NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2017: Sweet 16 Scores and Elite 8 Bracket

The 2017 NCAA women's tournament reached the conclusion of the Sweet 16 on Saturday with the regional semifinals in the Bridgeport and Stockton sections of the bracket. The four-time reigning national champion Connecticut Huskies headlined the action.  

Joining them were the fellow top seed South Carolina Gamecocks and the event's two unexpected contenders in the 10th-seeded Oregon Ducks and 12th-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats. They were looking to join the No. 1 Baylor Bears, No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, No. 7 Mississippi State Bulldogs and No. 2 Stanford Cardinal in the Elite Eight.

Let's check out the complete list of games on Saturday's schedule, which will get updated through the conclusion of play. A recap of each contest follows. For a look at the tournament bracket, visit the NCAA's official website.

Saturday's Schedule and Results

Region	Matchup	Result/Time (ET)	TV
Bridgeport	(10) Oregon vs. (3) Maryland	77-63 ORE	ESPN
Bridgeport	(4) UCLA vs. (1) Connecticut	86-71 UCONN	ESPN
Stockton	(12) Quinnipiac vs. (1) South Carolina	100-58 SC	ESPN
Stockton	(3) Florida State vs. (2) Oregon State	66-53 FSU	ESPN

Oregon 77, Maryland 63

The Ducks are getting better with each passing round. After narrowly escaping a first-round battle with the No. 7 Temple Owls and grinding out a nine-point win over No. 2 seed Duke, they won all four quarters en route to a comfortable double-digit triumph over the Terrapins at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Sabrina Ionescu's terrific freshman campaign continued with a game-high 21 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds for the victors. Ruthy Hebard added 16 points and eight boards, while Oti Gildon provided a nice boost off the bench with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Brionna Jones shone for Maryland in a losing effort, tallying 16 points, 15 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. She didn't get a ton of help offensively, however, as the Terps turned the ball over 21 times and missed all six of their three-point attempts.

The Ducks defense deserves credit for at least some of those struggles. It's held opponents to 6-of-37 shooting (16.2 percent) from beyond the arc in three tourney games. Meanwhile, Oregon has knocked down 19 threes of its own.

It's been a memorable run, and a likely matchup with UConn in the next round would be the best test of the team's late-season resurgence.

Connecticut 86, UCLA 71

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma tied Tennessee legend Pat Summitt for the most NCAA tournament coaching wins as the Huskies edged the Bruins to move within three wins of a fifth straight title.

It wasn't a perfect performance from the favorites, who fell behind 9-2 early and didn't put UCLA completely away until deep in the fourth quarter. That should provide the other remaining teams with at least a glimmer of hope.

Napheesa Collier was a force once again for Connecticut en route to 27 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Gabby Williams (17 points), Saniya Chong (16) and Katie Lou Samuelson (15) also had strong offensive outings as the team shot 55.6 percent from the field.

Meanwhile, it was a three-woman show for UCLA. Jordin Canada (20 points and 11 assists), Monique Billings (17 points and 16 rebounds) and Kari Korver (15 points on five threes) all played well. The rest of the team combined to make just six of their 26 shots (23.1 percent).

Looking ahead, the Huskies will be expected to handle Oregon without much drama in the Elite Eight. Given the way the Ducks have played throughout the event, however, the clash could be closer than expected if UConn isn't at its best.

South Carolina 100, Quinnipiac 58

Quinnipiac's Cinderella run came to a screeching halt at the hands of a stout South Carolina squad, which dominated every phase of the matchup.

The Gamecocks shot 61 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent from long range, won the rebounding battle 34-19 and posted a 21-11 edge in assists. The ease with which they were able to create open looks caused the game to get out of hand quickly.

Kaela Davis led the charge with 28 points, highlighted by making five of her six shots from three-point land. A'ja Wilson added 24 points thanks to a 10-for-10 day from the free-throw line, while Allisha Gray chipping in 19 points and eight rebounds.

Adily Martucci and Jen Fay each scored a team-high 12 points for the Bobcats. Their offensive effort was thwarted by the bigger, more athletic South Carolina frontcourt, though.

The Gamecocks have kind of got lost in the shuffle amid all the talk about UConn and Baylor. Yet, they are capable of capturing the championship if they play like they did Saturday for the rest of the event.

Florida State 66, Oregon State 53

The Seminoles trailed 23-12 after the first quarter, but they allowed just 30 points the rest of the way as they stormed back to beat the Beavers.

Ivey Slaughter nearly racked up a triple-double with 11 points, nine steals and eight rebounds for FSU. Leticia Romero added a game-high 20 points, while Shakayla Thomas posted 12 points and 11 boards, though she made just five of her 17 field-goal attempts.

At the opposite end, Florida State forced Oregon State into a dreadful offensive performance. The Beavers turned the ball over 23 times and shot just 36.4 percent from the field, including 11.8 percent from three. Kolbie Orum was the only played to reach double figures with 12 points off the bench.

The Seminoles' defense is going to need an equal or greater level of ferocity when they take on a high-powered South Carolina side Monday night.