Virginia Beats George Washington to Stay Home

Virginia is playing so well in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament that it’s not going anywhere.

The Cavaliers will be staying home next weekend, not because they lost but because they’re winning. They beat George Washington, 62-43, in a second-round game Sunday on their home floor in Charlottesville and advanced to the East Regional semifinals--also on Virginia’s court.

Virginia, the No. 3 seed in the East, opened NCAA play with a 100-55 home-court rout of Manhattan. Two more victories would give Virginia (25-6) its fourth Final Four trip since 1990.

“If you’re Virginia and you play Friday at home and you play Sunday at home and you play next week at home, that’s a huge advantage,” George Washington Coach Joe McKeown said.

WEST REGIONAL

Shalonda Enis scored 21 points and No. 10 Alabama advanced to the semifinal with an 88-68 victory over No. 23 North Carolina State at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama (24-7) advanced to the round of 16 for the third consecutive year. The Tide will meet either Colorado State or No. 1 seed Stanford in Seattle on Saturday. . . . Katina Mack scored 22 points and second-seeded Penn State (27-6) beat No. 10 seed Kent (24-7), 86-59, in a second-round game at State College. The eighth-ranked Lady Lions will face sixth-seeded Auburn (22-8), which defeated third-seeded Colorado (26-9), 68-61, in overtime at Boulder, Colo., in a semifinal game.

MIDEAST REGIONAL

Angela Hamblin scored nine consecutive points down the stretch for Iowa and Karen Clayton made a free throw to break the final tie as the Hawkeyes beat DePaul, 72-71, in a second-round game at Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa (27-3), the No. 2 seed, will face third-seeded Vanderbilt (22-7), which beat Wisconsin, 96-82, in a regional semifinal game next week in Chicago.

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Kedra Holland scored 18 points as Georgia routed Oklahoma State, 83-55, in a second-round game at Athens, Ga. The Lady Bulldogs (25-4), who made the Final Four last season, advanced to the round of 16 at Nacogdoches, Texas next weekend. The region’s second seed will meet the winner of tonight’s game between Clemson and Stephen F. Austin. . . . Alicia Thompson scored 25 points as fourth-seeded Texas Tech beat Notre Dame (23-8), 82-67, at Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech (27-4), which extended its home winning streak to 30 games, will face Louisiana Tech or Southern Mississippi in the regional semifinals.