Taurasi Takes Over for Huskies

Lose a star, plug in another. Win a championship, go after another. The years and players may change, yet it almost wouldn’t be a women’s Final Four without Connecticut.

Diana Taurasi, a freshman from Chino Don Lugo High who didn’t even start until the Huskies lost their two returning All-Americans, dominated with her scoring and court savvy as Connecticut rolled into the women’s semifinals again with a 67-48 victory over Louisiana Tech on Monday night at Pittsburgh.

This will be Connecticut’s fifth trip to the Final Four under Coach Geno Auriemma since 1991. The Huskies won national titles in 1995 and last season.

Taurasi, who combines the discipline that Auriemma demands with a sleek game, had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Huskies (32-2) as the second game of the season between the longtime women’s powers turned into a romp.

“I don’t know, I’ve never gotten nervous,” Taurasi said. “I’m just out there playing with four other girls, playing carefree.

“When I was growing up, I never played with girls--they used to whine all the time--so I’d just go to the playground and play with the guys.”

Taurasi, who had 24 points in Saturday’s 72-58 victory over North Carolina State, took over late in the first half, keying an 8-0 run that made it 37-24 with two driving layups and an assist on Tamika Williams’ layup.

Then, after the Lady Techsters (31-5) made their last push by cutting the lead to nine, Taurasi hit consecutive long three-point baskets to help increase the lead to 17 at 53-36.

“She’s really come out of her shell during this tournament and I love her for it because she’s gotten us back to the Final Four,” teammate Swin Cash said of Taurasi, who has started only a third of Connecticut’s games yet was chosen as the outstanding player in the Big East tournament and the regional.

Notre Dame 72, Vanderbilt 64--Ruth Riley, capitalizing on her All-American counterpart’s foul trouble, scored 32 points as the top-seeded Irish (32-2) defeated the third-seeded Commodores (24-10) in the Midwest Regional final at Denver.

Notre Dame will play Connecticut in a national semifinal Friday at St. Louis.

Riley, a first-team All-American center, had 22 of her points in the second half as Vanderbilt’s Chantelle Anderson, a second-teamer, sat out much of the half.

Anderson, saddled with four fouls for much of the second half, fouled out with 6:22 left and Vanderbilt trailing 61-52. The Commodores couldn’t get closer than eight points after that.

Southwest Missouri State 104, Washington 87--Jackie Stiles scored 32 points despite sitting out 4 1/2 minutes early in the second half and fouling out with 3:25 to play as the fifth-seeded Bears (29-5) defeated the sixth-seeded Huskies (22-10) in the West Regional final at Spokane, Wash.

As she left the court, Stiles drew a standing ovation from the capacity crowd of just under 11,000, nearly all of them Washington fans.

The 5-foot-8 dynamo--the leading scorer in women’s NCAA Division I history--led the Bears to their second Final Four and first since 1992.

Stiles scored 73 points in her two games in Spokane to become the first woman to top 1,000 in a season in Division I.

Tara Mitchem scored 23 points for the Bears on seven-for-seven shooting, including three three-pointers, and was six for six on free throws.

Purdue 88, Xavier 78--Kelly Komara played a superb game filling in for injured point guard Erika Valek and Katie Douglas hit two critical three-pointers as the third-seeded Boilermakers (30-6) defeated the the fourth-seeded Musketeers (31-3) to win the Mideast Regional at Birmingham, Ala.

Purdue, which won the national championship in 1999, will face Southwest Missouri State in a national semifinal Friday at St. Louis.

Komara responded with 20 points, five assists and four steals. Douglas finished with 19 after scoring only two in the first half, Camille Cooper added 16 and Shereka Wright 14.