College Women's Basketball Capsules: No. 1 UConn ties record with 77-41 rout of Orange

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said he’d be excited about the team’s 70-game winning streak, if that was where the Huskies wanted to stop.

It’s not. Tina Charles tied a career high with 34 points and Maya Moore added 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to lead top-ranked UConn (31-0) to the 77-41 rout of Syracuse in the Big East quarterfinals on Sunday.

The win tied the program’s own record for the longest winning streak in women’s college basketball. Each win has come by at least 10 points and an average of more than 32.

Auriemma said none of that is important as the Huskies chase a 16th conference tournament title and a seventh national championship.

"Let’s say we win tomorrow and lost Tuesday, what are the kids going to do, go to half court and put their fingers up and say, ‘We won 70, 71?" Auriemma said.

UConn is in the conference semifinals for the 22nd straight year, where the Huskies will face Notre Dame. The Irish beat St. John’s 75-67 in Sunday’s first quarterfinal.

Kayla Alexander scored 11 to lead the Orange (22-10).

The 36-point margin of victory was the largest for UConn since it beat Louisville by 46 on Feb. 7. Charles hit 16 of her 19 shots, setting a record for the most field goals in a Big East tournament game. Six of her buckets came on assists from Moore.

"I think that’s always the game plan, to get Tina the ball as much as possible," said Moore. "We always try to look for each other and if I’m out on the perimeter or in the short corner, in the high post, I’m always going to look inside if she’s posting up there."

Moore came into the game needing 13 points to reach 2,000 for her career. She reached that with 18:39 to play on a steal and layup that made it 48-17.

UConn showed a hint of jitters when Moore opened the game with a shot from the corner that missed everything, but the Huskies then reeled off seven points and went on a 17-2 run over the first 6 minutes, getting six each from Moore and Charles.

"I think everybody was just anxious to play, but yet patient and just waiting for everything," Charles said. "We had great intensity. We had great energy."

Syracuse hit just four of its first 20 shots, two of them layups by Alexander, and trailed 31-11 with more than 6 minutes left in the half. During the same period of time, Charles had hit six of her first seven shots.

The Orange hit just 14 of its 66 shots from the field (21.2 percent) overall, while the Huskies were hitting 51.6 percent of their shots. Syracuse was even worse in the first half, shooting just over 18 percent from the floor.

The Huskies’ winning streak ties one the program set from Nov. 9, 2001, to March 11, 2003, when it lost in the Big East semifinals to Villanova. UConn is 57-12 in conference tournament games, and the Huskies have now won 135 straight against unranked opponents.

But Auriemma said the team doesn’t talk about its streaks. He said that would be like asking a pitcher to discuss a no-hitter while he’s in the fifth inning.

"The object is to win the game and strike out as many guys as you can and get guys to swing at bad pitches and all that other good stuff," he said. "You’re not necessarily thinking in the fifth inning, ‘I can’t give up a hit, because I’m pitching a no-hitter.’ Sure as hell, the next guy is going to hit one off the wall."

Syracuse, the tournament’s ninth seed, may have done enough to earn an NCAA berth with wins over No. 7 West Virginia in its regular-season finale and Providence in the second round of the tournament. That 76-71 victory on Saturday was the first in the Big East tournament for the Orange since 2005.

"I think that we’re a good basketball team and I think we are NCAA talent," said Orange coach Quentin Hillsman. "If they vote us into the tournament, we’re going to go and play hard, if not, we’re going to go into the NIT and we’re going to play hard there."

The semifinal Monday will be the third meeting this season between the Huskies and Irish. UConn beat Notre Dame by 24 points in each of the other two games.

Irish coach Muffet McGraw isn’t conceding defeat, but acknowledges UConn is a great team.

"I think as long as they continue to play defense the way they have, they’ve got a great shot of going undefeated," she said.

Stricklen, No. 4 Lady Vols top Kentucky 70-62

DULUTH, Ga. — Pat Summitt encouraged her team to reach for a No. 1 NCAA seed during the SEC tournament championship game.

Then the Tennessee coach reached for the high notes in a surprise postgame song.

