Saturday, March 29, 2003
Notre Dame 59, Kansas State 53
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Notre Dame did it again -- another upset on another opponent's home court in the NCAA tournament. Credit a defense called "The Storm." The 11th-seeded Irish got 17 points from Le'Tania Severe and used an active match-up zone to beat No. 3 seed Kansas State in the second round of the East Regional. Notre Dame (21-10) shut down a team that had been averaging 75 points a game and advanced to the round of 16 for the fifth time in seven years.
Connecticut 81, Texas Christian 66
STORRS, Conn. -- Diana Taurasi scored a career-high 35 points to lead top-seeded Connecticut to a win over stubborn Texas Christian. The junior guard had 10 points in an 18-2 run to open the second half, erasing a two-point halftime deficit. UConn (33-1) has only trailed three times in the last 87 games and for most of the first half, the Huskies' home-winning streak of 62 games was in jeopardy. UConn will play Big East rival Boston College in the East Regional semifinal on Sunday in Dayton, Ohio.
Villanova 70, George Washington 57
NORMAN, Okla. -- Katie Davis scored 24 points and Trish Juhline had 14 of her 16 in the second half as Villanova reached the round of 16 for the first time in seven NCAA tournament appearances. The Wildcats hit six 3s in a span of 41/2 minutes in the second half to take control against the Colonials (25-7), who got 21 points from Ugo Oha.
Duke 65, Utah 54
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Duke reached the round of 16 for the sixth straight year by beating Utah, one of the nation's top defensive teams, at its own game. The Blue Devils converted 13 turnovers into 22 points and held the Utes (24-7) without a field goal for 71/2 minutes in the second half. Kim Smith led Utah with 20 points.
Texas Tech 72, UC Santa Barbara 68
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Jia Perkins scored 23 points as Texas Tech held off UC Santa Barbara in the second round of the Midwest Regional. The second-seeded Lady Raiders (28-5) advance to the round of 16 and will play sixth-seeded New Mexico in Albuquerque on Saturday night. Tech has made it to a regional semifinal five straight years. Lindsay Taylor had 26 points, 10 above her season average, to lead the seventh-seeded Gauchos (27-5).
Texas 67, Arkansas 50
CINCINNATI -- Stacy Stephens leads Texas in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She had a typical performance. Stephens had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Heather Schreiber added 20 as Texas won its 15th straight game, over Arkansas in the West Regional. The second-seeded Longhorns (27-5), making their 19th appearance in the NCAA tournament, will play Minnesota in the round of 16 Sunday in Stanford, Calif. Shameka Christon led seventh-seeded Arkansas (22-11) with 16 points.
-- Associated Press