Virginia guard Paris Clark (1) fights for a loose ball with Iowa guard Chazadi Wright during Monday's second round NCAA tourney game in Iowa City. (AP photo)

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Azzi Fudd scored 26 of her 34 points in the first half in her final game at Gampel Pavilion and UConn used a 31-0 run to roll to a 98-45 win over Syracuse on Monday night to advance to the women’s NCAA Tournament ‘s Sweet 16 for the 32nd season in a row.

Fudd tied her career highs in points and 3-pointers and added five assists and four steals. Her eight 3-pointers are one short of the NCAA Tournament single-game record held by Purdue’s Courtney Moses, UConn’s Kia Nurse and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

Sarah Strong had 18 points and nine rebounds as UConn (36-0) won its 52nd consecutive game. Blanca Quinonez added 18 points for UConn, which led 33-8 after one quarter and 65-12 at halftime as the Huskies advance to play North Carolina in the Fort Worth 1 regional semifinal on Friday. UConn will face North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time. The Tar Heels won 81-69 en route to winning the national title in 1994. The Tar Heels are coached by Amhest native and former Souhegan/Dartmouth standout Courtney Banghart.

Uche Izoje scored 12 points and Sophie Burrows had 10 for ninth-seeded Syracuse (24-9), which topped Iowa State in the first round.

Syracuse missed 10 shots in a row in the first half and went nearly 10 1/2 minutes without a basket during one stretch in the first half.

UConn, which has been ranked first in the AP poll all season, heads into the Fort Worth 1 regional, undefeated once again. UConn won its 52nd straight NCAA tournament game at Gampel Pavilion and 44th in a row in Connecticut.

VIRGINIA 83, IOWA 75 (2 OT)

Kymora Johnson scored 28 points as 10th-seeded Virginia became the first First Four to reach the regional semifinals after an 83-75 double-overtime win over No. 2 seed Iowa on Monday in a women’s NCAA Tournament second-round game.

The Cavaliers (22-11) won three games in five days, defeating Arizona State 57-55 in Thursday’s First Four game, following that with an 82-73 overtime win over Georgia in Saturday’s first-round game, and then the Hawkeyes (27-7), who were playing in front of a sellout home crowd of 14,332.

It’s the first time Virginia has advanced to the second weekend of the tournament since 2000. It’s also the first time a 10-seed has reached the Sweet 16 since Creighton did it in 2022. The Bluejays also beat Iowa in the second round that year to advance.

Iowa had chances to win the game in regulation and at the end of the first overtime. Chazadi Wright’s turnaround jumper with one second left in regulation missed, then the Hawkeyes missed two shots at the end of the first overtime, a 3-pointer by Taylor Stremlow and a putback attempt by Ava Heiden.

Johnson had 14 of her points in the two overtimes. She played all 50 minutes.

Paris Clark had 20 points for the Cavaliers. Romi Levy had 13 points. Caitlin Weimar had 12.

Heiden led Iowa with 26 points. Wright had 21 points. Hannah Stuelke had 15 points and 19 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season.

KENTUCKY 74, WEST VIRGINIA 73

Teonni Key scored 19 points, Clara Strack had 18 points and 15 rebounds for her 16th double-double of the season and Kentucky nearly gave up a big lead and held on to beat West Virginia to advance to the NCAA women’s Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade.

No. 5 seed Kentucky (25-10) will meet top-seeded and Southeastern Conference rival Texas on Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Kentucky will make its seventh trip to the regional semifinals in program history and its first since 2016.

No. 4 seed West Virginia (28-7) nearly stormed back from a double-digit deficit. Sydney Shaw scored 11 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter and two Jordan Harrison free throws with 1:20 left brought the Mountaineers within 72-71. But West Virginia never retook the lead.

Led by Strack, Kentucky scored the first nine points of the third quarter to break open a tie game and take the lead for good. She had eight rebounds, four points, two assists, a block and a steal in the period and Kentucky built its largest lead, 62-48.

NOTRE DAME 83, OHIO STATE 73

Hannah Hidalgo put together another dominant performance with 26 points, 13 rebounds and eight steals as sixth-seeded Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 15th straight time with a victory over third-seeded Ohio State.

It is the second time in the second-team AP All-American’s career she has had at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals in a game. Hidalgo had her eighth double-double of the season and the 16th of the junior’s career.

Fellow AP All-America pick Jaloni Cambridge tied a career high with 41 points for Ohio State (27-8), the second-most points by a Buckeye player in an NCAA Tournament game.

LOUISVILLE 69, ALABAMA 68

Elif Istanbulluoglu had 18 points and a key steal with 1:42 remaining that led to Reyna Scott’s one-handed jumper as the shot clock expired, Imari Berry added two free throws with 8.2 seconds left and third-seeded Louisville held off No. 6 seed Alabama

The Cardinals (29-7) reached their first Sweet 16 since 2023 despite several missed late free throws. Scott missed two with 2.3 seconds to go — the second of which Louisville coach Jeff Walz said was intentional — to give the Crimson Tide one last chance for a desperation basket despite having no timeouts.

Diana Collins grabbed the rebound and launched a shot from midcourt that bounced off the backboard, sending Louisville to a matchup Saturday against No. 2 seed Michigan in the Fort Worth 3 regional. The Cardinals will be making their 13th overall appearance in the Sweet 16.

Ohio State becomes the first team in women’s tournament history to be eliminated three straight years at home.

Vanessa de Jesus scored 15 points and Cassandre Prosper 13 for the Fighting Irish (24-10), who have won 11 of their last 13