Shekinna Stricklen scored 20 points and No. 4 Tennessee beat No. 19 Kentucky 70-62 on Sunday night to win the Southeastern Conference tournament and possibly wrap up that No. 1 seed.

Summitt was so pleased she brought down the house by grabbing the microphone and singing "Rocky Top" in front of the scorer’s table to the Tennessee fans who dominated the Gwinnett Arena crowd, while her plays cut down the nets.

"I thought she was just going to say, ‘Thank you fans, for coming out,"’ said guard Angie Bjorklund. "When she started singing, I just looked at our team and I started laughing. We all started laughing. It was great."

Most players left the net-cutting ceremony to stand in front of Summitt. After the short song, she said "You are the best fans! We love you!"

Said Summitt after leaving the court: "I did that for the fans. I know I don’t have a great voice, but our fans love ‘Rocky Top."’

Tennessee (30-2) completed its first sweep of the SEC’s regular-season and tournament championships in 10 years. In each case, the decisive win came against Kentucky, which improved from a .500 finish a year ago to play in its first tournament final in 28 years.

Tennessee’s 14th straight victory gave Summitt her 19th 30-win season.

The Lady Vols were focused on more than the conference title. Summitt said she talked to her players during the game about needing to win to claim a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

"I told them we needed this tonight to make sure we get a No. 1 seed," Summitt said. "We talked about that even during the game. I said, ‘We’re not losing a No. 1 seed. If we do, that’s not going to be good for us."’

Kentucky (25-7) played tough in its first championship game appearance since winning its only title in 1982. The Wildcats, led by Victoria Dunlap’s 21 points, played even with the Lady Vols until midway through the second half.

"We came here to win and came up a little short," said Kentucky coach Matthew Mitchell, a former graduate assistant for Summitt at Tennessee. "But I thought our players battled against a really fine basketball team today, and I thought we found out a lot about our team."

Tennessee set a school record with 15 blocks when it clinched the SEC regular-season title with its 81-65 win over Kentucky on Feb. 25. The Wildcats showed no sign of intimidation in the rematch, even after Tennessee took an early 19-9 lead.

Kentucky answered to take its first lead with 5 minutes remaining in the half.

A layup by A’dia Mathies cut the Tennessee lead to 23-22. Amber Smith then stole the ball, drove toward the basket and made a behind-the-back pass to Dunlap, who was fouled as she scored. Dunlap’s free throw gave Kentucky a 25-23 lead.

Freshman Kamiko Williams, who didn’t score in Tennessee’s first two tournament games, answered Dunlap’s three-point play by scoring Tennessee’s next four baskets, helping the Lady Vols lead 35-29 at halftime.

Tennessee center Kelley Cain picked up two quick fouls and played only three minutes in the first half. The Lady Vols’ depth showed as they held a 31-14 advantage in rebounds even playing most of the half without the 6-foot-6 Cain. They finished with a 51-32 advantage.

Cain had 11 points, all in the second half.

Kentucky opened the second half with an 13-3 run for a 42-38 lead. Stricklen’s three-point play and 3-point shot helped Tennessee pull even at 46-46.

Following the last tie at 50-all, Tennessee took the lead for good with an 11-3 run, which included another 3-pointer from Stricklen.

Tennessee’s Alyssia Brewer, who had eight points, was the tournament MVP.

-- Charles Odum

Moss leads No. 5 Xavier past Charlotte 51-49

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — On a day when the offense generated its fewest points of the season, Xavier’s hopes of an undefeated run through the Atlantic 10 stayed alive because of its tenacity on the boards.

Ta’Shia Phillips had 11 points and 14 rebounds — eight offensive — and No. 5 Xavier beat Charlotte 51-49 on Sunday in the conference tournament semifinals.

Tyeasha Moss scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half for the Musketeers (26-3), who have won 17 straight games — this time by outrebounding the 49ers 45-34. They shot just 32.7 percent from the field but still ended Charlotte’s bid to win back-to-back tournaments.

Xavier will face Temple for the title on Monday.

"The key for us today was to stay with our defense and our rebounding," said Xavier coach Kevin McGuff, the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year. "We didn’t make as many shots as we normally do, but we can win like we did today with great defense and rebounding."

