Latta plays big in Tar Heels' win over Purdue

Candace Parker scored 29 points in Tennessee's win over Rutgers.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Ivory Latta crumpled to the floor when the pain became unbearable. But by then, North Carolina's season had been saved, rescued by the teeny, tenacious point guard who refused to lose.
With her left leg cramping, Latta made a driving layup with 2.8 seconds remaining and top-ranked North Carolina moved on in the NCAA tournament with a 70-68 win Sunday over Purdue in the semifinals of the Cleveland Regional.
"She's a winner," Tar Heels coach Sylvia Hatchell said of Latta. "She's just a tough little kid and she finds a way to win."
After flinging in her game-winner, the 5-foot-6 Latta tumbled into North Carolina's cheerleaders as Purdue inbounded the ball for a final chance at victory. Latta scrambled to her feet near the baseline, grabbed her leg and watched as Purdue's Katie Gearlds missed a 3-point heave as time expired.
Screamed in agony
The top-seeded Tar Heels (32-1) then surrounded a hunched-over Latta, who gingerly dropped onto the court and screamed in agony. In a matter of seconds, an arena buzzing from another madcap finish in March went silent.
Latta, tears rolling down her cheeks, lay on the floor for several minutes before she was carried to Carolina's locker room. The other Tar Heels remained on the floor to hear the school's alma mater, not knowing the junior's status for their regional final matchup against Tennessee.
No worries, Tar Heel fans. Latta is fine.
"I'm a tough little cookie," she said with an ice bag soothing her sore calf. "It's going to take a lot to knock me out of a game."
Latta said her calf muscle cramped as she went up for the layup, but that she'll be able to make the Tar Heels' game with the second-seeded Lady Vols.
If not for her dramatic basket, North Carolina might have been on its way home.
The No. 4 seed Boilermakers (26-7) pushed one of the tournament favorites to the brink of elimination before Latta bailed her team out with a basket that neither she nor Tar Heel fans will soon forget.
"When I went up for the shot I was cramping in the air," she said. "I was trying to figure out how I was going to come down. I'd say it's one of the biggest shots I've made. I just love to win. We're not ready to go home. We work too hard."
Quiets crowd
Latta was unaware that her injury had quieted more than 8,000 fans in an instant.
"I was crying too hard," she said. "I was cramping so bad."
Aya Traore's 15-foot jumper with 29.6 seconds to go tied it at 68 before North Carolina called a timeout. On the final possession, Latta let some time run off the clock before she blasted toward the basket, used a pick from Camille Little to get some space.
Erlana Larkins scored 23 points and Latta added 19, eight assists and four steals for the Tar Heels.
Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton scored a season-high 21 and Traore 17 for the Boilermakers, who battled back from seven points late in the second half but came up short.
Tennessee 76, Rutgers 69
CLEVELAND -- Candace Parker showed she can do a lot more than dunk.
Parker scored 29 points with six blocks, and Shanna Zolman hit five 3-pointers and added 29 points to lead Tennessee over No. 3 seed Rutgers.
Parker, who last Sunday became the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, scored 12 straight points during a critical run by the second-seeded Lady Vols. The freshman hit jumpers, blocked shots and at times brought the ball up the floor.
Tennessee (31-4) improved to 21-4 in the regional semifinals in its 25th straight appearance. The Lady Vols have not missed the regional finals since 2001.
As Tennessee coach Pat Summitt left the floor, she stopped to kiss her son and her mother, who is in a wheelchair.
"One more mom. One more," said Summitt, who is seeking her seven national title and first since 1998.
Matee Ajavon led Rutgers (27-5) with 24 points and Cappie Pondexter, a Naismith player of the year finalist, scored 22 in her final game.
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