Duke Outlasts UConn

Alison Bales and Duke survived one of the NCAA tournament’s toughest stops along the road to the women’s Final Four.

Bales dominated inside with 15 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks Tuesday night to lead the top-seeded Blue Devils to their fourth Final Four with a 63-61 overtime victory over Connecticut in the Bridgeport Regional final.

Duke’s win ended the Huskies’ 29-game NCAA win streak in the state of Connecticut in the first NCAA tournament meeting between the teams. And Duke did it with its lowest scoring output of the season.

“That was the most beautiful ugly win we’ve ever had. We’re just elated to be going back to the Final Four,” Duke Coach Gail Goestenkors said.

Duke (30-3) joins North Carolina and Maryland to give the Atlantic Coast Conference three Final Four teams, the first time one league has had three-fourths of the national semifinals.

The Huskies will miss the Final Four for the second consecutive season after reaching it five times in a row.

“They say you really don’t understand what winning is. You really don’t appreciate what winning is until you’ve had your share of losing. I think the opposite is also true,” Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma said. “I think you can’t quite fathom how much losing hurts when you have had as many chances to win, that we had, over the years.”

Barbara Turner led second-seeded Connecticut (32-5) with 19 points and 12 rebounds.