Tied at 21-all after the first half, Xavier opened a 36-28 lead with 10:45 remaining. The 49ers countered with a 12-2 run, taking a 40-38 lead on Shannon McCallum’s 3-pointer with 6:12 left, but the veteran Musketeers countered with their own 9-0 run.

"I just said, ‘Let’s just stay together, keep our composure,"’ said A-10 Player of the Year Amber Harris, who faced constant double teams and finished with 10 points. "Go out there and try to play with intensity, because they came out with a lot of energy so we just have to try and match their energy."

Phillips started the decisive run for the Musketeers with a putback and Moss gave them the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

"Ta’Shia is the difference to me in their team," said Charlotte coach Karen Aston. "You do all this work and you make them take a shot and she cleans it all up. I think she is the X factor. We just couldn’t get her off the boards."

Aysha Jones finished with 18 points, including a 3-pointer as time expired, and Shannon McCallum added 16 points for Charlotte (17-13).

After Jones made four straight free throws to pull the 49ers to within 49-46, the Musketeers failed to score on consecutive possessions. McCallum missed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left and Special Jennings hit two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to secure the win.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win the game and that’s all you can ask out of players," said Aston, adding that her squad learned a lot from their 81-61 loss at Xavier on Feb. 24.

"They are really good basketball team. They have a chance to do a lot in postseason play, there is no question."

Despite making only 2 of 13 3-point attempts and 3 for 19 through two rounds of the tournament, the Musketeers are poised to win their third conference tournament in four years.

"It would mean a lot," said Harris of the potential title and undefeated run. "Everyone wants to win it, but I feel like this is our year."

No. 6 Notre Dame beats No. 16 St. John’s 75-67

HARTFORD, Conn. — Notre Dame had already lost to St. John’s during the regular season.

Forward Devereaux Peters said they weren’t going to let it happen again.

Peters scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half and Skyler Diggins scored 21, two shy of her career high, as No. 6 Notre Dame defeated the No. 16 Red Storm 75-67 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

Notre Dame (27-4) advanced to the tournament semifinals to play top-ranked UConn, which routed Syracuse 77-41 to win its 70th consecutive game.

The Irish, seeded fifth in the tournament because all four of its losses were to Big East teams, fell to the Red Storm 76-71 in New York in February.

"It definitely burned," Peters said of the earlier loss. "We definitely came in with a chip on our shoulder and wanted to come out hard and definitely prove that we can play better than we did when we were there."

They played that game without guard Lindsay Schrader, who sustained an ankle injury prior to tip-off, and failed to score for a 7-minute stretch in the second half.

Notre Dame had trouble with scoring droughts again Sunday, but they were nothing the Irish couldn’t overcome. St. John’s (23-6), down seven midway through the first half, went on an 11-0 run over 4 minutes and outscored the Irish 21-8 to finish the half leading 36-32.

The Irish also had what coach Muffet McGraw called 13 "really uncharacteristically bad turnovers," in the first half, including dribbling into traps and travel calls that resulted from rushed play.

"We just talked about moving the ball a little bit and trying to get it to the middle of the floor," McGraw said. "That was an area we really wanted to get the ball to. We didn’t have a lot of success with that in the first half, and I thought we did a little better in the second half."

Peters, who reached double figures in scoring for her third consecutive game and fifth of the season, was the primary beneficiary of Notre Dame’s offensive adjustments.

She scored 10 of her points in a four-minute stretch midway through the second half, including a basket with 13:36 remaining that gave Notre Dame a 47-45 lead — its first since the 9-minute mark of the first half.

St. John’s, which starts two freshmen and a sophomore, showed its postseason inexperience down the stretch.

The Red Storm held a 63-59 advantage with 6 minutes to play before Notre Dame went on a 12-0 run.

"We wanted to just take over," Diggins said. "We really came together and were like, ‘We don’t want to go home. We want to win.’ And we were very anxious to come out here and play this team. We didn’t get off to a good start, so we wanted to make sure we finished well."

