UConn captures 75th win in a row

March 29, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

DAYTON

Maya Moore scored 16 of her 25 points in the opening nine minutes and seemingly invincible Connecticut took it from there to roll over Iowa State 74-36 in an NCAA regional semifinal Sunday.

Kelly Faris came off the bench for 16 points and Tina Charles also had 16 for the Huskies (36-0), who extended their unprecedented winning streak to 75 in a row.

Anna Prins scored 10 points for Iowa State (25-8), which fell far short of duplicating the biggest win in program history. The Cyclones had stunned top-seeded UConn 64-58 in the regional semis in 1999.

Not this time. The Huskies limited them to just 28 shooting from the field and the outcome was never in doubt after Moore hit her first four 3-pointers.

Florida St. 74, Mississippi St. 71

DAYTON

Courtney Ward scored Florida State’s last six points in the final 38 seconds, leading the Seminoles.

The Seminoles (29-5) advance to meet No. 1-seeded Connecticut (36-0) in Tuesday night’s regional final. The Huskies rolled to a 78-59 win when they met earlier in the season.

Alysha Harvin had 21 points and Ward 14 as the Seminoles earned their first spot ever in a regional title game.

Chanel Mokango scored 20 points and Mary Kathryn Govero had 19 for the Lady Bulldogs (21-13), who went deeper in the tournament this year than ever before.

After Ward hit two free throws with 8.1 seconds left, Alexis Rack pumped up a tying 3 from in front of her bench that was just long.

No. 3 Oklahoma 77, No. Notre Dame 72 (OT)

KANSAS CITY

Oklahoma and Notre Dame needed overtime yet again to decide things in the NCAA tournament.

This time, it was the Sooners who made the big shot that sent them back to the regional finals.

Nyeshia Stevenson hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 4.4 seconds left in overtime as the Sooners reached the regional finals for the second year in a row.

Stevenson had 21 points and Abi Olajuwon added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Sooners (26-10), who lost to Notre Dame in overtime in the second round in 2008.

Oklahoma muffed a chance to win at the end of regulation, as Danielle Robinson slipped 30 feet from the basket. But in OT, Stevenson calmly drilled a 3 from the corner that proved to be the winner.

Notre Dame then chucked a baseball pass about 75 feet, but Stevenson snagged it and knocked down two free throws to seal the win.

Melissa Lechlitner had 22 points and Lindsay Schrader had 19 to lead Notre Dame (29-6), which lost its fourth straight regional semifinal dating to 2001.

This was expected to be one of the closest matchups of all the regional semifinal games, and it certainly lived up to the hype.

For much of the second half, the Sooners seemed poised to pull away and even led by six with 2:46 left. But the Fighting Irish rallied, forcing overtime with a pair of tough shots.

Lechlitner converted a tough three-point play through traffic to pull Notre Dame within 64-63, hitting the floor hard before getting up to bury a crucial free throw. Freshman Skylar Diggins — who struggled with her shot all night — then threw up a 3 that bounced around the rim before falling in, tying it at 66-all with 32 seconds left in regulation.

The Sooners never got a chance for the win in regulation. Notre Dame forced a tieup after Robinson’s slip, which came with just 0.1 seconds left.

Oklahoma was back in the regional semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons. What’s been so remarkable about this run, though, is that the Sooners have done it without the departed Paris twins, Courtney and Ashley, and guard Whitney Hand — the emotional heartbeat of their team.