 to push the Huskies' lead back to seven. Brown answered right away for the Blue Devils to make it a two-possession game again with 52 seconds left in the final stanza.
Duke forced another turnover on the ensuing inbounds but couldn't convert as Edwards pulled down the defensive board. Bueckers knocked down three free throws in the final 19 seconds to send UConn to the Elite Eight with an eight-point victory. Bueckers finished with a game-high 24 points.

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