St. John’s committed 20 fouls, with 17 coming in the second half and eight in the last 6 minutes.

"I think today was the first time in some time that we showed our inexperience and youth at the end," said St. John’s coach Kim Barnes Arico. "The kids got extremely frustrated by it and we tried to continue to stay positive, but I think it really affected us."

Shenneika Smith scored 23 points for St. John’s, making her first five shots and nine of her first 10, and Da’Shena Stevens scored 14 despite missing three minutes early in the game with a right ankle injury.

Notre Dame shot 54 percent despite making just one of its six 3-point attempts. The Irish also shot over 56 percent in a second-round victory over Louisville on Saturday.

Barnes Arico said the quarterfinal loss didn’t diminish the Red Storm’s best record in 26 seasons.

"If we come in here and beat them today, what does that say about us?" Barnes Arico said. "We already beat them once, and I think we gave them a heck of a game. The ball didn’t bounce our way down the end, but I feel as though the game could have gone either way."

No. 7 WVa beats DePaul 47-41 in Big East tourney

HARTFORD, Conn. — West Virginia coach Mike Carey typically spends more than two hours of a three-hour practice working on defense.

That showed Sunday, when the No. 7 Mountaineers inched past DePaul 47-41 in one of the lowest scoring games in Big East tournament history.

"This team particularly has really bought into our defensive concept and really likes to play defense," Carey said. "Defense is just a matter of heart and wanting to play it and wanting to play a little bit more than the other team, and this team has really bought into that."

Liz Repella scored 16 points and Sarah Miles added nine points and five assists for the Mountaineers (27-4), the tournament’s second seed behind top-ranked Connecticut. The 27 wins is the most in the program’s history, topping the 26-4 mark of the 1991-92 team.

Keisha Hampton had 11 points and Sam Quigley added 10 for seventh-seeded DePaul (21-10), which had tied the game at 36-all before West Virginia went on a 7-0 run to secure the victory.

The Mountaineers will play sixth-seeded Rutgers, which outlasted Georgetown 63-56 in double overtime.

The 88 combined points put the game just ahead of a 2005 contest in which Villanova beat Boston College 41-37.

West Virginia shot just 32 percent from the field, but held the Blue Demons to 29 percent, and 19 percent in the first half.

West Virginia led by nine at halftime, before DePaul used 3-point shooting to whittle away at that lead. A fast-break layup by Katherine Harry tied the game at 29 with 12 minutes to play, but the Blue Demons could not take a lead.

Quigley ended West Virginia’s late run with 1:11 left, hitting her first field goal of the game, but it was not enough, as the Blue Demons had six late turnovers.

West Virginia committed eight of its 12 turnovers in the game’s first 8 minutes, while forcing DePaul to turn the ball over 23 times.

The Mountaineers spent most of the game pressuring Quigley, Depaul’s point guard, and making other Blue Demons — often Hampton — bring the ball upcourt.

"We tried to face guard her as much as possible and keep the ball out of her hands," said Miles, the conference’s defensive player of the year.

It worked. Quigley, who averages more than 13 points, was 1 for 10 from the floor and missed all five of her shots in the first half. The junior point guard was 8 of 10 from the foul line, where DePaul leads the Big East in shooting at 76 percent.

"They were in every passing lane and it was hard for me to even get the ball," Quigley said.

West Virginia took its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by Repella that made it 7-6.

The Mountaineers then used a 10-2 run to turn a 13-11 lead into a 23-13 advantage. They led 26-17 at halftime.

Repella, who hit four of her eight 3-point attempts in the first half, missed her first five attempts in the second half and finished 5 of 14.

"It was just a matter of squaring up, getting lower and taking my shot," Repella said. "I knew I was going to miss some, so I just tried to stay with my shot."

DePaul came into the game on a five-game winning streak and Doug Bruno said he believes his team has already done enough to secure an NCAA berth with its second-round win over Marquette.

"I think we’re pretty good on the eye test when we’re playing ball," Bruno said. "I think we do present ourselves as a team that is worthy of being in the NCAA tournament."

