UConn women rally to beat Georgetown

There was, as usual, the Maya Moore show, with the all-world Connecticut senior scoring 10 of her team’s final 13 points, finishing with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

“This season, she has had to carry that team on her back,’’ Georgetown coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said.

For all that, the Huskies likely would not have beaten Georgetown for the 25th straight time and kept their hopes for a third straight NCAA title alive had reserve guard Lorin Dixon not carried the load at both ends of the floor when her team’s backs were against the wall.

Even then, the Hoyas might have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history had they converted several chances to build their lead to nine – or more – in the final 10 minutes of what became a 68-63 Connecticut win in Sunday’s regional semifinal.

The top-ranked Huskies (35-1) go on to play Duke (32-3) in Tuesday’s regional final.

“When we were up by seven, we needed to make it 10 and then 12,’’ Williams-Flournoy said. “You need a cushion to beat Connecticut because they keep coming back at you.’’

The comeback began when UConn coach Geno Auriemma yanked 6-foot-5 freshman center Stefanie Dolson to go with a small lineup that included the 5-4 Dixon.

“He had to take Dolson out,’’ Williams-Flournoy said. “Tia Magee (12 points, 13 rebounds for the Hoyas was absolutely killing her.’’

With eight minutes to go and the Huskies down by four, Dixon began a three-minute stretch in which she had four steals, four points, an assist and an offensive rebound. That made her a factor in 10 points of the 13-0 run that carried UConn to victory.

“I was just trying to go in there and give some energy to the team,’’ Dixon said. “As a whole, Maya and I decided we didn’t want our careers to end today.’’