Summitt gets 100th tournament victory

Pat Summitt’s 100th NCAA tournament victory followed an old formula Tuesday night.

Start fast, play suffocating defense and roll into the regional semifinals with another blowout.

Two days after Summitt challenged her team to play harder, Tennessee responded with a dominant defensive effort, a crisper offense and a 78-52 rout of Purdue (19-15) at West Lafayette, Ind., that gave Summitt the distinction of being the first coach in Division I basketball -- men’s or women’s -- to join the tourney’s 100-win club.

“I don’t think about numbers personally, but for the team, we’ve never not been to the Sweet 16 and I didn’t want this team to be the first that didn’t advance,” Summitt said.

Tennessee (32-2) makes its 27th consecutive regional semifinal appearance Sunday in Oklahoma City against fifth-seeded Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish defeated Oklahoma, 79-75, in overtime. Charel Allen scored a career-high 35 points for the fifth-seeded Fighting Irish (25-8).

Courtney Paris, last year’s national player of the year, finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds for fourth-seeded Oklahoma (22-9), extending her streak to 92 games in a row with a double-double.

At College, Park, Md., Chante Black scored a career-high 26 points and had 13 rebounds, and third-seeded Duke never trailed in a 67-59 victory over Arizona State (22-11).

The Blue Devils (25-9) will next play No. 2-seeded Texas A&M; on Sunday in the regional semifinal round.

Greensboro Regional

Maya Moore scored 24 points and Connecticut shot a blistering 60% from the field, handing Texas an 89-55 loss at Bridgeport, Conn.

It’s the 15th season in a row the top-seeded Huskies (34-1) have advanced to the regional semifinals.

Carla Cortijo scored 18 points and Earnesia Williams added 12 to lead the eighth-seeded Longhorns (22-13), who had won six of seven.

“They didn’t have a weakness,” Texas Coach Gail Goestenkors said. “They hit the outside shot. They hit the threes, pull-up jumpers.

“Their transition game was excellent. They dominated the boards and played great team basketball.”

At Norfolk, Va., Jazzmin Walters made a three-pointer with 4.8 seconds left in overtime and Tiffany Green blocked an attempt at a tying three-pointer just before the buzzer, giving Old Dominion (31-4) an 88-85 victory over Virginia (24-10) and a trip to the Greensboro Regional to play Connecticut.

New Orleans Regional

At Bridgeport, Conn., Angel McCoughtry scored 24 and Louisville beat Kansas State, 80-63.

Candyce Bingham added 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Cardinals, who have won 13 of their last 15 games. Louisville (26-9) will play North Carolina.

“We feel like nobody can beat us,” Bingham said. “We feel like we’re on the same page and we’re just clicking.”

Ashley Sweat had 16 points and reserve Kelsey Nelson added 12 to lead Kansas State (22-10).

At Norfolk, Va., Rashanda McCants scored 23 points and North Carolina used a 20-0 run spanning the halves to beat Georgia, 80-66.

Erlana Larkins added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the top-seeded Tar Heels (32-2), who won their 15th consecutive game and first in six tries against the Bulldogs.

Tasha Humphrey led Georgia (23-10) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Spokane Regional

At College Park, Md., Maryland rolled to a 76-64 victory over Nebraska.

Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver had 19 points apiece for the Terrapins (32-3), who will play fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (25-8) on Saturday. Yvonne Turner scored 23 points for the Cornhuskers (21-12).