Another Victory for Connecticut

Connecticut was inconsistent all season. The Huskies were inconsistent against Purdue. For Connecticut, that was still good enough to get back to the women’s Final Four.

Diana Taurasi scored 21 points and the defending national champions held on after letting much of a 22-point lead slip away to defeat Purdue, 73-64, Tuesday night to win the East Regional.

The frantic finish was no surprise for the Huskies (35-1), who are relying on players who had little or no experience, including three freshmen.

“I think that’s the way we’ve been playing all year, going up to a big lead and letting it go,” Connecticut’s Jessica Moore said. “I think it just shows how tough we are that we were able to hold out for that long and keep it.”

The top-seeded Huskies are going to the Final Four for the fourth consecutive year, during what would have been a rebuilding season for any other school. They’ll play West champion Texas on Sunday in the Georgia Dome at Atlanta.

Second-seeded Purdue (29-6) did not go quietly, however, and Connecticut had to make nine consecutive free throws in the last 2:53 to keep the Boilermakers behind.

“We just didn’t want to go out. We wanted to put up a fight,” said Shereka Wright, who led Purdue with 25 points. “We wanted to be remembered as a team that didn’t back down from UConn.”