UConn Huskies women's basketball team into Elite Eight after vintage run flattens No. 3 Indiana Hoosiers

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The 16th consecutive appearance in the Elite Eight for the University of Connecticut women's basketball team is assured after a 75-58 victory over Indiana on Saturday.

The first possession of the second half was a 3 by Bueckers off an inbounds play.

Indiana wouldn't even get the ball back before the Huskies were able to get three more shot attempts on their end, which led to an offensive board and putback by Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

The Hoosiers couldn't get a shot to fall after Christyn Williams and Bueckers combined for a layin.

For four minutes at the start of the second half, it was like old times for the Huskies.

Their four-point halftime lead was quickly ballooned to 20 by the 2nd-seeded Connecticut defense, complete control of the boards and a humming offense that produced 12 points off layups alone.

The damage had already been done when Indiana launched a brief rally, pulling within 11 midway through the fourth quarter.

Indiana head coach Teri Moren said that they probably needed to stay out there.

The Hoosiers finished their season with a 24-9 record.

With a win over NC State on Monday in the regional final, the Huskies would advance to a 14th straight Final Four -- far from a certainty earlier this season, as they struggled at times without Bueckers for 19 games and star freshman Azzi Fudd for 11 with knee and foot The third-quarter run was a noticeable change after the team struggled against a physical UCF team in the round of 32.

Geno Auriemma said he expected that to be a one-off and not a symptom of a bigger issue. The third-quarter spark proved that was true.

We knew where we were going. We knew where the ball was going. We knew where the shots were coming from. We could pick and choose which shots we wanted to take, and we got more layups than we had gotten in the previous two quarters. It has been harder to come by this year, so I appreciate it more.

Indiana, which lost to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament championship game, entered the game with an experienced group led by Ali Patberg and Grace Berger. After upsetting 1-seed NC State in the Sweet 16 last season, the Hoosiers were hoping to reach back-to-back Elite Eights.

While the disciplined Hoosiers were hot to start, the relatively younger guard corps, led by Bueckers and Fudd, settled in to win the battle of the backcourts. The Indiana team was held to under 60 points for the sixth time this year by the Huskies. It was important to limit Berger to 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting.

Patberg had 16 points.

It is likely that playing Indiana is as difficult as it is for your guards. They are so aggressive with the ball. I thought we did a great job defensively. The difference in the game was that we were able to get the stops that we needed and not let them play to their strengths, which allowed their guards to go off.

Moren said that they had faced some really good defensive teams, but they were awesome.

By the middle of the third quarter, she had already surpassed her previous high for shots attempted in a game. She finished with 15 points, nine of which were in the third quarter. Williams had 15 points to go with her.

The post players came through just as well as the guards did to propel the team to the Elite Eight. The Hoosiers were outrebounded by the duo of Nelson-Ododa and Edwards by a count of 24-27.

To give us more than one shot allows us to do what we do best.

Groups boasting different types of experience are featured in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 game between NC State and Connecticut. The Wolfpack play an upperclassmen heavy group, but will be participating in their first Elite Eight since 1998 following a come-from-behind win over Notre Dame. Six of the players on the team have played in a Final Four.

One of the toughest challenges of the season may have been Indiana. The road will not get any easier for Connecticut after that.

You have to go out and beat them. They are not going to lose in this tournament. You have to beat them. It is getting harder and harder every year.