-- Pat Eaton-Robb

No. 9 Duke tops N.C. State 70-60 for ACC title

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The final buzzer sounded, and Duke’s Joy Cheek flung the ball toward the ceiling before locking fellow seniors Keturah Jackson and Bridgette Mitchell in a long, lasting hug.

Whoop it up, ladies. You’ve finally got an Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title.

No. 9 Duke captured its first ACC championship since 2004 by beating North Carolina State 70-60 on Sunday behind 18 points from tournament MVP Jasmine Thomas.

Karima Christmas added 13 points for the Blue Devils (27-5), who forced 23 turnovers and outrebounded the Wolfpack 46-32 in claiming their sixth ACC title and first since winning five in a row from 2000-04.

"To have the opportunity to be here again, after having lost those three years, it was just now or never," Mitchell said.

For these Blue Devils’ seniors, their final game in Greensboro came with some fitting symmetry. They were freshmen in 2007 when Duke was undefeated, ranked No. 1 nationally and rolling toward an inevitable title when they were upset in the semifinals by an N.C. State team inspired by coach Kay Yow’s feel-good midseason return.

Duke made it to the championship in each of the three years that followed under coach Joanne P. McCallie, but the Blue Devils were stopped by powerful No. 1 seeds in both 2008 and ‘09. This time, the No. 1 seed belonged to them — and they took full advantage.

"We had this goal in mind, because three of us have seen us go to the ACC tournament championship and come up short," Cheek said. "The balloons and the streamers, we had to watch them fall down for someone else. And so we didn’t want to have to see that happen again. It was an embarrassing feeling, and we just didn’t want to feel like that again."

Nikitta Gartrell had 19 points to lead the sixth-seeded Wolfpack (20-13). They were denied in their bid to become the first team to win four games in four days here and were out for their third upset of a ranked team in eight days.

"I’m extremely proud of our team for so many reasons," first-year coach Kellie Harper said. "But in that locker room ... I was proud of them for wanting more. They’re hurt that they didn’t win this game, and I am so proud of that."

Cheek had 11 points while Thomas, who averaged 16 points in the tournament, added six rebounds and six assists. Duke took the lead for good by reeling off 14 consecutive points during a 23-7 run midway through the first half, went up by 18 with about 8½ minutes remaining and refused to allow N.C. State to complete a second comeback in two days.

Brittany Strachan hit two 3-pointers in a 34-second span to pull the Wolfpack within 65-56 with just under 3 minutes left, but they couldn’t get any closer.

The Blue Devils’ reward: A banner to hang at Cameron Indoor Stadium and roughly two weeks off before they make 16th straight NCAA tournament appearance — on their home court, no less.

"It’s kind of like the appetizer before the big meal, and it’s a very, very good appetizer," said McCallie, the first coach in Division I history to win conference tournaments in four different leagues.

Duke won the first meeting 70-39 on Feb. 11, and while it controlled the rematch throughout, this one was nowhere near that lopsided: The Blue Devils’ largest lead came when Cheek’s jumper made it 60-42 with 8:18 left.

Bonae Holston added 14 points for the Wolfpack, who reached the title game for the 14th time, but first since the 2007 team’s Yow-inspired run.

"Winning is a big part of how we’ve been acting lately," Gartrell said. "Our confidence and everything has been sky high. We can’t drop our heads and let our confidence go away because we have NCAAs to worry about now."

Three years after that unlikely ride, and a year after her death, and the late coach still was never far from anybody’s mind. Hanging from the rafters behind one basket was a banner bearing her name in pink, the color of breast-cancer awareness, with an inverted ribbon replacing the "Y" in her last name. Harper, her replacement, was trying to become the first first-year coach to win the women’s tournament.

She helped N.C. State rally from 10 points down to beat Boston College in the semifinals. Early on in this one, Duke’s full-court pressure put the Wolfpack in that unwelcome position again.

That aggressive defense wound up proving too much for N.C. State, especially during the first-half run that put the Blue Devils on their way to the title. They forced 15 turnovers in the opening half — 10 during that spurt, and many of those created by the press that continually frustrated the Wolfpack.

-- Joedy McCreary

Lavender leads No. 10 Ohio St. past Iowa 66-64

INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday was just another work day for Ohio State’s Jantel Lavender.

