UConn Marches on to Final Four
Boxscore(.pdf)
Boxscore(.html)
 DAYTON, OH
(April 1) -- Junior guard Diana Taurasi (Chino, CA) notched 21 points to lead
four Huskies in double figures as the University of Connecticut women's team
defeated Purdue, 73-64, at the Dayton University Arena in Dayton Ohio.
With the triumph the #1 seed Huskies improve to 35-1 on the
campaign and are now only two wins away from defending their national
title for the first time in school-history as they will make their
fourth straight appearance in the Final Four. Purdue, a #2 seed,
ends its season at 29-6.
Purdue got off to a good start as Shereka Wright converted on an
old-fashioned three-point play one minute into the contest.
However, Purdue went ice-cold from the floor for the remainder of the
half, missing its next 13 attempts from the field, and UConn took
advantage by rattling off 17 consecutive points. The Boiler
Makers finished the half shooting a frigid 18% from the floor
(six-for-31) but kept the game from getting totally out of hand by
hitting all nine of its free-throw attempts. Connecticut was able to
hit 52% of its shots (14-for-27) to take a 41-22 advantage at
intermission.
Purdue heated up in the second half, hitting five of its first ten
shots, but the
Huskies were able to thwart a Boiler Maker come-back by answering each
of Purdue's buckets with two points of their own, increasing its lead
to 22 points with 8:20 left in the game. However, UConn would
not hit another field goal the rest of the way and Purdue launched a
20-to-four run over the next 6:20 and pulled to within six points of
the Huskies at the two minute mark, 66-60. The six point deficit
was the smallest of the game since the 17:15 mark in the first half.
Clutch free-throw shooting allowed UConn to punch its ticket to
Atlanta as Taurasi and Maria Conlon (Derby, CT) went a combined
11-for-12 from the charity stripe in the final five minutes.
 Jessica
Moore (Palmer, AK) and Conlon each had a dozen points for UConn while freshman
Ann Strother (Castle Rock, CO) chipped in with 10. Purdue out-rebounded
Connecticut 43-to-33 on the night, but more importantly Purdue held a 26-to-12
edge on the boards in the second half including 12-to-two on the offensive glass
in the second half, which was integral in its come-back. But UConn's
defense was again decisive, holding Purdue to just 31.9% shooting (22-for-69).
Wright had 25 for Purdue and Mary Jo Noon notched a double-double
with ten points and ten rebounds. The Huskies will face-off against
Texas in a National Semifinal game slated for Sunday, April 6. Game time
will be announced at a later date.
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