Pack Advances Upstart N.C. State, La. Tech, Arkansas Reach Final Four

Connecticut tried hard not to believe its title hopes ended when Nykesha Sales ruptured an Achilles’ tendon last month. Monday, the Huskies could deny it no more.

“Tonight, all of the things I worry about came true,” said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma. “A lot of it had to do with N.C. State’s post players, who thoroughly outplayed ours.”

North Carolina State pulled off its second straight upset, defeating Connecticut 60-52 in Dayton, Ohio, and advancing to the women’s Final Four for the first time.

Without its star, the Huskies had relied on balance to win all seven games since losing Sales. They could have used a star against N.C. State.

“They started to make their run, and for some reason that shocked us and we lost our composure,” guard Amy Duran said. “We just needed to be a lot more aggressive than we were in the end.”

Chasity Melvin scored eight of her 18 points during a 14-0 run that brought the Wolfpack (25-6) back into the game.

The Huskies (34-3) took a 36-26 lead three minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer by Duran, and appeared to have the game under control.

But then Melvin scored underneath, LySchale Jones hit a basket, Tynesha Lewis scored off a steal and Melvin hit three more baskets.

Jones scored again to give the Wolfpack a 40-36 lead.

Connecticut tied the game twice after that, but was clearly rattled. North Carolina State scored its last eight points on free throws, as the Huskies were forced to foul repeatedly.

Summer Erb and Jones each had 12, and Lewis had 11 for North Carolina State.

Duran and Paige Sauer led UConn with 11 points each.

“Despite all our wins, this year has been an incredible struggle for me,” Auriemma said. “The fact that we’ve even been able to get here is a miracle. It looked bad from the very first day of practice. In games like this, it shows up.”

“Mentally, we had to believe in ourselves,” Yow said. “We had to raise the level of our defense and we had to get the ball inside to Chasity.

“In the last 10 minutes of the game, we played about as well defensively as we can play.”

North Carolina State, making its ninth NCAA appearance, had never reached the final eight until knocking off No. 1-seeded Old Dominion 55-54 Saturday. Connecticut was the No. 2 seed.

“We feel like we had to beat two No. 1 seeds in this region,” Yow said.

With Sales, Connecticut probably would have been a No. 1.

This year was the 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Connecticut, the fifth consecutive regional final and the second consecutive loss in the regional final; Tennessee knocked off the Huskies last year.

The loss also ended the Huskies’ tradition of winning on Auriemma’s birthday. Connecticut had previously won all three NCAA Tournament games played on March 23.

Louisiana Tech 72, Purdue 65

Alisa Burras had 17 points and 16 rebounds as the Techsters defeated the Boilermakers in the Midwest Regional final in Lubbock, Texas.

LaQuan Stallworth added 18 points, including four on free throws in the last 30 seconds, to ensure that the Techsters (30-3) would maintain their streak of advancing to the Final Four at least once every four years.

No. 4 seed Purdue (23-10) was an even match for third-seeded Tech until Tamicha Jackson’s jumper touched off a 15-4 run that gave the Techsters a 60-49 lead with 8:02 left.

But the Boilermakers had rallied from double-digit, second-half deficits in five of their last seven games and seemed girded to do it again. A baseline jumper by Stephanie White closed the gap to 68-65 with 30 seconds left.

But Stallworth’s foul shooting and three Purdue turnovers in the final 20 seconds cinched the Techsters’ 15th consecutive victory and ninth Final Four appearance since the NCAA-sanctioned women’s basketball in 1982.

White led Purdue with 23 points and nine rebounds. Ukari Figgs added 18.

Jackson and Amanda Wilson each scored 16 for Tech. Burras, who had said she was determined not to be part of the first Tech senior class to miss out on the Final Four, was named the regional’s most outstanding player.

Arkansas 77, Duke 72

Christy Smith made four free throws in the final 31 seconds after Tennille Adams scored the go-ahead basket on a putback, sending the underdog Razorbacks to their first Final Four with a hard-fought victory over the Blue Devils at Oakland, Calif.

Sytia Messer’s 20 points led ninth-seeded Arkansas (22-10), which became the lowest seeded team to advance to the women’s Final Four.

No. 2 seed Duke (24-8), denied its first trip to the Final Four, was led by Peppi Browne’s 20 points.

Smith made both free throws with 31 seconds remaining to give Arkansas a three-point advantage and added two more with 16 seconds left when she was fouled rebounding a missed shot by Rice.

Duke’s last two shots in the final seconds were airballs, and the celebration was on for the Razorbacks, who flooded the court and fell on each other in joy. Arkansas had reached the round of eight once previously, but had lost to Stanford in the West Regional final in 1990.