The Buckeyes center tied a Big Ten tournament record by scoring 35 points, the last two coming on free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 66-64 victory and the conference tournament championship.

It was a huge day for Lavender, who joined the 2,000-point club and had her 100th straight double-figure scoring game on the same day Ohio State (30-4) tied the school mark for victories.

Not surprisingly, the three-time Big Ten player of the year also earned her second straight Most Outstanding Player award for the tourney.

Ohio State, the six-time regular-season conference champs, won its second straight tourney and claimed the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes are the first team other than Purdue to win back-to-back tourney titles since Penn State in 1995-96.

Iowa (19-13) was led by Kamille Wahlin with 20 points and Kelly Krei with 18. The Hawkeyes had a chance to win it after Lavender’s late free throws, but Wahlin’s shot from near half-court missed the rim to the right.

It certainly wasn’t easy for the Buckeyes, who had to rally from a 16-point second-half deficit.

They didn’t take the lead until Lavender made two free throws with 3:51 left. She tied it again at 64 on a putback with 1:18 to go, and then made the two free throws to win it.

Iowa was in control until midway through the second half when Lavender and Samantha Prahalis triggered a 10-3 run that got the Buckeyes within 54-47 with 9:53 to go.

Ohio State was only getting started. Lavender’s 5-foot bank shot got the Buckeyes within 60-58 and Prahalis drove through the lane for a nifty scoop shot to tie it at 60 with 5:04 to go.

Lavender finally broke the tie with two free throws, and then it was Iowa’s turn to rally.

Wahlin tied it at 62 with two free throws and Jaime Printy put in a layup with 2:34 to go to give Iowa a 64-62 lead.

But Lavender finished the game with four straight points, and the Hawkeyes didn’t score again, giving the defending tourney champs a second straight title.

-- Michael Marot

Rushdan, Speed lead Rutgers to upset of Georgetown

HARTFORD, Conn. — Nikki Speed remembered Rutgers’ double overtime loss in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament last season. She wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Speed hit two crucial 3-pointers, including one with 2.2 seconds left to force a second overtime, and Chelsey Lee scored 17 points to lead Rutgers to a 63-56 victory over No. 12 Georgetown on Sunday night in the quarterfinals.

"All of us kept saying we’re not going home," Speed said. "Last year we played double overtime and lost. The only thing going through our minds was we wanted to win."

The Scarlet Knights advanced to the semifinals where they will face No. 7 West Virginia on Monday night. The Mountaineers beat DePaul 47-41.

Speed also banked in a 3 in the second overtime that gave Rutgers (19-13) a 56-51 lead with 2:55 left.

"I called it," Speed said, laughing. "Coach makes us call our shots in practice and I called that one."

After a layup by Sugar Rodgers cut the Hoyas’ deficit to three, Rutgers scored six straight points, capped by Khadijah Rushdan’s three-point play with 49 seconds left to seal the win.

"That was a gutsy win," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "We as a coaching staff couldn’t be prouder."

Rodgers finished with 20 points for the Hoyas (25-6), who were bidding to win their first Big East tournament game since 2001. Tia Magee added 12 for Georgetown.

"I thought our kids played extremely hard. It was a tough game," Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "Shots didn’t fall like we needed them to fall. I’m very proud of my young ladies. It was an extremely tough loss but we still have the NCAA tournament."

Rutgers knew all about the tough loss, having fallen to Louisville in double OT last year.

Rushdan finished with 14 points for Rutgers, which missed its first six shots in overtime before Speed’s 3-pointer. The Scarlet Knights had made just one of their first 18 3-pointers before the sophomore’s shot.

Magee and Rodgers hit layups in the first overtime to give Georgetown a 50-46 lead with 22 seconds left. Monique Oliver hit two free throws to cut the deficit to two.

After Shanice Fuller hit one free throw to make it 51-48, Speed came through for Rutgers.

Trailing by two with 12.9 seconds left in regulation, Lee hit two free throws to tie the game. Georgetown had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but the Hoyas missed two shots in the final seconds. Jaleesa Butler’s 5-footer was short and Rodgers’ off-balance fling at the buzzer wasn’t close.

