Rutgers Beats Ohio State

All the bumping, pushing and shoving Rutgers did on defense didn’t stop Ohio State All-American Jessica Davenport.

It did, however, shut down the rest of the Buckeyes and put the Scarlet Knights a win away from their first Final Four appearance in five years.

Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points, and Rutgers turned 15 Ohio State turnovers into 22 points in posting a 64-58 victory on Sunday at Philadelphia.

“I thought we played great defense, as best we could,” Coach C. Vivian Stringer said after Rutgers held the nation’s best shooting team to 39.6%.

The third-seeded Scarlet Knights (28-6) will play top-seeded Tennessee in the Philadelphia Regional final Tuesday night for a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

The Scarlet Knights beat Pat Summitt and Tennessee, 65-51, on Dec. 29 at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

The Lady Vols are 10-2 against the Scarlet Knights, including a 64-54 win in a national semifinal game in Philadelphia in 2000.

In reaching the regional final, Rutgers has avenged regular-season losses to Temple and Ohio State.

Davenport had 22 points and 14 rebounds Sunday, but she struggled to get touches for Ohio State (30-5).

Tennessee 75, Texas Tech 59 -- Shyra Ely scored 23 points and led the Lady Vols (29-4) into their 20th regional final with a victory over the Red Raiders (24-8) at Minneapolis.

Tennessee used a smothering defense to shut down fourth-seeded Texas Tech and help Coach Pat Summitt build on her NCAA record with her 881st career victory.

LaToya Davis had 12 points for Texas Tech.