Rutgers advanced to the quarterfinals with a 70-49 victory over Cincinnati while Georgetown had a bye to that round by finishing third in the conference.

Magee hit a jumper and Monica McNutt converted a three-point play to tie the game at 42 with 4:17 left. McNutt had missed her first nine shots.

Rodgers then scored on a putback and was fouled. She missed the free throw.

"You have nights like that," McNutt said. "Shots we usually hit weren’t falling. Rutgers is a slow paced team. Tonight they controlled the tempo a little more than we did."

Georgetown built a 15-4 lead 12 minutes into the game as Rutgers started 2 for 10 from the floor with 11 turnovers. The Hoyas held the Scarlet Knights without a field goal for nearly 8 minutes before Lee’s three-point play with 6:28 left in the half made it 15-7.

Rutgers kept clawing back and was down 23-19 at the half as Georgetown hit just 20 percent from the field (6 for 30) by the intermission.

-- Doug Feinberg

Bowman leads ’Zags to 87-47 win over Santa Clara

LAS VEGAS — In the semifinal round of the West Coast Conference tournament, No. 17 Gonzaga found itself in a tussle against a team that won one regular-season conference game.

After a tense first 10 minutes Sunday, Gonzaga pulled away for an 87-47 victory behind a game-high 18 points from Heather Bowman. It was the Bulldogs’ 16th straight win, and puts them in Monday’s title game for the fifth time in six years.

"It took us a little while to get our bearings straight tonight," said Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves, whose team only led 13-12 with 10:30 left. "But once we got it rolling, we cranked up the defense a little bit. When we can get offense off our defense, we can be pretty good, and that’s when we’re at our best. It was a good first game."

The Bulldogs will play Pepperdine, which beat Saint Mary’s 62-56, for the title Monday.

Vivian Frieson added 12 points, five rebounds and three steals for Gonzaga (26-4), which went unbeaten in the conference during the regular season. Courtney Vandersloot and Janelle Bekkering each added 10 points, and Vandersloot had eight assists and three steals.

"The fact that we beat them twice, in the regular season didn’t matter to us," Vandersloot said. "We knew that in a tournament, anything could happen."

Maggie Goldenberger led Santa Clara (5-27) with 14 points and five rebounds.

The Broncos won thier first two games of the tournament, including Saturday’s 68-67 overtime win over San Diego. Goldenberger hit the game-winner with 3 seconds left in that one.

"We ran out of gas a little bit," said Santa Clara coach Jennifer Mountain, who played at Gonzaga from 1987-91 and was an assistant coach there from 2001-08. "They have 12 people at anytime that can go 15 to 20 points a night.

"They got us into taking quick shots — long rebounds turned into layups at the other end. They’re so long and athletic in every spot."

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-4 advantage, and after the Broncos cut that lead to 13-12, Gonzaga went on a 19-3 run to eventually lead 46-23 at halftime. The Gonzaga lead never got below 23 in the second half and grew to as many as 44 in the final two minutes.

The Bulldogs will be going for their third tournament title in the past four seasons — winning in 2007 and ‘09. Gonzaga also has won the WCC regular-season title the last six years.

No. 23 Hartford headed to America East title game

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Mary Silvia came off the bench to score 17 points and No. 23 Hartford beat Stony Brook 65-53 on Sunday, giving the Hawks 20 straight wins heading into next weekend’s America East title game.

The Hawks could be without All-Conference player Erica Beverly, who became the first Hartford player to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a season earlier in the game. She was fouled by Misha Horsey going up for a layup late in the game and hurt her knee.

Beverly finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Top-seeded Hartford (27-3) will host second-seeded Vermont in the title game. The Catamounts beat No. 3-seeded Boston on Sunday. It will be the first time since 2000 the top two seeds meet for the conference title.

Daphne Elliott added 13 points off the bench for Hartford, which improved to 18-0 in league play countig the tournament. The Hawks’ reserves outscored their counterparts 44-0.

Kirsten Jeter scored 19 points for Stony Brook (10-20).